KEY POINTS:
Aaron Keown could just get angry at the speedster who killed his mother and at the system he feels allowed it to happen.
But he has decided it is far better to direct his energies towards trying to change things from within the system.
The Christchurch businessman has
been prompted by his mother's death in May to stand for Parliament.
"I was very close to my Mum. I only had one parent most of my life, so they are twice as valuable," he said.
"That's why I can't ever rest ... thinking I never did something. It's not about revenge ... it's about stopping this crime happening to other people."
Speedster Arcanie Vincent Matagi, 25, yesterday pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Laureen Helen Reilly, 60, after he lost control of his high-performance car while racing in Christchurch.
Matagi is believed to have been travelling at about 150km/h, and the collision with the vehicle carrying Ms Reilly was so severe that Matagi's car split in two.
Mr Keown's friend Brendan Cronin was driving and was severely injured.
Matagi now faces a possible jail sentence, and may yet face a charge of manslaughter.
A distraught Mr Keown found an opportunity to stand for Parliament with the Act Party.
He is 12th on the party's list and is standing against Labour Minister Clayton Cosgrove in the Canterbury electorate of Waimakariri.
The odds are stacked against him, but he says he is determined to become a "voice of everyone concerned about law and order, especially the victims".
Among suggested law changes he is proposing are having degrees of murder, instead of charges such as manslaughter.
Under this system, Matagi would face a lesser-degree murder charge "because he's chosen to behave a particular way and taken a life".
Mr Cosgrove said what happened to Mr Keown's mother was a tragedy, and he could understand the son's "hitting out".
But he pointed out that he had introduced tough new "boy racer" legislation that allowed judges to confiscate vehicles after a first offence.
Act had opposed this.
Unfortunately there would always be a hard core determined to break the law on the roads, Mr Cosgrove said.
Act leader Rodney Hide met Mr Keown at a party brunch in Christchurch this year.
"He was impressive," the MP said, "and I said, 'You should get in there and help us'."