13 ms·

Is this the end of the Cannonball Run?

81 points by RickJWagner 5y ago

fergie 5y ago
Its all fun and games until somebody runs over a kid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munkkivuori#Huopalahdentie_accident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munkkivuori#Huopalahdentie_acc...
h2odragon 5y ago
I drive slower now than I did 30 years ago, not just because of advancing age and increased sense / reduced stupidity; but because the roads just ain't is as good shape as they used to be. A nasty pothole at 65mph is a wheel destroyer at 120mph. There's more around now than there used to be and they hang out longer and get a chance to grow and have families.
- oneoff786 5y ago
  Where were you driving 120mph like it’s no big deal in the US?
  - mrkstu 5y ago
    Anywhere in the West and parts of the South have large stretches of empty begging to be driven at 100+. Plenty of freeways posted at 80 (one place in Texas at 85,) so you're not more than double the speed limit at 120 like you were in the 55 mph days.
  - zeta0134 5y ago
    Have you driven between big cities in Texas? There are some awfully straight stretches of road with absolutely nothing at all as far as the eye can see. Now you're supposed to be doing like, 80mph posted, but if nobody is around to see it... I've encountered packs of cars keeping up with each other doing 100mph+ and someone in a big truck breaking 120 just for fun wouldn't surprise me. Illegal? Oh yes. Doesn't matter if nobody is there to enforce it.
    - sidewndr46 5y ago
      Between cities? Even on SH130 on the east side of Austin doing the speed limit is often nerve wracking because so many drivers are attempting to drive 100 mph or faster.
    - ubermonkey 5y ago
      Well, it depends on which big cities. The East Texas set of DFW / SA / Austin / Houston is mostly connected by highways that stay busy. 45 between Houston and DFW is thinner, but I-10 is almost urban levels of busy from the Louisiana state line until you get well past San Antonio. West of San Antonio or DFW? Oh yeah, it gets thin FAST.
  - yao420 5y ago
    I take my sports car to the west Texas desert. Think the Big Bend Marfa area. Long, empty, straight roads with great clarity thanks to no hills.
    - _fat_santa 5y ago
      I heard a story of a dude getting a ticket down there. Had to be the unluckiest guy in the desert that day. There is nothing there (except a cop on this day).
    - hotpotamus 5y ago
      I was going to post this before I saw your reply. Fastest I've ever been on the ground was in my cousin's car coming back from Big Bend. Hit 155MPH. He did ask if we were OK with him opening it up to see what it could do. It's probably about as good a place as possible to do it on public roads (at least anywhere close to my part of the country) - long straightaway through the desert with miles of visibility. He got it out of his system and got back down to saner speeds for the rest of the trip.
    - pram 5y ago
      Agreed, most places along Highway 90 are usually dead. You just have to watch out around Del Rio and such because Border Patrol and a bunch of other Federal LE enjoy hanging around random places and hassling people.
  - jsjohnst 5y ago
    Nevada Highway 50 is one place you could.
  - _fat_santa 5y ago
    In southern Colorado, speeds will often reach that. I got passed by a Honda minivan once down there. Looked down at my speedometer and saw I was doing 117, and this minivan was just casually pulling ahead.
  - rootusrootus 5y ago
    120 is on the high side, but on big empty roads with light traffic and great visibility, e.g. eastern Washington, I've seen packs of cars pushing 100 pretty regularly. Modern cars, modern tires, it's probably a good bit safer than going 55 was in the 70s.
  - HideousKojima 5y ago
    One time I was driving on the I-5 a ways north of Seattle late at night. There was a stretch of freeway with virtually no lighting, surrounded by trees, and there were no cars in sight in either direction. I completely lost any sense of speed, and when I looked down at my speedometer I was going about 120 MPH. Fortunately I had the presence of mind to not slam on the brakes and to let the car slow down naturally, but it was scary to realize how dangerous my speed was, and I was lucky a deer didn't tumble out of the woods.
  - h2odragon 5y ago
    Midstate IL (I 57), and the "Purchase Parkway" in KY, both had sections I used to run hard on. I wont say "no big deal." As others have mentioned there's long stretches of many roads out west that can be run at those speeds. Edit to brag: I have done 100mph+ down Lake Shore Drive at least once, but that was special circumstances and an extra helping of st00pit.
    - cestith 5y ago
      That's whitetail country. 120 MPH around dusk, come up on a dozen deer in the lanes, and it turns into a bloody mess. It can be done, but be aware in your risk assessment that there are cars on the shoulder, animals crossing the lanes, semis passing each other, and all sorts of other factors besides you and the road.
  - moron4hire 5y ago
    Depending on the vehicle, you don't need a lot of room to get going that fast. No, your typical passenger vehicle is probably geared to not go much faster than 100mph, and a lot of cars have a rev-limiter at 115 or 120. But, for example, my Mazda CX-5--which I wouldn't call particularly powerful at "only" 225hp--can do it quite easily just on the on-ramp for the 395 express way to DC. I don't drive more than 80, usually, but, I mean, you gotta open it up at least once.
  - ubermonkey 5y ago
    120 is a big deal anywhere in the US, but there are absolutely stretches of the west where you can be very, very alone on long, straight stretches of road. Margin of error vanishes at speeds like that, but yeah, you could do 120 fairly safely in a well-maintained car on good tires in those places.
  - mrguyorama 5y ago
    Here in Maine we have I-95 up north. From about Bangor to Houlton, you have 180 miles of two lane, usually very well maintained highway, with nearly zero cops, and almost zero traffic on the average day. There's a solid hour and a half of driving highway speed with about five actual exits. I used to make that trek at least twice a month. I may have tested a couple cars to limits up there.
- arethuza 5y ago
  I stopped speeding about 12 years ago when I got my first (and hopefully last) speeding ticket. I've since discovered that it's actually a lot less stressful, you use less petrol and I don't seem to get places that much slower. I'm also happier with cars with cars with much smaller engines - which saves even more money.
  - mgkimsal 5y ago
    Something that's helped me to reduce speeding is real time GPS/map info. I don't drive half as much as I did a few years ago, and much of that was 'around town' (a... 30-40 mile radius for various events). There's not a lot of places to 'speed' in the 'really fast' sense, but 45 in a 35 zone - that's still 'speeding', and can get you a ticket I know, I've had some over the years!) Having a map with real time info when I'm going someplace helps me ... calm down some. I can see if there's a known accident, I can get automatically rerouted if I take a wrong turn or miss an exit, and if I know I'm going to be vastly late, I just call or message the party I'm meeting. I understand that some of that may contribute to 'distracted' driving, but when I used to miss turns or get delayed 20 years ago, I was still 'distracted', and probably just as much a danger, because of the anxiety/stress. Overall, I think it's been a net win for me - less speeding and no tickets in years, a bit less stress while driving, less fuel consumption, etc.
    - arethuza 5y ago
      I don't even remember speeding (and I really did speed a lot) for any particular reason - certainly not for appointments. Maybe buying an expensive fast car makes you want to speed - could easily be something as daft as that. Now I am perfectly happy with my 1L 3-cylinder Skoda :-)
      - mgkimsal 5y ago
        My first ticket was being late for school. I grew up in an environment where being 'late' or 'rushed' seemed to be a default mode - young parents with 3 young kids, everything probably did stress them out more than it should have, and... I just grew up feeling 'late' and 'rushed' for everything all the time. It manifested in many ways, but speeding was one. I've had a few tickets over the years. I think... probably 4 or 5 over... 30 years? So.. perhaps somewhat habitual and just lucky I've not been caught more. But the last few years - per the comment above - real time info has had a bit of a calming effect. Probably age a bit too, but I don't think so.
- sleepingadmin 5y ago
  >but because the roads just ain't is as good shape as they used to be. Fundamental core functions of government is roads, borders, preventing of violence(military and police), justice, and refereeing the economy. Roads as you say are in disrepair. Borders are wide open. Military has been at war for how many decades? War exhaustion can't be higher. Violent crime is vastly under reported. Police brutality seems to be at historic highs. Victim of violent crime? Dont call the police because when they show up, the situation gets worse. Antifa is burning cities down, in part due to police brutality. Where's the justice? If your car or property is stolen, there's a ~90% chance you never see it again and nobody is caught. Arson is worse than that. Murder is the only violent crime which has a clearance rate above 50% but only barely. There is no justice. Ref for economy? If financial crisis proved anything, they clearly dont. The core function of government is clearly failed. Lets say we form the HN political party and we're going to fix this. We can't. Government debt to GDP is over 100%. The budget isn't in balance. The central bank is bankrupt; https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/central-bank-balance-sheet https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/central-bank-bala...
  - couchand 5y ago
    > Borders are wide open. Talk to anybody working in this space and you'll learn this is simply not true. CBP is still chasing people down and turning them away. ICE is still deporting people by the planeful.
    - sleepingadmin 5y ago
      >Talk to anybody working in this space and you'll learn this is simply not true. CBP is still chasing people down and turning them away. ICE is still deporting people by the planeful. "Anybody working in this space' seems vague. Let's look for a more official position. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/30/immigration-us-will-no-longer-deport-people-simply-because-they-are-undocumented.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/30/immigration-us-will-no-longe... https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/06/politics/immigration-arrests-deportations-biden/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/06/politics/immigration-arrests-... https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/new-biden-rules-for-ice-point-to-fewer-arrests-and-deportations-and-a-more-restrained-agency/2021/02/07/faccb854-68c6-11eb-bf81-c618c88ed605_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/new-biden-rules-for-... Quite clear borders are wide open. The better discussion, why? https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/workforce-crisis-2030-relocation-appreciation-relationship-culture https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/workforce-cris... Baby boomers will have retired by 2030, there is simply not enough people to replace the boomers. Birth rates were too low for decades. This shortage is set in stone unless we drop the whole 'child labour laws' which will never happen. There is no denying the borders are wide open, it seems clear to me why they are doing it.
- taneq 5y ago
  > but because the roads just ain't is as good shape as they used to be Wow, key infrastructure declining like that must be depressing. Is this a widespread thing or just in your area?
  - philk10 5y ago
    widespread - here in Michigan the Governor ran on a campaign of "fix the damn roads"
  - sneak 5y ago
    A ton of places in the US built a bunch of civil infrastructure (primarily roads, water, sewer) to support suburban sprawl that is simply not sustainable given the level of property-taxes-per-square-area and the cost-per-mile to keep it in good working order. Lots and lots of suburban decay is scheduled for the next 2-3 decades. This stuff has a working lifetime and with no money to replace it it's just going to sit there and rust.
thematrixturtle 5y ago
Perhaps it's better for the US Cannonball to end this way than the way it ended in Australia with the deaths of 4 people. https://www.whichcar.com.au/features/how-the-cannonball-crumbled https://www.whichcar.com.au/features/how-the-cannonball-crum...
- ericbarrett 5y ago
  Ironic that it was a sanctioned event with officials, spectators, etc.
- toyg 5y ago
  That's just motorsport being motorsport. Note all victims were part of the competition - two racers and two officials. Formula1 used to have one or two victims almost every year, now thankfully it's more one every 15-20 years - the last one was Jules Bianchi in 2015.
- Gollapalli 5y ago
  Eliminating all danger from the world is not a good thing. It is a cowardly and servile thing. Motorsport is motorsport, and men risk the uncertain prospect of death for the uncertain prospect of glory, not because they are mad, but because they are men. Let it be.
  - thematrixturtle 5y ago
    I'm totally cool with people base jumping, batsuit parachuting from space, mountain unicycling, etc. The problem with races on public roads is that it's bystanders who get killed.
rob74 5y ago
> Now, on the expansive flat, straight—and empty, thanks to the pandemic—highways of the Midwest, the Audi was able to reach 175 miles per hour in spots. And this, in a nutshell, is the reason why the traffic accidents and deaths statistics didn't really improve during the pandemic, despite reduced traffic.
- HPsquared 5y ago
  "Risk compensation is a theory which suggests that people typically adjust their behavior in response to perceived levels of risk, becoming more careful where they sense greater risk and less careful if they feel more protected. Although usually small in comparison to the fundamental benefits of safety interventions, it may result in a lower net benefit than expected or even higher risks." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation
- Majestic121 5y ago
  Strangely, that seems to be highly linked to the country > While Americans drove less in 2020 due to the pandemic, NHTSA’s early estimates show that an estimated 38,680 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes—the largest projected number of fatalities since 2007. This represents an increase of about 7.2 percent as compared to the 36,096 fatalities reported in 2019. > 2,780 people died in 2020 on French roads, in mainland France or overseas territories. This figure, 21% lower than in 2019, is historically low. This evolution is largely explained by the effects of the global epidemic of Covid-19. Accidents are down -19% and injuries are down -20%. +7% in the US, -20% in France. I wonder what is driving this large difference https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/2020-fatality-data-show-increased-traffic-fatalities-during-pandemic https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/2020-fatality-data-show... https://www.onisr.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/en/road-safety-performance/annual-road-safety-reports/2020-road-safety-annual-report https://www.onisr.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/en/road-safety-p...
  - pessimizer 5y ago
    It was highly linked to me (I'm in the US.) And I'm on a motorcycle, so it was like 10x as dangerous. I really had to check myself. I chalked it up to being so used to stealing a little speed between traffic clogs to make up for said traffic clogs that when there were no traffic, I hadn't mentally adjusted.
ulzeraj 5y ago
Wait a minute. Is that why Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7 is named Stell Ball Run? I never put too much thought about the title. Not American too so I have no idea if Steel Ball Run is a popular term.
istjohn 5y ago
I wonder if the Cannonball Run has led to any injuries or deaths of non-participants in its history. It certainly seems like something that recklessly endangers life and limb of the public, but I've never heard of any accidents attributed to it. I suppose you wouldn't admit to attempting a run in the aftermath of a serious accident.
- wil421 5y ago
  Not in the NY to LA “race” but I’m pretty sure people have died or been seriously hurt in the cannonball runs in Europe where a bunch of rich guys with tricked out super cars rally together. I think the Ed Bolin guy, mentioned in the article, has been pulled over but the cops thought they were drug mules. When they realized they were trying to go cross country he let them go. Not 100% sure if that was Ed or another guy.
  - Gollapalli 5y ago
    >Bolin You can't even spell the mans name right.
SamBam 5y ago
When it mentioned the race being partly inspired by a movie, I was thinking Death Race 2000. Now that's a ridiculous movie.
hirundo 5y ago
The Gumball Rally (1976) was an earlier and better movie than The Canonball Run (1981). At least better to this pre-teen. We would set the alarm to watch it in the wee hours of the morning on the super-late show, before video stores. I still think of the race as the Gumball Rally, and think of the Canonball Run movie as a ripoff/remake. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074597 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074597
- chromaton 5y ago
  Flipping through IMDB, we have: 1. Death Race 2000 (1975), same director & lead actor as #3 2. The Gumball Rally (1976) 3. Cannonball (1976) 4. Smokey and the Bandit (1977), same director and lead actor as #5 5. The Cannonball Run (1981)
andi999 5y ago
Hopefully.
fosshogg 5y ago
They should omit or classify covid records as a new category. I think everyone can agree it’s unfair to those that worked so hard in normal circumstances
- cdot2 5y ago
  They being who? This is an informal event
- tetsusaiga 5y ago
  Early in the pandemic Ed Bolian posed the question of whether these records should have an asterisk next to them. To some extent, I think they should.
  - Sebb767 5y ago
    Speed limits also vary, cars and technology gets better and even minor things like weather can absolutely affect times. Sure, COVID changed the circumstances, but this is an highly unregulated race with very varying circumstances anyway.
    - tetsusaiga 5y ago
      That's true as well. Every competitor is making due with the set of circumstances they were given, so why should COVID be a unique circumstance? It's just another tactical decision, to do the run at that time. Either way, I'm interested to see where it goes from here.
markvdb 5y ago
Participation should be encouraged by offering appropriate prizes. I propose a well-balanced package: - six months of community service at hospital emergency services - confiscation of vehicle - confiscation of other vehicles owned if legally possible - financial fine that hurts, Finnish style, according to income/net worth - driving license repeal - heavy discount on insurance policies at any and all insurance companies - a heavy negative one Any more ideas?
- AlgorithmicTime 5y ago
- konschubert 5y ago
  Prison time. If you shoot into a crowd and miss, you don’t get away with community service
whalesalad 5y ago
This sort of thing will never end. The rush comes from finding ways to circumvent law enforcement.
NiagaraThistle 5y ago
Oh, I came here because I thought Burt Reynolds and Dom Delouise were back at it.
- moron4hire 5y ago
  That'd be really interesting if they were, considering both are dead.
gmiller123456 5y ago
Betteridge's law of headlines is an adage that states: "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no." It applies here.
thrwyoilarticle 5y ago
The modern Cannonball Run is a tale of the privilege certain classes of people have in encounters with law enforcement. Most of these people share their stories on the youtube channel for Vinwiki. One of the record holders, Doug Tabbutt, has gone on record on that channel as saying he carries a PBA 'get out of jail free' card: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42780382 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42780382 Reading the article, you might think they're lucky not to get pulled over. But they do get pulled over. They're lucky because they get away with it. There are multiple stories from this group of people on that youtube channel where they explain how. Sometimes they cover the cars with pro-police political nods. Sometimes they race in cars that are deliberately made to look like foreign police cars: technically legal but the intention is clear. Sometimes, they participate in slower, legal rallies to raise money for police charities, which give away clothing that is convenient to wear for their illegal races. The Cannonball Run is an exercise in using bias and privilege to avoid retribution for deadly crimes. These people are proud, unapologetic criminals who get away with it because they're in the right clique. Another one of these people is Alex Roy. He works as a director for Argo AI, where they make autonomous vehicle technology.
- ubermonkey 5y ago
  ^^^ All of this is true. Cannonball Run participants are behaving like sociopaths. It's a gross activity.
- mitchdoogle 5y ago
  Interesting this aspect wasn't included in the article
- JKCalhoun 5y ago
  > Reading the article, you might think they're lucky not to get pulled over. But they do get pulled over. But if you get pulled over, can you still beat the current record? The recent record-breaking account that I read seemed to imply they did not get pulled over.
  - quartesixte 5y ago
drewg123 5y ago
The interesting thing these days is the EV category. As charging infrastructure improves, it will be interesting to see how times approach those of traditional ICE cars. https://www.autoevolution.com/news/rented-tesla-model-s-sets-new-ev-cannonball-record-without-radar-detectors-172957.html https://www.autoevolution.com/news/rented-tesla-model-s-sets...
ubermonkey 5y ago
I had hot cars (mostly German) and drove fast habitually for a long time -- really, through my late 30s -- but almost exclusively on highways. I did it as safely as such a thing COULD be done, in terms of both physical risk to myself and others, and also fiscal risk to me in terms of fines or what have you. I got very few tickets, because if you're careful you can get away with speed most of the time. (I also got pulled over and got no ticket a few times, which I absolutely recognize is an aspect of my white guy privilege.) But I don't really speed anymore. I don't even own a radar detector. It wasn't a big choice or come-to-Jesus moment; rather, it was the fact that the pace I would drive at on an open highway (a max of 85 - 90 MPH, conditions permitting) was VERY illegal in 1995, when the highway limit was still 55 in some places, has become only BARELY illegal. I still drive at 80ish on an Interstate, but speed limits now are 70 or 75 or higher. The world changed around me, while my habits only moderated slightly.
- tricky 5y ago
  Very much the same, here. One thing people may not realize is that 90mph in a 1980's Porsche feels a lot different than, say, 90mph in any car built today. A few months ago I got one of my old porsches back on the road. Feeling confident it was finally running ok, I punched it when a light turned green. The noise, vibration, smell and feeling from that vintage V8 was unreal. I felt like I was flying but I look over and a mom in a minivan, driving normally, was right alongside me. Modern cars are safe, clean, and amazing.
  - gonzo 5y ago
    So a 928 is the minivan of Porsches? Got it.
    - tricky 5y ago
      I got to drive a '77 911S once and it was pretty much the same except with more rattles and the noise was coming from the back. Fun car, but still no match for a 2022 Kia.
      - 5y ago
irrational 5y ago
Only an hour and a half from doing it in under 24 hours? It sounds like it is technically doable.
1970-01-01 5y ago
I'm surprised corruption hasn't overtaken the endeavor. A thousand dollars in police bribes for every mile, and you could have the entire route protected for less than $3,000,000.
- Sebb767 5y ago
  Well, you only need one honest police officer to get wind of it and you'll be in a very bad situation. Plus, you still need good conditions etc.. If you're going for that kind of money, it probably makes more sense to make the race "official", close the roads down for a few hours and cross-finance it with viewership and sponsors.
  - TigeriusKirk 5y ago
    $50,000 to the Podunk County Policeman's Ball Fund could have the same benefits for a legal donation.
Cd00d 5y ago
For anyone interested, I highly recommend Brock Yates's book about the beginning of Canonball. https://smile.amazon.com/Cannonball-Americas-Greatest-Outlaw-Road/dp/0760310904/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8HXAQ7KSTS8B&keywords=brock+yates&qid=1644507329&sprefix=brock+yates%2Caps%2C398&sr=8-1 https://smile.amazon.com/Cannonball-Americas-Greatest-Outlaw... Yates was a writer at Car and Driver (my favorite automotive magazine), and the idea for Cannonball was a protest of speed limits. Yates's argument is that the speed you're allowed to drive should not be generalized, as a great driver in a great auto can safely do far greater speeds. I don't agree with his argument - individual enforcement of rules doesn't scale to society, but it is a very good read.
ynac 5y ago
Our start and finish points were the Beverly Hills Hotel and Pepe's Pizza in New Haven. I don't recall the drive times, but I was roughly 20 and enjoyed the diversions of meeting amazing people, finding new places, and of course, food. After the a few trips, it was more about how long could we take. Collecting the stories of the road became much more important. Since my cars have needed tail wind and downhills to get anything near triple digit speeds, it was less Cannonballing, and more candle pin bowling. Either way, I do love a road trip!
- thakoppno 5y ago
  Dash cams these days could easily verify a cannonball run that never exceeds posted speed limits.
edmcnulty101 5y ago
The next innovation will be a VTOL vehicle. When being pursued by law enforcement or encountering traffic, elevate to 100 feet for a few miles, then land again and carry on ones way after the threat has been eliminated Something like this. https://www.yankodesign.com/2019/01/15/this-car-sized-two-seater-vtol-can-take-off-and-land-directly-in-parking-slots/ https://www.yankodesign.com/2019/01/15/this-car-sized-two-se...
ravedave5 5y ago
No, the electric cannon ball run is where the real interesting progress is being made these days.

81 points by RickJWagner 5y ago

Its all fun and games until somebody runs over a kid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munkkivuori#Huopalahdentie_accident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munkkivuori#Huopalahdentie_acc...

h2odragon 5y ago

I drive slower now than I did 30 years ago, not just because of advancing age and increased sense / reduced stupidity; but because the roads just ain't is as good shape as they used to be. A nasty pothole at 65mph is a wheel destroyer at 120mph. There's more around now than there used to be and they hang out longer and get a chance to grow and have families.

oneoff786 5y ago
Where were you driving 120mph like it’s no big deal in the US?
- mrkstu 5y ago
  Anywhere in the West and parts of the South have large stretches of empty begging to be driven at 100+. Plenty of freeways posted at 80 (one place in Texas at 85,) so you're not more than double the speed limit at 120 like you were in the 55 mph days.
- zeta0134 5y ago
  Have you driven between big cities in Texas? There are some awfully straight stretches of road with absolutely nothing at all as far as the eye can see. Now you're supposed to be doing like, 80mph posted, but if nobody is around to see it... I've encountered packs of cars keeping up with each other doing 100mph+ and someone in a big truck breaking 120 just for fun wouldn't surprise me. Illegal? Oh yes. Doesn't matter if nobody is there to enforce it.
  - sidewndr46 5y ago
    Between cities? Even on SH130 on the east side of Austin doing the speed limit is often nerve wracking because so many drivers are attempting to drive 100 mph or faster.
  - ubermonkey 5y ago
    Well, it depends on which big cities. The East Texas set of DFW / SA / Austin / Houston is mostly connected by highways that stay busy. 45 between Houston and DFW is thinner, but I-10 is almost urban levels of busy from the Louisiana state line until you get well past San Antonio. West of San Antonio or DFW? Oh yeah, it gets thin FAST.
- yao420 5y ago
  I take my sports car to the west Texas desert. Think the Big Bend Marfa area. Long, empty, straight roads with great clarity thanks to no hills.
  - _fat_santa 5y ago
    I heard a story of a dude getting a ticket down there. Had to be the unluckiest guy in the desert that day. There is nothing there (except a cop on this day).
  - hotpotamus 5y ago
    I was going to post this before I saw your reply. Fastest I've ever been on the ground was in my cousin's car coming back from Big Bend. Hit 155MPH. He did ask if we were OK with him opening it up to see what it could do. It's probably about as good a place as possible to do it on public roads (at least anywhere close to my part of the country) - long straightaway through the desert with miles of visibility. He got it out of his system and got back down to saner speeds for the rest of the trip.
  - pram 5y ago
    Agreed, most places along Highway 90 are usually dead. You just have to watch out around Del Rio and such because Border Patrol and a bunch of other Federal LE enjoy hanging around random places and hassling people.
- jsjohnst 5y ago
  Nevada Highway 50 is one place you could.
- _fat_santa 5y ago
  In southern Colorado, speeds will often reach that. I got passed by a Honda minivan once down there. Looked down at my speedometer and saw I was doing 117, and this minivan was just casually pulling ahead.
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  120 is on the high side, but on big empty roads with light traffic and great visibility, e.g. eastern Washington, I've seen packs of cars pushing 100 pretty regularly. Modern cars, modern tires, it's probably a good bit safer than going 55 was in the 70s.
- HideousKojima 5y ago
  One time I was driving on the I-5 a ways north of Seattle late at night. There was a stretch of freeway with virtually no lighting, surrounded by trees, and there were no cars in sight in either direction. I completely lost any sense of speed, and when I looked down at my speedometer I was going about 120 MPH. Fortunately I had the presence of mind to not slam on the brakes and to let the car slow down naturally, but it was scary to realize how dangerous my speed was, and I was lucky a deer didn't tumble out of the woods.
- h2odragon 5y ago
  Midstate IL (I 57), and the "Purchase Parkway" in KY, both had sections I used to run hard on. I wont say "no big deal." As others have mentioned there's long stretches of many roads out west that can be run at those speeds. Edit to brag: I have done 100mph+ down Lake Shore Drive at least once, but that was special circumstances and an extra helping of st00pit.
  - cestith 5y ago
    That's whitetail country. 120 MPH around dusk, come up on a dozen deer in the lanes, and it turns into a bloody mess. It can be done, but be aware in your risk assessment that there are cars on the shoulder, animals crossing the lanes, semis passing each other, and all sorts of other factors besides you and the road.
- moron4hire 5y ago
  Depending on the vehicle, you don't need a lot of room to get going that fast. No, your typical passenger vehicle is probably geared to not go much faster than 100mph, and a lot of cars have a rev-limiter at 115 or 120. But, for example, my Mazda CX-5--which I wouldn't call particularly powerful at "only" 225hp--can do it quite easily just on the on-ramp for the 395 express way to DC. I don't drive more than 80, usually, but, I mean, you gotta open it up at least once.
- ubermonkey 5y ago
  120 is a big deal anywhere in the US, but there are absolutely stretches of the west where you can be very, very alone on long, straight stretches of road. Margin of error vanishes at speeds like that, but yeah, you could do 120 fairly safely in a well-maintained car on good tires in those places.
- mrguyorama 5y ago
  Here in Maine we have I-95 up north. From about Bangor to Houlton, you have 180 miles of two lane, usually very well maintained highway, with nearly zero cops, and almost zero traffic on the average day. There's a solid hour and a half of driving highway speed with about five actual exits. I used to make that trek at least twice a month. I may have tested a couple cars to limits up there.
arethuza 5y ago
I stopped speeding about 12 years ago when I got my first (and hopefully last) speeding ticket. I've since discovered that it's actually a lot less stressful, you use less petrol and I don't seem to get places that much slower. I'm also happier with cars with cars with much smaller engines - which saves even more money.
- mgkimsal 5y ago
  Something that's helped me to reduce speeding is real time GPS/map info. I don't drive half as much as I did a few years ago, and much of that was 'around town' (a... 30-40 mile radius for various events). There's not a lot of places to 'speed' in the 'really fast' sense, but 45 in a 35 zone - that's still 'speeding', and can get you a ticket I know, I've had some over the years!) Having a map with real time info when I'm going someplace helps me ... calm down some. I can see if there's a known accident, I can get automatically rerouted if I take a wrong turn or miss an exit, and if I know I'm going to be vastly late, I just call or message the party I'm meeting. I understand that some of that may contribute to 'distracted' driving, but when I used to miss turns or get delayed 20 years ago, I was still 'distracted', and probably just as much a danger, because of the anxiety/stress. Overall, I think it's been a net win for me - less speeding and no tickets in years, a bit less stress while driving, less fuel consumption, etc.
  - arethuza 5y ago
    I don't even remember speeding (and I really did speed a lot) for any particular reason - certainly not for appointments. Maybe buying an expensive fast car makes you want to speed - could easily be something as daft as that. Now I am perfectly happy with my 1L 3-cylinder Skoda :-)
    - mgkimsal 5y ago
      My first ticket was being late for school. I grew up in an environment where being 'late' or 'rushed' seemed to be a default mode - young parents with 3 young kids, everything probably did stress them out more than it should have, and... I just grew up feeling 'late' and 'rushed' for everything all the time. It manifested in many ways, but speeding was one. I've had a few tickets over the years. I think... probably 4 or 5 over... 30 years? So.. perhaps somewhat habitual and just lucky I've not been caught more. But the last few years - per the comment above - real time info has had a bit of a calming effect. Probably age a bit too, but I don't think so.
sleepingadmin 5y ago
>but because the roads just ain't is as good shape as they used to be. Fundamental core functions of government is roads, borders, preventing of violence(military and police), justice, and refereeing the economy. Roads as you say are in disrepair. Borders are wide open. Military has been at war for how many decades? War exhaustion can't be higher. Violent crime is vastly under reported. Police brutality seems to be at historic highs. Victim of violent crime? Dont call the police because when they show up, the situation gets worse. Antifa is burning cities down, in part due to police brutality. Where's the justice? If your car or property is stolen, there's a ~90% chance you never see it again and nobody is caught. Arson is worse than that. Murder is the only violent crime which has a clearance rate above 50% but only barely. There is no justice. Ref for economy? If financial crisis proved anything, they clearly dont. The core function of government is clearly failed. Lets say we form the HN political party and we're going to fix this. We can't. Government debt to GDP is over 100%. The budget isn't in balance. The central bank is bankrupt; https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/central-bank-balance-sheet https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/central-bank-bala...
- couchand 5y ago
  > Borders are wide open. Talk to anybody working in this space and you'll learn this is simply not true. CBP is still chasing people down and turning them away. ICE is still deporting people by the planeful.
  - sleepingadmin 5y ago
    >Talk to anybody working in this space and you'll learn this is simply not true. CBP is still chasing people down and turning them away. ICE is still deporting people by the planeful. "Anybody working in this space' seems vague. Let's look for a more official position. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/30/immigration-us-will-no-longer-deport-people-simply-because-they-are-undocumented.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/30/immigration-us-will-no-longe... https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/06/politics/immigration-arrests-deportations-biden/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/06/politics/immigration-arrests-... https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/new-biden-rules-for-ice-point-to-fewer-arrests-and-deportations-and-a-more-restrained-agency/2021/02/07/faccb854-68c6-11eb-bf81-c618c88ed605_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/new-biden-rules-for-... Quite clear borders are wide open. The better discussion, why? https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/workforce-crisis-2030-relocation-appreciation-relationship-culture https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/workforce-cris... Baby boomers will have retired by 2030, there is simply not enough people to replace the boomers. Birth rates were too low for decades. This shortage is set in stone unless we drop the whole 'child labour laws' which will never happen. There is no denying the borders are wide open, it seems clear to me why they are doing it.
taneq 5y ago
> but because the roads just ain't is as good shape as they used to be Wow, key infrastructure declining like that must be depressing. Is this a widespread thing or just in your area?
- philk10 5y ago
  widespread - here in Michigan the Governor ran on a campaign of "fix the damn roads"
- sneak 5y ago
  A ton of places in the US built a bunch of civil infrastructure (primarily roads, water, sewer) to support suburban sprawl that is simply not sustainable given the level of property-taxes-per-square-area and the cost-per-mile to keep it in good working order. Lots and lots of suburban decay is scheduled for the next 2-3 decades. This stuff has a working lifetime and with no money to replace it it's just going to sit there and rust.

thematrixturtle 5y ago

Perhaps it's better for the US Cannonball to end this way than the way it ended in Australia with the deaths of 4 people. https://www.whichcar.com.au/features/how-the-cannonball-crumbled https://www.whichcar.com.au/features/how-the-cannonball-crum...

ericbarrett 5y ago
Ironic that it was a sanctioned event with officials, spectators, etc.
toyg 5y ago
That's just motorsport being motorsport. Note all victims were part of the competition - two racers and two officials. Formula1 used to have one or two victims almost every year, now thankfully it's more one every 15-20 years - the last one was Jules Bianchi in 2015.
Gollapalli 5y ago
Eliminating all danger from the world is not a good thing. It is a cowardly and servile thing. Motorsport is motorsport, and men risk the uncertain prospect of death for the uncertain prospect of glory, not because they are mad, but because they are men. Let it be.
- thematrixturtle 5y ago
  I'm totally cool with people base jumping, batsuit parachuting from space, mountain unicycling, etc. The problem with races on public roads is that it's bystanders who get killed.

rob74 5y ago

> Now, on the expansive flat, straight—and empty, thanks to the pandemic—highways of the Midwest, the Audi was able to reach 175 miles per hour in spots. And this, in a nutshell, is the reason why the traffic accidents and deaths statistics didn't really improve during the pandemic, despite reduced traffic.

HPsquared 5y ago
"Risk compensation is a theory which suggests that people typically adjust their behavior in response to perceived levels of risk, becoming more careful where they sense greater risk and less careful if they feel more protected. Although usually small in comparison to the fundamental benefits of safety interventions, it may result in a lower net benefit than expected or even higher risks." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation
Majestic121 5y ago
Strangely, that seems to be highly linked to the country > While Americans drove less in 2020 due to the pandemic, NHTSA’s early estimates show that an estimated 38,680 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes—the largest projected number of fatalities since 2007. This represents an increase of about 7.2 percent as compared to the 36,096 fatalities reported in 2019. > 2,780 people died in 2020 on French roads, in mainland France or overseas territories. This figure, 21% lower than in 2019, is historically low. This evolution is largely explained by the effects of the global epidemic of Covid-19. Accidents are down -19% and injuries are down -20%. +7% in the US, -20% in France. I wonder what is driving this large difference https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/2020-fatality-data-show-increased-traffic-fatalities-during-pandemic https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/2020-fatality-data-show... https://www.onisr.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/en/road-safety-performance/annual-road-safety-reports/2020-road-safety-annual-report https://www.onisr.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/en/road-safety-p...
- pessimizer 5y ago
  It was highly linked to me (I'm in the US.) And I'm on a motorcycle, so it was like 10x as dangerous. I really had to check myself. I chalked it up to being so used to stealing a little speed between traffic clogs to make up for said traffic clogs that when there were no traffic, I hadn't mentally adjusted.

ulzeraj 5y ago

Wait a minute. Is that why Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7 is named Stell Ball Run? I never put too much thought about the title. Not American too so I have no idea if Steel Ball Run is a popular term.

istjohn 5y ago

I wonder if the Cannonball Run has led to any injuries or deaths of non-participants in its history. It certainly seems like something that recklessly endangers life and limb of the public, but I've never heard of any accidents attributed to it. I suppose you wouldn't admit to attempting a run in the aftermath of a serious accident.

wil421 5y ago
Not in the NY to LA “race” but I’m pretty sure people have died or been seriously hurt in the cannonball runs in Europe where a bunch of rich guys with tricked out super cars rally together. I think the Ed Bolin guy, mentioned in the article, has been pulled over but the cops thought they were drug mules. When they realized they were trying to go cross country he let them go. Not 100% sure if that was Ed or another guy.
- Gollapalli 5y ago
  >Bolin You can't even spell the mans name right.

SamBam 5y ago

When it mentioned the race being partly inspired by a movie, I was thinking Death Race 2000. Now that's a ridiculous movie.

hirundo 5y ago

The Gumball Rally (1976) was an earlier and better movie than The Canonball Run (1981). At least better to this pre-teen. We would set the alarm to watch it in the wee hours of the morning on the super-late show, before video stores. I still think of the race as the Gumball Rally, and think of the Canonball Run movie as a ripoff/remake. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074597 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074597

chromaton 5y ago
Flipping through IMDB, we have: 1. Death Race 2000 (1975), same director & lead actor as #3 2. The Gumball Rally (1976) 3. Cannonball (1976) 4. Smokey and the Bandit (1977), same director and lead actor as #5 5. The Cannonball Run (1981)

andi999 5y ago

Hopefully.

fosshogg 5y ago

They should omit or classify covid records as a new category. I think everyone can agree it’s unfair to those that worked so hard in normal circumstances

cdot2 5y ago
They being who? This is an informal event
tetsusaiga 5y ago
Early in the pandemic Ed Bolian posed the question of whether these records should have an asterisk next to them. To some extent, I think they should.
- Sebb767 5y ago
  Speed limits also vary, cars and technology gets better and even minor things like weather can absolutely affect times. Sure, COVID changed the circumstances, but this is an highly unregulated race with very varying circumstances anyway.
  - tetsusaiga 5y ago
    That's true as well. Every competitor is making due with the set of circumstances they were given, so why should COVID be a unique circumstance? It's just another tactical decision, to do the run at that time. Either way, I'm interested to see where it goes from here.

markvdb 5y ago

Participation should be encouraged by offering appropriate prizes. I propose a well-balanced package: - six months of community service at hospital emergency services - confiscation of vehicle - confiscation of other vehicles owned if legally possible - financial fine that hurts, Finnish style, according to income/net worth - driving license repeal - heavy discount on insurance policies at any and all insurance companies - a heavy negative one Any more ideas?

AlgorithmicTime 5y ago
konschubert 5y ago
Prison time. If you shoot into a crowd and miss, you don’t get away with community service

whalesalad 5y ago

This sort of thing will never end. The rush comes from finding ways to circumvent law enforcement.

NiagaraThistle 5y ago

Oh, I came here because I thought Burt Reynolds and Dom Delouise were back at it.

moron4hire 5y ago
That'd be really interesting if they were, considering both are dead.

gmiller123456 5y ago

Betteridge's law of headlines is an adage that states: "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no." It applies here.

thrwyoilarticle 5y ago

The modern Cannonball Run is a tale of the privilege certain classes of people have in encounters with law enforcement. Most of these people share their stories on the youtube channel for Vinwiki. One of the record holders, Doug Tabbutt, has gone on record on that channel as saying he carries a PBA 'get out of jail free' card: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42780382 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42780382 Reading the article, you might think they're lucky not to get pulled over. But they do get pulled over. They're lucky because they get away with it. There are multiple stories from this group of people on that youtube channel where they explain how. Sometimes they cover the cars with pro-police political nods. Sometimes they race in cars that are deliberately made to look like foreign police cars: technically legal but the intention is clear. Sometimes, they participate in slower, legal rallies to raise money for police charities, which give away clothing that is convenient to wear for their illegal races. The Cannonball Run is an exercise in using bias and privilege to avoid retribution for deadly crimes. These people are proud, unapologetic criminals who get away with it because they're in the right clique. Another one of these people is Alex Roy. He works as a director for Argo AI, where they make autonomous vehicle technology.

ubermonkey 5y ago
^^^ All of this is true. Cannonball Run participants are behaving like sociopaths. It's a gross activity.
mitchdoogle 5y ago
Interesting this aspect wasn't included in the article
JKCalhoun 5y ago
> Reading the article, you might think they're lucky not to get pulled over. But they do get pulled over. But if you get pulled over, can you still beat the current record? The recent record-breaking account that I read seemed to imply they did not get pulled over.
- quartesixte 5y ago

drewg123 5y ago

The interesting thing these days is the EV category. As charging infrastructure improves, it will be interesting to see how times approach those of traditional ICE cars. https://www.autoevolution.com/news/rented-tesla-model-s-sets-new-ev-cannonball-record-without-radar-detectors-172957.html https://www.autoevolution.com/news/rented-tesla-model-s-sets...

ubermonkey 5y ago

I had hot cars (mostly German) and drove fast habitually for a long time -- really, through my late 30s -- but almost exclusively on highways. I did it as safely as such a thing COULD be done, in terms of both physical risk to myself and others, and also fiscal risk to me in terms of fines or what have you. I got very few tickets, because if you're careful you can get away with speed most of the time. (I also got pulled over and got no ticket a few times, which I absolutely recognize is an aspect of my white guy privilege.) But I don't really speed anymore. I don't even own a radar detector. It wasn't a big choice or come-to-Jesus moment; rather, it was the fact that the pace I would drive at on an open highway (a max of 85 - 90 MPH, conditions permitting) was VERY illegal in 1995, when the highway limit was still 55 in some places, has become only BARELY illegal. I still drive at 80ish on an Interstate, but speed limits now are 70 or 75 or higher. The world changed around me, while my habits only moderated slightly.

tricky 5y ago
Very much the same, here. One thing people may not realize is that 90mph in a 1980's Porsche feels a lot different than, say, 90mph in any car built today. A few months ago I got one of my old porsches back on the road. Feeling confident it was finally running ok, I punched it when a light turned green. The noise, vibration, smell and feeling from that vintage V8 was unreal. I felt like I was flying but I look over and a mom in a minivan, driving normally, was right alongside me. Modern cars are safe, clean, and amazing.
- gonzo 5y ago
  So a 928 is the minivan of Porsches? Got it.
  - tricky 5y ago
    I got to drive a '77 911S once and it was pretty much the same except with more rattles and the noise was coming from the back. Fun car, but still no match for a 2022 Kia.
    - 5y ago

irrational 5y ago

Only an hour and a half from doing it in under 24 hours? It sounds like it is technically doable.

1970-01-01 5y ago

I'm surprised corruption hasn't overtaken the endeavor. A thousand dollars in police bribes for every mile, and you could have the entire route protected for less than $3,000,000.

Sebb767 5y ago
Well, you only need one honest police officer to get wind of it and you'll be in a very bad situation. Plus, you still need good conditions etc.. If you're going for that kind of money, it probably makes more sense to make the race "official", close the roads down for a few hours and cross-finance it with viewership and sponsors.
- TigeriusKirk 5y ago
  $50,000 to the Podunk County Policeman's Ball Fund could have the same benefits for a legal donation.

Cd00d 5y ago

For anyone interested, I highly recommend Brock Yates's book about the beginning of Canonball. https://smile.amazon.com/Cannonball-Americas-Greatest-Outlaw-Road/dp/0760310904/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8HXAQ7KSTS8B&keywords=brock+yates&qid=1644507329&sprefix=brock+yates%2Caps%2C398&sr=8-1 https://smile.amazon.com/Cannonball-Americas-Greatest-Outlaw... Yates was a writer at Car and Driver (my favorite automotive magazine), and the idea for Cannonball was a protest of speed limits. Yates's argument is that the speed you're allowed to drive should not be generalized, as a great driver in a great auto can safely do far greater speeds. I don't agree with his argument - individual enforcement of rules doesn't scale to society, but it is a very good read.

ynac 5y ago

Our start and finish points were the Beverly Hills Hotel and Pepe's Pizza in New Haven. I don't recall the drive times, but I was roughly 20 and enjoyed the diversions of meeting amazing people, finding new places, and of course, food. After the a few trips, it was more about how long could we take. Collecting the stories of the road became much more important. Since my cars have needed tail wind and downhills to get anything near triple digit speeds, it was less Cannonballing, and more candle pin bowling. Either way, I do love a road trip!

thakoppno 5y ago
Dash cams these days could easily verify a cannonball run that never exceeds posted speed limits.

edmcnulty101 5y ago

The next innovation will be a VTOL vehicle. When being pursued by law enforcement or encountering traffic, elevate to 100 feet for a few miles, then land again and carry on ones way after the threat has been eliminated Something like this. https://www.yankodesign.com/2019/01/15/this-car-sized-two-seater-vtol-can-take-off-and-land-directly-in-parking-slots/ https://www.yankodesign.com/2019/01/15/this-car-sized-two-se...

ravedave5 5y ago

No, the electric cannon ball run is where the real interesting progress is being made these days.