Speed Racer is racing in an important race when he gets a
text from Trixie, so he picks up his phone. She has sent him a joke, and he
laughs and texts her back. The Mach 5 has lots of cool features and gizmos, and
they prevent Speed from being killed, but they cannot prevent Speed’s reckless
driving from causing the flaming crash deaths of all the other racers around
him. But pretty soon, his absorption into the texting conversation with Trixie
becomes all consuming, and even his car’s marvelous technology is not enough to
save Speed from his own death in a fiery crash near the end of the race, a completely
avoidable crash which causes an enormous pileup that kills a plethora of other
drivers (ironically delighting the crowd). Then the announcer chimes in, saying
that no matter how good of a driver you are, texting and driving kills.
(BTW: Just before Speed Racer crashes and dies in the spot, we see him make that open-mouthed expression of shock he is so widely ridiculed for doing all the time in the cartoon series.)
