Excess speed in real life ain't as fun as it is in movies - Page 5 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

niky · 12-18-2013, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebeard

OTOH, it's handy for turning an intersection into an impromptu traffic circle.

Niky -- It's good to see you posting after that bit of weather. Is your house on stilts? Have you heard about frictionless charity? Sean’s Outpost Announces Satoshi Forest, Nine-Acre Sanctuary for the Homeless

I'll always think of Paul Walker driving 80mph in reverse, while looking into the eyes of his passenger instead of the rear-view mirror.

Edit:
Here's a more pertinent example:
http://http://www.fr33aid.com/1311/a...phoon-victims/

I live far away from the affected area, but monsoon weather earlier this year drowned my gas-guzzling LPG-hybrid rocket. It was laid up waiting for a new fuel pump. Guess I shouldn't have put off the repair for so long. It's been months and it's still dead. Someday I'll put some money into it, but with building apartments and sending kids to school, it's not my first priority.

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That homeless "preserve" sounds like a great idea. Of course... the homeless around here pretty much rule the metropolitan areas... with squatter colonies occupying every bit of space which isn't fenced off with concrete walls. There are so many fires in these crowded colonies that one can't help but think that some of them are set on purpose by developers wishing to clear their land before building something new.

Sad state of affairs, really. But here, the huge disparity in income between urban and rural workers makes squatting a logical (albeit illegal) choice for those seeking to improve their lot in life.

Frank Lee · 03-26-2014, 01:49 AM

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Yup. Speeding.

wdb · 03-26-2014, 08:33 AM

The guy lost control when he stomped on the gas coming out of a corner and the back end of the car got away from him. That was pretty obvious from the start, based on where and how the car left the road. He could have lost control in the same fashion at a lower speed, or on a road with a higher speed limit, and be just as dead.

In fact a guy in a Dodge Ram did pretty much the same thing - hit the gas exiting a corner and lose control of the back end - not far from my home a few years back. He was turning left at a stop sign, and the road was slick with new snow. The truck left the road and rolled the truck down an embankment. Loss of control, not speed, caused it.

Frank Lee · 03-26-2014, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Loss of control, not speed, caused it.

If they'd experienced that exact same loss of control at the legal speed, I'd wager they'd still be here today.

niky · 03-26-2014, 11:57 AM

Depends on whether they hit that same tree head-first or sideways. Just not enough crush space, no matter how many airbags (or not) are there.

Still... darn irresponsible, if the driver knew the tires were that old, and especially if they were trying to diagnose another car problem on the drive. Many people have lost control of that car at speed. Few were so unlucky as to have something hard to hit after they did.

Fat Charlie · 03-26-2014, 02:47 PM

"Turning left at a stop sign" and "exiting a corner" are very different things. He either "entered" the corner as if it didn't have a stop sign or he was playing. If he blew through the sign it was excessive speed, plain and simple. Intersections with stop signs are sharp 90° turns more often than not, because the designers intended you to enter them from a full stop.

If he was playing, launching from the stop while yanking the wheel, that's a cross between stupidity and excessive speed- he shouldn't even have been trying to go that fast. He doesn't get credit for spinning out before he reached his target speed.