The St. Albert, Alberta officer was at the Mission Raceway last weekend in his souped-up 1970 Chevy Nova, which can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in four seconds flat.

RCMP Sergeant Nigel Douglas knows a thing or two about fast cars. The St. Albert, Alberta officer, who was at the Mission Raceway last weekend racing his souped-up 1970 Chevy Nova (zero to 100 kilometeres per hour in four seconds flat), believes the carnage on Canada's highways could drop significantly if young drivers had better access to controlled race tracks.

"They'll race, there's no doubt about it," said Douglas, who was in Mission representing the youth-oriented traffic safety initiative known as the Street Legal Program. "So let's go with that and get them on the race track."

Douglas, accompanied by two other Alberta officers with their own drag-race-ready 1970 Plymouth, races and educates youth between 14 and 24 on the hazards of street racing. The officers travel the western provinces making safety presentations at schools, shop classes, trade fairs, malls, raceways and car shows. They speak about such things as the hazards of driving and the consequences of drug and alcohol absuse.

"We're old racers from way back," admitted the 47-year-old Douglas, who used to live in North Vancouver. "And I used to do a bit of (racing) on the Upper Levels Highway. But, I'm a reformed individual."

Douglas said his team sets an example, with their cars -- with full police markings -- as the hook. "They know it's wrong to race in the street, so we talk to them at their level -- engine talk, racing talk. And they can come down and whip our ass."