Sad News

[Viper99]

A really sad story that hits home. I have 2 young daughters myself and this was truly a horrible tradgedy that can and should have been avoided.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Very sad. Similarly I lost my brother to a drunk driver. It is very difficult to take.

 

[Viperrick]

Similar accident last night in Chicago. SUV driver kills mother and child who were out on a stroll. Truck jumps curb and kills child instantley and mother is in ICU. The occurance in NY is just another example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Could have been avoided if the owner of the car would have thought about what he was doing when he handed over the keys. Young kid with girl (he is trying to impress) and a car which is way to much for his driving experiance level.

 

[VIPERESS]

What a horrible tragedy, and one that could have been easily avoided, had the parent been able to tell the kid "NO" you can't use the car, end of story. In my opinion there are way too many parents today that are so busy trying to be "friends" with their kids, rather then being the "parent" who is setting an example as the responsible "adult" and teaching the child that they can't have and do everything they want to, and that they are the parent and the bottom line is that the parent really truly does "know best", whether the child at this point in their life believes that or not. When he grows up he will realize that his parents only had his best interest in mind when he was told "NO" for things he wanted to do or get. Besides the victims the lives of this young kid and his family have been changed forever, they will have to live with the memory of the deaths of the innocent victims forever, that will be punishment enough.
ps. By the way, Intelman, there are lots of girls who love speed, and for all we know, she could have been the one "encouraging" him to take the car to speeds beyond his ability and skill to control.

 

[CAS]

All of you have excellent points, and I agree that cars capable of extreme speeds need to be driven very responsibly. It is sad when things like this happen. It is a shame in two ways: the loss of life, especially a young one, and the loss of a beautiful automobile. It is truly a tragedy. Also, Laura, you bring up the issue of "friends with their kids". I see this happening all the time at my high school. I think at some point, a line needs to be drawn saying,"I'm not your friend down the street and I know better!" Kids my age NEED that kind of treatment sometimes, because that's what we understand. Now, I am not always happy when my parents say "NO", but I think I need to understand that I am not my parents equal in every sense of the word. My parents have much more life experience than I do. The American culture is becoming more and more geared towards kid=superior, parents=subordinate. If you watch commercials that are directed at kids, it shows the kid with all the power and the adult being treated like a stupid, incapable person. I think it is a sad way to appeal to kids, especially to those kids who have been brought up in a household described above. These are my observations as a 16 year old who has a slightly different outlook on life than other kids my age. Please post your feedback, I am curious to know what your opinions on this subject are.

Clint

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by IEATVETTS:
I have a 5 year old girl at home, and I can't even place myself in this poor guys shoes who just lost his family in a blink of an eye


Now try placing yourself in the shoes of the driver's father.


Well, from a guy thats 35, and has seen his days of racing in my youths and acting like an idiot.


Don't beat yourself up too much. There isn't anybody that hasn't done something stupid that could have had similar results.


But if you have a heart..can you live with killing someone just to show your girl whatthe car can do???

I hope this kid lives with these peoples ghost for all his life.


You said it. If he has a heart this will weigh on him forever.


I have no smpathy for aperson like that.For me he is a ****** and deserves to get whats coming..no second chance.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have no sympathy for OJ Simpson. I'd have to know more about this kid before I would pass similar judgement. Sorry to sound like I'm sticking up for the kid but unless he set out to ****** these people I wouldn't catagorize him as a murderer.

Try to cool down IEATVETTS. I have more faith in God then I do our legal system. God ALWAYS evens things out.

 

[blkasp1]

and this accident couldnt of happenend with a 50 year old driving the Porsche?????????????

 

[VIPERESS]

Clint,
After reading your response I was very impressed at what a responsible, and respectful young man you sound like. Your parents are obviously doing a wonderful job raising you to be such a fine sounding, intelligent young person. They should be very proud of you and proud of themselves. Your observations of the media portraying the parent child relationship in "reverse" in my opinion is quite true and very observant of you. It is unfortunate, but it seems as though many kids are under the assumption that they can make their own rules, and want and often get immediate gratification, and have very little respect for their elders, who as you pointed out your parents "have alot more life experience and you are not your parents equal in every sense of the word". That "NO" word is a very important word in the vocabulary of the parent, and in my opinion, is not "used" nearly enough by many parents of today and unfortunately the attitiude of many of the children of todays society reflect that. My heart breaks for both families involved in this tragedy and all the other lives it has affected.

 

[Craig 201 MPH]

To me this sounds like the state of New York is placing responsibility on 16 year olds that just aren't ready for it. I'm not too clear on the process of getting a licence in New York, But if he was only 16 I would assume you write a written test and one you pass away you go./ Here in Ontario you must write a written test and pass with no less than an 80%. If you fail you must wait 2 weeks to write it again. After that you receive what is called your G1. this entitles you to drive with a person that has had their full licence for no less that 4 years.With a G1 you cannot drive on highways or after midnight untill 7 AM. You must keep your G1 for no less that a year, unless you take a driver's education course. The course consistsof about 30 hours class instruction (3 hours at a time) and 12 one hour in car sessions with a government instuctor. One lesson includes crash avoidance manuvers with pylons that you attemt to swerve around, threshold brake all at the same time. It's actually alot of fun and I didn't knock over a single cone. If you pass the drivers course you speed up the licencing process to only 8 months before you can get tested for your G2. This licence allows you to drive a vehicle by yourself with passengers. It is tested by doing a drivers test that lasts for about 20 minutes. The only restrictions that apply to the G2 is that you must have a blood alcohol level of ZERO at all times. You can keep your G2 for a maximim of four years and then you go for full "G" testing. This level allows you to have the maximum level of .08 alcohol in your blood (the maximum in Ontario.)

From going through this course I definately beleive that it has made myself and my friends better drivers, in terms of responsibility and safe driving. I've gone two years without any problems and have never been pulled over once. My car may not be the fastest thing ever but if it was used improperly it's fast enough to get you into trouble.
I have yet to drive my fathers Viper but have been promised I can take it to prom. Before prom I insisted I get experience driving it with my father so he can give me instruction on what I'm doing right or potentially wrong. Oh yeah, And my dad is gonna swap my car for the Viper as soon as I arrive at Prom, Small school only about 50 graduating students.

Sorry for the long post but I definately thing Ontario is setting a good example for legislative bodies all over North America.

Thanks

Craig
18 year old who is dying to go to a racing school.

 

[Viablo]

Over the weekend, i was in Brooklyn and passed by the scene of the accident. Ocean parkway is a wide street with a 30 mph speed limit. Looking at the scene and the marks in the grass the driver was carrying a lot of speed. The car crashed into a bench way up on the sidewalk. Between the street and the bench there is a row of trees less than 15' apart. The car went out of control made a 90 degree turn onto the curb, in between 2 trees and into the bench. A few feet right or left and the only victims would have been the driver and the passenger.
Sometimes I can't figure out why things happen the way they do.

 

[Daffy]

For the trajedy, anything I could say is worthless, I will pray today and think of the parents and for their lost children - and for the driver, that this is a life changing event for him from which some good somehow may come.

Clint,
If what you wrote are your true thoughts, then I just wanted to tell you to stay true to them. You are a bright emotional mature young man, share you thoughts with your friends, if a bit of you rubs off on them you can feel that you have done something quite extraordinary.

 

[PMUM]

Originally posted by IEATVETTS:
I hope this kid lives with these peoples ghost for all his life..I have no smpathy for aperson like that.For me he is a ****** and deserves to get whats coming..no second chance.. Thats my 2 cents on this.."


You have the audacity to say that and then you post about beating an M5 through 4th gear (130-140mph) on the street a day later?

 

[Jay Herbert]

I'm betting most of us can name a person that died in an auto accident from our high school days. My graduating class was 200. We had one person die, his name was Mike.

Arkansas is in the process of greatly restricting drivers licenses for younger drivers (This from a state that does not even require drivers ed before giving out listeners). The plan I heard will restrict drivers under the age of 18 to driving only in daylight hours with a licensed driver the age of 21 or older on board, or something like that. I think a young person can get a drivers "hardship" license at age 15 here..... These are pretty much doled out wholesale as far as I can tell "I can't drop my kid off at school, he/she needs a license".... It's pretty bad. Part of the new law may finally raise that age to 16.

The statistics for new drivers are amazing, a majority of all accidents are either involve or are caused by drivers with less than two years driving experience. I belong to a small Church in town, less that 100 members, but last year alone, FIVE cars were totaled by new drivers...., two by one person!

The new restrictions in AR sort of miss the point, driving is privilege and a skill that needs to be taught, by a person capable of teaching that skill.... not a "right" that every individual has under the constitution. Craig hit the nail on the head, Until AR (the U.S.) implements a drivers education program (one like Germany or Canada has would be great), the problem will continue, and each of our insurance payments will continue to be 60-70% higher than it needs to be.

We also have a lot of challenges in AR with elderly drivers, the ones that drive down a 55 mph state highway at 15 mph. This one is even tougher to deal with, once an elderly person can no longer drive into town to get groceries or medical suppliers, they can often no longer take care of themselves. I fear the day I can no longer see well enough, or have lost my "reaction time", and can no longer drive. At least younger folks can hop on bike.

My 0.02 cents worth