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Paul Walker dies. Do you think it is foolish for people to speed around in a sports car?
hermitwin
Veteran
Paul Walker dies. Do you think it is foolish for people to speed around in a sports car?
Paul was not the driver in the car crash.
Paul was not the driver in the car crash.
0
Comments
If he was not an actor...and was a plumber...would it
make the news? How about a garbage man? .....
What about a homemaker driving the mini- van?.....
....probably not.
Speed...in sports cars? From what I hear from men...that's the
point. hahaha
Agreed but it's also
ironic that his most famous acting role as a reckless,seemingly indestructible speedster is what will survive his death.
Yet when an airplane crash, we make such a big fuss.
Airplane crash? Where did that come from?
What does that have to do with the OP?
it's interesting how you didn't post any
other persons death notice from yesterday.
It seems you are making the same point I was trying to make...
Your making a 'fuss' about one person and not all the
others.
Maybe I didn't understand where you were going with the
OP? Did you want to discuss how his death is bothering you...
or how the speed/way of his death is bothering you?
makes for some rough days. May they have strength, love, and support
around them at this time.
oh also btw.. the chance of death in an airplane crash is equal to the chance of an asteroid hitting the planet, or so is claimed in a study I saw a few months back.
True....the garbage man is more significant if he went down
in an airplane holding 400 people and the circumstances around
the plane crash are.....well..."a national security problem". ????
Just sad.
I'm lighting incense tonight for everyone that died today.
The old lady who's body just gave out. The child who died of hunger.
The man who fell off the roof hanging Christmas lights. The young
lady who had a heart attack while at work. All the people who are not
famous. I'm sure they impacted some people in a positive way, and
their families are grieving. May we all realize and meditate on death.
And we bought a Volvo wagon.
I have always been very concerned about the large number of people what are killed in road accidents. I lost 2 uncles to reckless drivers.
Believe it or not , I didn’t know who Paul Walker was until a few hours ago.
If you didn't know who he was...that confuses me even more as
to the point of the OP?
Your the one that posted the discussion. I think maybe you
assumed what the responses would be. I'm off on this thread...I'm
totally lost as to the point....have a good night.
Not much of a surprise here.
I'd say speeding around is foolish and even selfish. I'm glad they hit a tree and not a person.
May all beings be free of the consequences of other peoples need to look cool.
However from what I can gather he was a decent bloke, he was on his way to his own charity organization I read..? Anyway I saw this and laughed, if it offends anybody sorry, it is not graphic, just my sense of humor. I remember Ajahn Brahm saying in one of his talks that him and a monk often laughed and joked at funerals they held, obviously not in front of everyone and not making fun of the dead, but they understand that death is natural, just as natural as being born, eating food, breathing or walking down the street.
I believe that the Corvair was an exceptional design, ahead of its time actually, that was cancelled after being unfairly singled out for critisizm by Ralf Nader in his book, Unsafe at Any Speed. It was the car's handling the was questioned, and later proved to be quite adequate.
Poor sales resulting from Nader's book contributed to the end of its production.
Quite collectible.
Of course it's crazy to speed around in sports cars. You are a menace to yourself and everyone else when you do that.
It must be very tempting for those young people with so much money to do it.
You wouldn't believe the number of Ferraris and Lamborghinis there are in Vancouver, many with a learners sticker on the back.
Motorcycles can be dangerous yeah, so can cars. But the difference is, motorcycles are much, much less dangerous to those around the motorcyclist. Though, still dangerous.
I don't know why they didn't do what I do, though. For the most part, I drive perfectly legally on the roads, just cruising. I may accelerate and brake harder than most people, but that's about it. if I REALLY want to push my vehicle to the limits, I wait for a public track day, or find a racetrack that is not in use, pay to rent some time on it, or if I am REALLY lucky they just let me on the track because nothing else is happening.
Fun stuff, padded barriers to crash into, and huge gravel runoff zones that stop you before you damage your car or yourself, and no traffic or pedestrians.
Perfect.
He went on to race motorcycles, of all things. Many crashes and broken bones later, he retired from racing but I bet he still would scare the pants off me if he was in the driver's seat.
Long story short, 80mph through 30mph residential area with narrow, curved roads, lined with parked cars on either side. Towards the end we power slid through a roundabout and got away. We parked somewhere inconspicuous, and killed the lights. After I recovered from the shock of it all, my initial reaction surprised myself more than it did him. I just started banging on the roof going "Again! do it AGAIN!"
I'd never recommend driving like that, though *coughs* And uh, here's a vid that I feel, displays exactly why I like driving like that. Though, you'll notice a majority of the vid is shot on race tracks and closed courses.
I drive a sports car - a '99 Miata - and seldom exceed the speed limit by more than 5-8mph and then only with an open road ahead of me.
Living near the mountains I do a lot of canyon driving and even there, where cops are rare, I seldom break the limit. A Miata is a car that need not be driven "fast" to be fun. Just the same, you can't always do the limit because of traffic - cars, bicycles, pedestrians and such - will hold you up. Best to put the top down, relax and enjoy the drive.
I have no interest in the car's limits and track days don't interest me, but there are three tracks nearby I can run on if I want. I'd have to install a rollbar to do TD's on some tracks, and I don't have one, although I'm giving serious thought to foir this time next year. I need to get tires and new coilovers before that. There's an outlet for a need for speed if one's needed.
I find Walker's case ironic in that he was the passenger. It's tragic in that lives were lost. They could have driven a hour, tracked the car and driven as fast as the car could go without lethal obstructions, like trees, to hit if they lost control.
I ran into some guys who have tricked-out Audis Porsche's, Vettes and so on and they get together at a cafe near the foothills at 2 am, and do a high-speed run out I70 to Vail. Frikkin crazy IYAM.
As for Paul Walker and his friend, I think it is sad. Just like anyone. Two lives cut short due to (seeming) careless behaviour.
I am recovering psychologically from an accident early this year (I had right of way, going straight, the other driver was turning right and failed to stop) and it's drivers like you, being aggressive and impatient, which makes it much harder for me to regain my confidence on the road. We forget that driving is (or should be) a bond of trust between us and other people. Someone following too close, accelerating too aggressively etc can have me pulled over in tears trying to stave off a panic attack. Please think about that.
Paul Walker was a human, we are humans(yes even al gore :P), all beings mired in attachment, aversion, and delusion. May we all be at peace and remember the three delusions taught by the Buddha.
I am better than...
I am worse then...
I am equal to..
That was 30 years ago and she's still is a little jumpy when she's riding with others and some other car does something that surprises her.
But, your claim that other peoples' driving can put you in such a raw panic that you must literally pull over to fend off a panic attack, is troubling. People who get panic attacks in traffic shouldn't be behind the wheel at all. Such drivers can be even more dangerous than someone driving aggressively - at least the aggressive driver is still in reasonable command of his emotional faculties.
Have you gotten counseling for these panic attacks? These appear to be environmentally triggered and could therefore be helped by some proper counsel.. I sure hope so, anyway.
Yes, I am seeing a psychologist.
I'm sorry your wife went through that and am glad she is ok.
I don't like it when people put lives at risk but I am not glad they hit a tree... Still better a tree than a person but gladness has nothing to do with it.
Thank you for the lesson in right speech.
And sometimes you need some aggressiveness when you are driving. I'm not talking about cutting people off or giving other drivers the finger. But, I mean, to me the worst drivers I personally know are the ones who are far, far too defensive. What I mean is, they always hesitate. They linger in the middle of intersections, their indecision and hesitation in other scenarios makes them entirely unpredictable. I've seen people attempting to merge into the fast lane, they almost have a tunnel vision, focusing on cars in the fast lane. As soon as they see one who, in their mind, is doing something they do not like they jerk the wheel or slam on the brakes or some other over-reaction, which in turn can lead to a collision, or freak out other drivers and cause THEM to hit something.
Sometimes, you need to just go for it. If you're merging into the fast lane and you notice a car coming up behind you as you are in the process of merging. Don't swerve back, don't straddle the lanes trying to think of what to do. No, you redline that baby, shift gear, flick the wheel, get into the fast lane and pick up speed so the guy coming up behind you has time to slow down or get into the other lane and the drivers in the slow lane don't have to worry about you careening into them in an attempt not to get hit.
Sorry for my long post. But one of the biggest mistakes someone can make behind the wheel, is believing that being 100% defensive means they are 100% safe. No, you are always, always, always a danger to yourself and others, every time you get behind that wheel.
I will agree that there are times you need to be aggressive, or as I'd like to say assertive. When I had to take my wife to sloan kettering in nyc I learned how to drive in the city. The only way you survive, get anywhere, and not cause accidents in the city is by being that assertive driver.
otherwise a 25 year old female co-worker who has driven with me says I drive like grandpa LOL, but you could put me in that city any day and I'll show her who's grandpa :P.
It's pretty humbling at times though. Without some skills you'll be crushed like a bug in city traffic.
Just when I think I'm getting really good, some guy goes ripping past with his whole family on board.
Everyday is a good day for me when I get to my room in one piece.
I guess you could say I have been lucky, I have been stopped by Thai police countless times, I even called one 'kee gong' which means kind of like a cheat and unfair. he then pushed me and I said 'jai yen yen' which means relax or literally cool your heart, and he replied 'jai lawn, jai lawn' which means hot heart. That could have landed me in trouble. Also oddly I was stopped at 3am drunk as a skunk, no license, no insurance and no helmet, a little chit chat and he sent me on my way lol..
I had a friend who decided he would drive to Penang in Malaysia from Hua Hin, took him 5 days and he crashed twice. I would love to ride my bike from here to England but there are visa issues, license issues, insurance issues, getting killed in Russia or somewhere like that, but it would be on hell of a journey.
I love the little bikes. At first I was using honda waves because I thought the gears were the way to go. Now I think the automatics are superior. In a 125cc they seem to pull harder. And they are more technically advanced. Linked brakes and such. And no noisy chain.
I've only come off once so far. I hit something slippery in an intersection in Sukhothai. No damage to me or the bike.
The traffic in indo is similar to Thailand. Maybe busier, but I have only ridden in Yogyakarta so far. I'm planning to try a tour of Bali next week.
In canada I was riding an Aprilia Tuono. Pretty sporty. Now when I sit on it it seems ridiculously huge. Who needs to go 250kph?
Have a nice time down in Bali, I want to visit Indonesia at some point, but I would prefer to try and stay off of the tourist trail for the most part.
I have hurt myself in grazes and that is it, a few bruises, I have smashed panels to bits twice and that car that hit my side on, she had my foot peg inside her front bumper. The insurance guy came and concluded she was in the wrong so I went on my way
Ever heard of Fang?
Anyway what I found there and am finding out here is that I'm happier to be in an area where folks are used to dealing with tourists at least until I get to know how things work. What food to order. What the roads are like. And the people. I've heard that if you stay away from southern Bali, you can avoid a lot of the tourist action.
A 600cc sport bike is wasted in Thailand IMO. I'd take the honda 250. Lighter, more nimble.
Sorry about the off topic banter.
Never heard of fang no, I know it means 'listen' in Thai or 'teeth' depending on the tone. I first went to Kohsan Rd in Bangkok like most tourists and it was a nice experience for the most part, but I won't go back, the same with Phuket I won't be going back there. In Indonesia the only thing that worries me is the wildlife, I have heard their are a lot more poisonous snakes and things of that nature compared to here?
I've been making it a point to stay out of the forest unless I'm on a trail where I can see where I'm walking. Thailand is full of snakes as you know. I was lucky to get up close to a monocled cobra last feb on koh Lanta noi. They say that they are plentiful but I've only seen the one so far. The one to avoid is the Malayan pit viper. Supposedly it is lazy so it won't move, and it's aggressive. Bad combination.
In Paul Walker's case for example, they were coming from a setting that cherished a behavior that was potentially negative when the setting was not the right one, by racing on a common street the driver took a high risk only to achieve pleasure - he probably didn't think of the danger, or believed himself too skilled to be endangered - thus engaging on a destructive behavior...
I'm not trying to blame the driver, but asking if the problem wasn't really about the craving for pleasure that comes out of the activity itself?
I have just gotten back from riding around to markets, a restaurant and a few other places and I was drunk plus 30 mg valium, we are fine and I was riding pretty damn fast. I really do not think, Jonathands that Paul Walker's latter part of his movie career made him want to drive crazily, that is an extreme assumption to make without knowing many facts if any.
This was around 2 years ago and that is a rented bike, I know have a semi automatic like I mentioned above. Where are you located at the moment @robot?
I got back to Ubud in Bali today. I rode north through the mountains then west to Pemuteran. It is quite a climb actually, to high elevation then down again. Small villages, narrow roads, few tourists, till you get to the northern coast.
After two nights in Pemuteran, I rode east to Amed. A very busy road with many towns until the last part. Amed is moderately developed as a diving and snorkeling destination. Not like Thailand tho. No 7-11. Few private cars. It looks poorer than most thai tourist towns. Very nice. Spent three nights.
Riding south you pass several hours of very undeveloped villages and countryside. Extremely narrow roads, that follow the coastline up and down some steep hills.
As you get back toward Denpasar things start to get busy. Stays that way for the rest of the trip back to Ubud.
Not sure what to do next. Maybe try heading west along the south coast.