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Detroit, 1:37 AM
Mon Nov 23
11 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/22/09
I've witnessed them drag-racing each other at night, and blowing through red lights while doing so. I've seen this in Bridgeport as well, and they currently have a case/investigation involving a drunk officer who smashed into a parked car- which the supervising lieutenant tried to cover-up.
11/22/09
I call it "Car Tourette's"-- you hear the damnedest foul words coming out of your mouth very loudly--sometimes I even surprise myself. So, nothing to apologize for, Dude. I thought you were rather restrained, under the circumstances.
12:25 AM
11/22/09
And is that Ian Anderson in the red shoes? Shouldn't he be back in Scotland with his salmon farm and his Tull royalties?
Whoever he is, he's not too old to rock--and roll.
11/22/09
I'd like to see the TR7 going again in all its damaged glory, too.
11/22/09
(If there wasn't anyone on his arse, he should've let off, of course, but it's likely that he couldn't and was hoping the 'B pilot woke up.)
11/22/09
Since there was no one under the B, there was no reason to swing way out to make the left hander. The Honda driver has as much right to the track and a racing line as anyone else.
Rule #1 in racing - Hold Your Line.
Well, if it's not #1, it should be up there.
11/22/09
Not saying that he knew he was going to take out the Bee, but why - at that particular point - would one make the decision to swerve left without backing off the throttle a hair, when it's really, really obvious that contact would be made?
But then again, there's a lot of factors & disctractions involved that we can't see or experience through the eyes of the camera, so it's likely this is just one of those unfortunate incidents than can occur in any race.
Glad the guy in the Bee is OK.
11/22/09
The Honda went as far right as he could, until his right tires were in the dirt. That is what caused the left-right movement.
We have the luxury of watching the video over and over, analyzing every second, and criticizing the actions of both drivers..... drivers who did not have the same luxuries as we do. That's why race drivers need to follow certain rules of decorum; they do not have the time to endlessly analyze every moment of competition.
Yes, there are many factors and distractions present, but it was one major mistake that caused this incident. Fortunately, no one paid a big price for that mistake. Hopefully it was "lesson learned" for all involved.
11/22/09
And where did our intrepid cameraman learn to drive? NASCAR?
I'll acknowledge shared fault, but he should have backed down.
11/22/09
11/22/09
11/22/09
I suspect that's a main reason that only half the prize money is based on laps completed. There's no way to keep a race from being about racing, but letting slower entrants have a chance at glory keeps the lemons coming.
11/21/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
From the evidence here, it's pretty obvious that the two cops were either racing to the nearest Dunkin' Donuts, or just having some good old we-can-do-this-'cause-we're-cops fun. Sad.
11/20/09
A bad idea, yeah. I try my best to avoid it, but if there were citations for this, every state debt would be paid for by the people within three days.
Left. Lane. Squatters. Suck.
More than double-posted + no lights = guilty of stupidity and reckless endangerment.
Had this been a "civilian", they'd have been hung, roadside.
For the record, change the Miata to a motorcycle, and this is one of, if not the most common accident which affects those on two-wheels.
11/20/09
11/20/09
Genius.
NW Oregon freeways are jammed at least in part because of the locals getting on, getting up to 45 while heading directly for the left lane, then sitting there.
11/20/09
Patrol car shouldn't have been speeding and shouldn't have passed on the right, and should have had it's light bar going. Police car also did not slow or brake prior to the collision.
The turning car should have yielded to the oncoming traffic (unless it had a green arrow). But they should have had an expectation that oncoming traffic was traveling at approximately the speed limit - in which case they could have completed their turn without a collision.
Looks like the town's insurance premium just went up.
So sad for the families of those killed unnecessarily.
11/20/09
Unlike others are claiming I don't see how the officer had much time to react. Basically, I think he approached this intersection not expecting that the other driver would try to make that last minute turn. The guy does decide to make the turn, but at that point there isn't much left to do but get on the brakes. There was barely a half-second there where maybe he could have swerved. Not much time to do anything, especially in a car like the Crown Vic.
There is one big caveat however. I see no indication in the video that the cop was running his lights, unless he only had the forward facing ones going, which I have no way of telling from the video. But far too often I see cops speeding around with no warning lights active whatsoever. It's just asking for trouble because in that situation they're like anyone else on the road speeding with no advance warning that they're barreling towards you.
If the cop was indeed running without lights he deserves to lose his job, in the very least, and manslaughter might not be unreasonable. But I still put more of the blame on the teenager. And reports say that the teenagers had just left a party and might have been drinking. So that would have certainly increased the chances of poor judgment, not that teenagers need the help.
11/20/09
1) Starting a left turn with an oncoming set of headlights a couple hundred feet away, or
2) driving 94 mph on a suburban street with traffic?
The cop is more to blame than the teens.
11/20/09
Note the phrasing there, as it is very important. It does not imply that they were drinking. We have no way of knowing that at this point in time. It merely suggests one out of several potential factors in the crash.
What is known is that the cop was traveling at two-and-a-half times the speed limit, which would certainly explain his lack of reaction time. Reaction time wouldn't have been a problem if he had been driving at the posted speed limit.
11/20/09