125 MPH on the M23? Is That The Best You Can Do?
The British media is all a-twitter this morning over a video posted on YouTube that shows a driver pushing his Vauxhall Cavalier to 125mph down the the M23 in Sussex. According to BBC News, the police are looking for him. They've also warned other potential scofflaws that anyone filming such activities could themselves be filmed and hauled into court. While YouTube said the video was not "considered offensive" and would not be removed, apparently the user, "paulscav," took it down (when I searched for it, YouTube said the account was closed). Meanwhile, the Royal Auto Club (RAC) Foundation is calling for all website operators to remove clips "that glorify speeding on public roads." In the spirit of international relations and all that, we'd like to do our part by showing the RAC how it's done right– I mean, wrong, in a Ford GT at 200mph.
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chuckgoolsbee, DB7?
Edgett writes: "chuckgoolsbee makes a good point. The last time I looked, the German autobahns had a lower accident rate than American freeways" ModemJunki opines: Those who drive at top speed on the Autobahn generally accept as fact the notion that a person will likely only have one high speed accident during their lives. The ones that survive tend to slow down a bit. Don't get me wrong, I've been there and done that. I've not found another place with so many careful, attentive drivers. But in my country (the USA), we have long way to go with driver education and training before I'd remotely consider supporting triple-digit and above speeds for the common man.
But in my country (the USA), we have long way to go with driver education and training before I’d remotely consider supporting triple-digit and above speeds for the common man. Couldn't agree more and I wasn't arguing that top speed on the autobahn is "safe", but there are lots o' folks traveling quite safely outside of cities at 90-100 mph. And whether or not we have higher speed limits in the U.S., driver training and education, as well as condition of equipment should be a higher priority here. Every time I stand in a "security" line at the airport I wonder if we put the same kind of effort into reducing automobile accidents that the payoff might be much higher. If we take 9/11 as the worst terrorist event in U.S. history, some 3000 people were killed. In the years since then we have killed more than 250,000 people on U.S. highways. If additional driver education could just take a 10% bite out of that number, that would equal 25,000 lives saved. At some point, some IIHS flack may join in and say that driver training has little to do with road safety. I cry foul at that; anyone who has worked with any dangerous tool knows that training goes a long way toward reducing accidents with whatever tool you might name. Not everyone has to smash their thumb with a hammer to learn how to use one properly, and an automobile is a far more dangerous tool than a hammer.
I'd forgotten about the mechanical condition allowed for cars in many parts of the USA. I myself live in the rust belt, it's shocking what can be seen on the road. I suppose it's our own fault, this inattention to driver education, in essence not taking driving as a serious thing. Driving is seen as a right, and with no viable public transportation in many areas the level of licensed stupidity can only increase over time. Speaking of which, my son will have his license soon. I sometimes shudder at the very thought.