5 ms·

I would hope this is obvious, but "driving in the dark at 50 mph over the speed limit" has a high risk of causing a fatal collision.

iamben 13y ago
Not sure if it mentions it in the Wired article (and not condoning it), but he was using an awful lot of high end tech - night vision, helicopter etc.
- maxerickson 13y ago
  The Wired article mentions they had some friends in a plane for some of the daytime segment. No helicopter mentioned.
  - iamben 13y ago
    It was probably a plane I was thinking of. It's 5 or 6 years since I read the book :-)
diminoten 13y ago
[citation needed], when you take into account the technology being used.
- austinz 13y ago
  Technology can mitigate the risks, but not eliminate them altogether. I've nearly skidded off a road a few times when misjudging the curvature of unfamiliar onramps or offramps (and taking them far too fast). I've seen a couple of other highway features which, if taken too fast by an unfamiliar driver, could easily lead to calamity. Technology also can't compensate entirely for driver fatigue or bad snap judgments, both of which are a real threat for any traveler (not just these guys). The article makes it clear that he plans ahead, relies upon support, and tries to stick to straight stretches of highway. Good for him, and if he wants to risk his life doing 130 down a deserted highway at 2 in the morning so be it. But honestly, from the article, it looks like he has a habit of weaving through traffic at unsafe speeds, and as someone who's nearly been killed by insane drivers trying similar stuff...well, honestly, I'm not impressed.
  - jlgreco 13y ago
    You're not impressed, or you don't approve? I don't find it plausible that anyone could not be impressed by this, though of course approval of this is going to be spotty.
    - _delirium 13y ago
      Does it count if my level of impressedness is fairly low? It's not 100% uninteresting, but it doesn't seem like a particularly amazing feat, either. I can believe that if you disregarded laws and drove fast, with some planning, you could do this, so the result is roughly what I would've expected. It requires some execution, but it doesn't give me the "wow! that's really possible?!" kind of awed feeling.
      - jlgreco 13y ago
        Well that is fair enough. What I find odd is claiming to be unimpressed after only giving reasons why you would be unapproving.
    - austinz 13y ago
      I think for me being impressed may be more closely coupled to approval than most people. I wanted to express my disapproval but I didn't think I could do it in a way that wouldn't degenerate into a personal attack. So, my intent was not particularly clear. Sorry. From a technical perspective, I guess I'm impressed by the fact that he was able to marshal together the resources, time, and support necessary to make this happen. He's done similar stunts without killing anyone, so I'm somewhat impressed by his driving skills (although there's also the advanced safety technologies in his car, as well as the intrinsic chance you'll find yourself in a situation that could result in an accident). His endurance is also admirable - it must have been very difficult racing the clock for hours on end while maintaining extreme concentration. But then, there are also people who drive drunk, drive while distracted, or drive dangerously badly-maintained vehicles regularly, and nothing happens to them, so I guess that makes the 'reckless driving' aspect slightly less impressive.
beachstartup 13y ago
yes. it is dangerous. driving fast is dangerous. but people do FAR more dangerous things on their commute to work every morning and after happy hour. how do you compare a dedicated, concentrated driver + spotter/navigator pair with $20k of equipment and performance/safety modifications in a BMW M5 to: your typical groggy office worker fatass drinking coffee, listening to an audio book, eating an egg mcmuffin and texting on his phone doing 85mph down the interstate on his morning commute, in a shitbox Saturn with drum brakes and an under-inflated tires that couldn't brake from 85mph in a mile's distance? you're surrounded by far more dangerous things on the road every day, it just looks boring and pedestrian like some guy going to work instead of exciting and dangerous like 2 guys with sunglasses in an M5 speeding down the highway.
- chad_oliver 13y ago
  That's a false dichotomy.
  - beachstartup 13y ago
    why? i clearly state driving fast is dangerous.
- iblaine 13y ago
  The risks are obvious and here's a bit of proof to back that up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Gumball_3000_collision http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Gumball_3000_collision
  - gambiting 13y ago
    If anything, Gumball is a proof that it can be done safely. There are hundreds of contestants every single year and statistically it's one of the safest motorsport-events in the world.
    - Someone 13y ago
      Irrelevant. This is not about comparing motorsport events for safety.
coldtea 13y ago
>I would hope this is obvious, but "driving in the dark at 50 mph over the speed limit" has a high risk of causing a fatal collision To which I call BS. How come German highways (that do not have such BS low traffic limits as Interstates, and are actually unlimited in large stretches) are safer than the interstates? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_autobahns#Speed_limits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_autobahns#Speed_limits http://www.thinktransatlantic4.com/2012/04/is-autobahn-safer-than-us-interstates.html http://www.thinktransatlantic4.com/2012/04/is-autobahn-safer...
- salgernon 13y ago
  Because people expect that style of driving. This race thing would be fine if it was all on closed roads, but what happens when he blows by me 16 year old daughter, doing 95 in a 25 when she lacks the experience to deal with his behavior? 95 is great as long as we all agree that that is what the road should be driven at. But you don't get to unilaterally decide the speed limit.
  - rdl 13y ago
    A controlled access highway (e.g. interstate), even with a 55 mph speed limit and most traffic at 60-70mph, is probably far safer at 165mph than a 25mph city street with intersections is at 75mph. Cars you can see are relatively easy to predict (particularly when you're going 3x faster than them); pedestrians, other vehicles emerging from hidden alleys, etc. are a lot harder. It's still irresponsible, but tech, training, and such can mitigate risk at absurd speeds on an interstate, but not so much downtown. (I used to do 140-160mph in UAE, Kuwait, etc. pretty frequently, on roads which were 60-70mph speed limits, but would never exceed the speed limit in cities. Then I discovered camels.)
  - stygianguest 13y ago
    The more immediate problem is 16 year olds going at such speeds. Driving fast on the German highway requires a good driver and a good car. I am not a good driver and have a tiny car, so I go slow (130-160 km/h).
  - nicholassmith 13y ago

iamben 13y ago

Not sure if it mentions it in the Wired article (and not condoning it), but he was using an awful lot of high end tech - night vision, helicopter etc.

maxerickson 13y ago
The Wired article mentions they had some friends in a plane for some of the daytime segment. No helicopter mentioned.
- iamben 13y ago
  It was probably a plane I was thinking of. It's 5 or 6 years since I read the book :-)

diminoten 13y ago

[citation needed], when you take into account the technology being used.

austinz 13y ago
Technology can mitigate the risks, but not eliminate them altogether. I've nearly skidded off a road a few times when misjudging the curvature of unfamiliar onramps or offramps (and taking them far too fast). I've seen a couple of other highway features which, if taken too fast by an unfamiliar driver, could easily lead to calamity. Technology also can't compensate entirely for driver fatigue or bad snap judgments, both of which are a real threat for any traveler (not just these guys). The article makes it clear that he plans ahead, relies upon support, and tries to stick to straight stretches of highway. Good for him, and if he wants to risk his life doing 130 down a deserted highway at 2 in the morning so be it. But honestly, from the article, it looks like he has a habit of weaving through traffic at unsafe speeds, and as someone who's nearly been killed by insane drivers trying similar stuff...well, honestly, I'm not impressed.
- jlgreco 13y ago
  You're not impressed, or you don't approve? I don't find it plausible that anyone could not be impressed by this, though of course approval of this is going to be spotty.
  - _delirium 13y ago
    Does it count if my level of impressedness is fairly low? It's not 100% uninteresting, but it doesn't seem like a particularly amazing feat, either. I can believe that if you disregarded laws and drove fast, with some planning, you could do this, so the result is roughly what I would've expected. It requires some execution, but it doesn't give me the "wow! that's really possible?!" kind of awed feeling.
    - jlgreco 13y ago
      Well that is fair enough. What I find odd is claiming to be unimpressed after only giving reasons why you would be unapproving.
  - austinz 13y ago
    I think for me being impressed may be more closely coupled to approval than most people. I wanted to express my disapproval but I didn't think I could do it in a way that wouldn't degenerate into a personal attack. So, my intent was not particularly clear. Sorry. From a technical perspective, I guess I'm impressed by the fact that he was able to marshal together the resources, time, and support necessary to make this happen. He's done similar stunts without killing anyone, so I'm somewhat impressed by his driving skills (although there's also the advanced safety technologies in his car, as well as the intrinsic chance you'll find yourself in a situation that could result in an accident). His endurance is also admirable - it must have been very difficult racing the clock for hours on end while maintaining extreme concentration. But then, there are also people who drive drunk, drive while distracted, or drive dangerously badly-maintained vehicles regularly, and nothing happens to them, so I guess that makes the 'reckless driving' aspect slightly less impressive.

beachstartup 13y ago

yes. it is dangerous. driving fast is dangerous. but people do FAR more dangerous things on their commute to work every morning and after happy hour. how do you compare a dedicated, concentrated driver + spotter/navigator pair with $20k of equipment and performance/safety modifications in a BMW M5 to: your typical groggy office worker fatass drinking coffee, listening to an audio book, eating an egg mcmuffin and texting on his phone doing 85mph down the interstate on his morning commute, in a shitbox Saturn with drum brakes and an under-inflated tires that couldn't brake from 85mph in a mile's distance? you're surrounded by far more dangerous things on the road every day, it just looks boring and pedestrian like some guy going to work instead of exciting and dangerous like 2 guys with sunglasses in an M5 speeding down the highway.

chad_oliver 13y ago
That's a false dichotomy.
- beachstartup 13y ago
  why? i clearly state driving fast is dangerous.
iblaine 13y ago
The risks are obvious and here's a bit of proof to back that up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Gumball_3000_collision http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Gumball_3000_collision
- gambiting 13y ago
  If anything, Gumball is a proof that it can be done safely. There are hundreds of contestants every single year and statistically it's one of the safest motorsport-events in the world.
  - Someone 13y ago
    Irrelevant. This is not about comparing motorsport events for safety.

coldtea 13y ago

>I would hope this is obvious, but "driving in the dark at 50 mph over the speed limit" has a high risk of causing a fatal collision To which I call BS. How come German highways (that do not have such BS low traffic limits as Interstates, and are actually unlimited in large stretches) are safer than the interstates? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_autobahns#Speed_limits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_autobahns#Speed_limits http://www.thinktransatlantic4.com/2012/04/is-autobahn-safer-than-us-interstates.html http://www.thinktransatlantic4.com/2012/04/is-autobahn-safer...

salgernon 13y ago
Because people expect that style of driving. This race thing would be fine if it was all on closed roads, but what happens when he blows by me 16 year old daughter, doing 95 in a 25 when she lacks the experience to deal with his behavior? 95 is great as long as we all agree that that is what the road should be driven at. But you don't get to unilaterally decide the speed limit.
- rdl 13y ago
  A controlled access highway (e.g. interstate), even with a 55 mph speed limit and most traffic at 60-70mph, is probably far safer at 165mph than a 25mph city street with intersections is at 75mph. Cars you can see are relatively easy to predict (particularly when you're going 3x faster than them); pedestrians, other vehicles emerging from hidden alleys, etc. are a lot harder. It's still irresponsible, but tech, training, and such can mitigate risk at absurd speeds on an interstate, but not so much downtown. (I used to do 140-160mph in UAE, Kuwait, etc. pretty frequently, on roads which were 60-70mph speed limits, but would never exceed the speed limit in cities. Then I discovered camels.)
- stygianguest 13y ago
  The more immediate problem is 16 year olds going at such speeds. Driving fast on the German highway requires a good driver and a good car. I am not a good driver and have a tiny car, so I go slow (130-160 km/h).
- nicholassmith 13y ago