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Detroit, 1:32 PM
Sun Nov 29
11 posts in the last 24 hours
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08/24/09
08/24/09
...I've never understood the appeal of "driving fast in traffic". That's what I call what most 17-20 year olds would call "racing".
When I see the guy doing >100, weaving in and out of cars on the freeway or a big surface street, I don't really understand what the appeal is.
In most cases, you're nowhere near the limits of grip of the car unless someone pulls in front of you and you have to do a panic stop/swerve. You're just kind of floating left and right.
08/25/09
08/24/09
I accidentally blew through a red light one night last year, with a toddler in the back seat and my wife sleeping next to me. I was tired. I wasn't anywhere near over the limit, but I'd had a glass of wine earlier. I was screwing around trying to find a different radio station. My head just wasn't in the game. That could have ended like this, with me watching the medics pull my dead kid out of the car. Those thoughts weren't running through my head at the time, though.
Triple digit speeds on roads with traffic? I've never been anywhere near THAT irresponsible. But I've been in cars with at least two friends who've pulled shit like that. I'd guess that at least half of high school guys have done something that could have ended in a way that'd have the public calling for their heads.
How do you punish people for doing stupid stuff that usually goes down uneventfully? I dunno if he deserves life in jail any more than two of my more reckless-but-lucky friends. There's a difference between careless/stupid/unlucky and malicious.
That said, this guy's old enough that I don't have much sympathy for this stunt. If he killed someone I loved, I'd want him to rot in jail forever.
08/24/09
[OMBUDSMAN'S NOTE: By combining self-deprecating humor/honesty (in the manner of Big Harv) with some other good points, you win. Great comment.]
08/24/09
I've tried hard to be "the asshole who killed himself" rather than "the asshole who killed 2 people". But, to be honest, I've run done some stupid crap in my day.
It's easy to get caught up in the feeling of ignorant invincibility when the engine's revving and the testosterone and adrenaline are flowing.
It takes real guts, wisdom and integrity so "pussy out" and let the other guy speed away from the light for the win.
Too bad all three are regularly in short supply.
Hopefully we can all learn from incidents like this.
08/24/09
08/24/09
[OMBUDSMAN'S NOTE: See my note above to ppiddy. Because this post is the exact opposite. If we had a "Worst Comment Of The Day" feature, I would nominate this, and then select it from my envelope so I could say "The loser is..."
I'm sure I'll get jumped for harshing on you, but you are generally among the worst commenters on this site. Keep up the poor work, and I will be forced to ban you.]
08/24/09
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08/26/09
See: Montana 1996
[www.motorists.org]
What your missing here is how yes, its stuipd to drive like that where there is traffic, but as someone that understands common sense... I don't see anything wrong with "hypothetically" doing 130 on a 3 lane *empty* highway straight. knowing this however... there are already laws in place that punish people for accidently killing someone.
08/24/09
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08/24/09
[CONSUMER´S NOTE TO OMBUDSMAN: Unfortunatly it´s easy to get this blog dripping blood with more "news" like this. There is nothing special here, just an other a-hole killing people with careless driving. The cars in question also do not seem to be that special to be mentioned.
Different is a douchebag destroying his ,triple digit thousands dollar worth, sports car.
Keep the level up.
08/24/09
[OMBUDSMAN'S NOTE: Point taken. Though the "musclecarness/boy-racerness" of the test car to me was as much of a comment on the state of the world as the kilo-buck car crashes. BTW, I would be grateful if you changed your screen name to avoid mention of the recent troubles. After all, Polar's back, right? So things must be mostly alright with the commentariat.]
08/24/09
08/24/09
Yeah, I got nothing. This is such a "Hey y'all, watch this" moment that it somewhat defies description.
08/24/09
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08/24/09
That’s what needs to happen to the clown in the Challenger.
08/24/09
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08/24/09
I'm all for hoonage...as long as it's at least semi-responsible.
Stupidity like this, however should immediately equal removal from the gene pool.
08/24/09
Rule 1 of journalism is to spell names and places correctly. Rule 2 is to get the name of the dog. People always want to know the name of the dog.