Jalopnik: Stupidity

In Belarus, Police Make Road Block Out of You!

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:20:00 EDT

Under orders to stop a drunk driver at all costs, police officers in Belarus stopped four civilian cars and ordered them to form a line across the road — acting as a roadblock. As brilliant a plan as this is, it failed to take into consideration that the drunk driver would be crashing into the makeshift barrier, placing six people including a child in harms way. Thankfully, after the inevitable crash, all of the unlucky drivers were fine and the drunk was caught and is now recovering in the hospital. We're wondering if those Belarussian cops were drunk themselves when they came up with this plan. [Russia Today]

Great Moments in Stupidity: Kid Mods Car Into Cruiser, Pulls Over Cop

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:15:00 EST

We don't know what kind of car 17-year-old David Leib used to recreate a police cruiser, but the safe bet is on a Crown Vic. We also don't know what the young lad was thinking when he decided to turn on the cherries and attempt his first traffic stop outside of Moline, Illinois. We do know the off duty police deputy he was attempting to pull over found it a little off and dialed the real cops to check things out. Needless to say, things ended with David in cuffs himself. This could have been the dumbest thing this chap had ever done, but if he was enterprising enough to build the replica without his parents putting the smack down, it's a safe bet he was a sneaky little bastard to begin with.

Whatever the intent was, he's certainly going to be dealing with the ramifications now. Leib will be facing two felonies in grown up Illinois court for his foolishness - Impersonating an officer, and having red, white and blue oscillating lights on his private use vehicle. We can think of at least a dozen things we were far more interested in when 17, and none of them involved being a fake police officer. [via QCTimes]

Now That's What We Call Going to the Matresses

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:30:00 EST

From loyal reader and Chicago-area superstar Joe, we have the pic above to point and laugh at. We'll let Joe spin the tale:

I was cruising down the highway at 70 mph and spotted this genius display of human ingenuity on how to carry cargo. The best part is the aero cargo box on top of the four mattresses; and all items being held down by a blue tarp and single piece of rope while dangling perilously off the back of the Toyota station wagon —or at least I think it's a Toyota wagon.

Adding to the fun, Joe ran the pic by his buddies at The Chicago Garage, who engaged in a little caption contest. We think you'll appreciate some of the entries in poll form, and feel free to add your own. Remember kids, rope is the loser's way out. Duct tape is the way to restrain beds to car roofs!

Flying BMW Crashes and Kills Occupants, Darwin Wins

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:45:00 EST

UPDATE: Seems that the young'un involved with the Ocala BMW crash was a frequent poster to a BMW M5 forum. Racing down the main runway of the gated "Jumbolair Aviation Estates" in Dad's BMW probably seemed like a fun idea whether just for the thrill of speed in a test of machinery against an opponent. It was a fun idea right up until the point when the runway ran out, and the car went air born off the 85 foot berm at the end. 200 feet later the car and its five male occupants met their end half way up a tree as the vehicle split in half, spilling the youths into the wilderness. So fierce was the accident, our well trained eyes can't tell what kind of BMW we're looking at. When you watch the video, we think you'll agree the scale of this carnage will assuredly place these gents as early favorites for the 2008 Darwin Awards. And yes, as every other outlet is reporting — the crash occurred at John Travolta's air strip. We've yet to find what bearing this has on the price of tea in China, but when or if we do, you'll be the first to know. [via MSNBC]

What's the Most Foolhardy Thing You've Done Behind the Wheel?

Mike Spinelli — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:30:00 EDT

This QOTD comes fresh from our buddy Ted, who wonders if anyone else has engaged in any such ill-considered bravery:

I pondered this question yesterday as I did perhaps one of the stupidest/bravest things in a while. I was doing some minor hooning in the mountains of North Georgia, and managed to break a leaf spring on the rear end of my 4Runner. The broken leaf loosened the rear axle, tore off the exhaust and, for added shits and giggles, committed hari-kari in the gas tank. Gas was gushing out. After some hacking and a couple PBR's we got it set-up with some JB Weld, and, in a weird moment of good sense, left it to sit over night, hoping to come back the next day to a perfectly leak free tank.
Next day drove the 90 miles to the truck, discovered a tank that still leaked, and said "screw it!" and drove it home. Plenty of time to think on that journey about all the things that could make a spark back there. Broken leaf springs...broken exhaust...all within inches of the leak. But thanks to the power of bad sense and the luck of the hoon, made it home with nary a forest fire (I think) or explosion.

Aye! The elusive luck of the hoon. What say you?

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More Questions of the Day [internal]