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Far-right politicians from Austria tend to get a lot of scrutiny from the rest of the world, for really obvious historical reasons, and Jörg Haider , long-time leader of Austria's nationalist Freedom Party, definitely made plenty of headlines. That's all over now, as the anti-immigrant Haider perished on Saturday when his 3-month-old VW Phaeton hit a concrete pillar in Klagenfort at 88 MPH, on a stretch of road with a 42 MPH speed limit. [ Times of London ]
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You know how you have to wait around for hours for a Comcast technician to show up? We've finally found why that is. Two Comcast employees were street-racing their vans around Huntsville, AL. The racing turned less fast-and-furious and more tragic as one van lost control and hit a vehicle that had three-year-old Kayleen Smith inside. The accident left Smith in a coma. Eyewitness reports say the vans were traveling at 75 mph in a 50 mph zone. One van tried to make a right turn and that's when it slammed into a vehicle containing Smith, her older sister and grandmother. The sister and grandmother escaped injury-free. A Comcast manager gave the default "thoughts and prayers" comment to the media and the Comcast employee refused to comment on the situation. No criminal charges have been filed thus far with an investigation ongoing. [ WAFF via CG ]
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Justin D. Grill, 19, was just minding his own business, taking his '87 Crown Vic out for a little spin in Chippewa Falls. Oh sure, he had a sandwich in one hand and a cellphone in the other (no doubt delivering one of those riveting monologues that goes like "And so I MFFGP SMOFF told that sumbitch GLOOMPH NARF GLRMPH he could kiss my SPLRMPH GRUNCH..." and makes you wonder whether the unseen spirit of Miss Manners had a hand in subsequent events) when he sideswiped an oncoming police car on a bridge, but you really couldn't say that was his fault, right? His reaction? "I'm getting a ticket? For what? " [Chippewa.com]
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The Institute for Highway Safety has concluded a study that shows the crash avoidance technology like blind-spot sensors, forward collision automatic braking, lane-departure warnings, emergency brake assistance and adaptive headlights won't significantly help prevent fatal car crashes and it is mostly due to the drivers. So much for PReVENT. The study shows that the crash-avoidance technology won't be cared about and ignored by the drivers. They technology also causes the drivers to be more reckless and careless while driving. Blind-spot detection , emergency brake assistance and adaptive headlights were the worst of the crash-avoidance technologies by being able to prevent 428, 3,079 and 2,553 fatal crashes annually. The forward collision with automatic braking and lane-departure warnings did better by being able to prevent 7.166 and 10,345 fatal crashes annually. There is between around 42,000 automobile deaths annually. The IIHS found these numbers by analyzing all of the crash...
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The problem of brake lights not distinguishing between gingerly slowing down and rapidly stopping is now being addressed. Researchers at Virginia Tech University are developing smart brake lights. The intelligent braking lights will have a series of LEDs that will distinguish when someone is easing off the speed or slamming on the brakes. How the system works is surprisingly simple. The bar of lights has three different levels of alert for the drivers behind. When the middle bars glow amber, the car is just slowing. After the braking passes a certain threshold, the outer edges of the bar will glow red in addition to the center amber. And if someone stands on the brakes, the entire bar will flash red. It's a pretty basic idea and could potentially prevent thousands of fender benders yearly. The system has been in the works for eight years now, but it will finally be shown off at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville starting today. A light bar like this would have to be added to...
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newVideoPlayer("drag_race_accident.flv", 463, 387,""); The horrible drag racing incident in Selmer, Tennessee at the "Cars and Kids" event last June has taken yet another tragic turn, with charges now being filed against the driver involved. The June incident occurred when Aussie drag racer Troy Critchley, while performing a burnout in his top fuel dragster, veered into a crowd, resulting in six dead and eighteen injured. The AP is now reporting Critchley is being indicted on six counts of vehicular homicide due to recklessness, as well as 22 counts of reckless aggravated assault. The case is expected to go to trial in November. [AP via Edmunds Inside Line ]
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In a move that most drivers would deem as excellent, the Japan police will begin encouraging drivers 65 and older to hand in their keys, permanently. The police will be teaming up with local businesses to attempt to get the elderly to permanently give up driving. No surprise, but the move has come as result of the accidents in 2007. Elderly drivers accounted for 100,000 accidents in Japan. Although instead of asking nicely, bribery is being used to influence the older drivers. The cooperating businesses will be offering incentives like high interest rates on savings, discounted meals and more. Yes, because getting an even higher interest rate on savings and an even cheaper early-bird special is just what would influence the elderly to give up driving. [ Motorcycle News ]
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All these newfangled materials and production techniques may be making cars more survivable in crashes, but they pose a real challenge to rescue workers when it's time to get the occupants out of the wreckage. Then you got your hybrid cars with high-voltage cables in addition to pillars that laugh at older hydraulic cutters, and it's no wonder fire and police departments are getting worried. Still, a Fusion that can crash head-on into an F-150 at high speed and keep the occupants alive sounds like a good idea to us. [Newsweek]
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In an unfortunate story out of Randolf, MA, 53-year-old Stephen Cullen was killed in a tragic accident while checking on a disabled SUV on the side of the road. According to Police, Cullen got out of his truck and walked back to check on the vehicle. Meanwhile his pickup began rolling backwards despite efforts from the passenger to stop it. Cullen was run over by the truck, sustained serious injuries and was pronounced dead after arrival at the local hospital. Let this be a lesson to all of you: learn how to use your parking brake and make sure everything is stationary before you get out. [ The Boston Globe ]
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The Florida Highway Patrol have pulled the black box from the pulverized 2008 BMW M5 remains involved in the high speed crash at Jumbolair Estates last Saturday . Estimates of the events leading up to the accident have up until now been based on the forensic evidence (and the equations of projectile motion) and a BMW M5 Forum the driver visited before the crash , but there may be additional details in the on board computer. This line of investigation may be fruitless however, if we are to believe a statement from BMW about the situation. BMW of America spokesman Tom Plucinsky states the 2008 M5 does not record data, unlike previous models, because "the information was not accurate enough to reconstruct crash scenarios." Interesting. Despite this assertion from BMW, we're certain Florida's finest will be digging around in the black box for all the data they can get. When reached for comment, the president of my high school physics club said he could barely wait to add the...
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Edmunds Inside Line went and did what we were too bothered to do yesterday and dug up details on the tragic 2008 BMW M5 crash at Jumbolair Estates. As our intrepid commenters noted, the lad was a recent member at M5Forums.com and had recently inquired as to the normalcy of a thunking transmission sound at excessive speeds. Warnings to the youth proved less sexy then the lure of speed and around 3:30 a.m. on January 26th, the Space Gray M5 and it's occupants shuffled off this mortal coil. Further details and a map pointing out where Travolta calls home (why it's relevant, we still don't know) over at the line that is always the innermost.
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Edmunds Inside Line went and did what we were too bothered to do yesterday and dug up details on the tragic 2008 BMW M5 crash at Jumbolair Estates in Florida. As our intrepid commenters noted, the lad was a member at M5Forums.com and had recently inquired as to the normalcy of a thunking transmission sound at excessive speeds. Warnings to the youth proved less sexy then the lure of speed and around 3:30 a.m. on January 26, when the Space Gray M5 and it's occupants shuffled off this mortal coil. Further details and a map pointing out where Travolta calls home (why it's relevant, we still don't know) over at the line that is always the innermost.
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newVideoPlayer("BMWTravoltaAirstrip_gawker.flv", 463, 387,""); Racing down the main runway of the gated "Jumbolair Aviation Estates" in Dad's BMW probably seemed like a fun idea whether just for the thrill of speed in a test of machinery against an opponent. It was a fun idea right up until the point when the runway ran out, and the car went air born off the 85 foot berm at the end. 200 feet later the car and its five male occupants met their end half way up a tree as the vehicle split in half, spilling the youths into the wilderness. So fierce was the accident, our well trained eyes can't tell what kind of BMW we're looking at. When you watch the video, we think you'll agree the scale of this carnage will assuredly place these gents as early favorites for the 2008 Darwin Awards. And yes, as every other outlet is reporting -- the crash occurred at John Travolta's air strip. We've yet to find what bearing this has on the price of tea...
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In what can only be called the worst case of AADS (Asshole Audi Driver Syndrome) ever recorded, Tomas Delgado, a Spanish businessman, is suing the family of a boy he killed while speeding in his Audi A8. The accident caused 14,000 Euros of damage to the all-aluminum luxury car, and Delgado is also looking to cover the additional 6,000 Euros in transportation costs he incurred while the Audi was in the shop. He argues that his 17-year-old victim, Enaitz Iriondo, who was wearing dark clothes while cycling at night, caused the damage while he was in the process of having his young life snuffed out by Delgago's hurtling death chariot. Quoting Mr. Delgado--and please restrain your urge to vomit here: "I'm also a victim in all of this, you can't fix the lad's problems, but you can fix mine." His lawyer, Beelzebub, Esq., offered no comment on the case, which will see an expected verdict on January 30 and perhaps witness the Earth open up to swallow Delgado whole. [via...
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newVideoPlayer("Man_dies_protecting_truck.flv", 475, 376,""); CNN is reporting on a story that could make any red blooded, truck driving guy feel a pang of anger. San Diego area man Richard Hoagland was sitting at home minding his own business when he heard his truck start up. Since he wasn't in his truck at the time, something was up. He rushed out to find two men attempting to steal his Dodge Ram and instead of letting them get away, he jumped into the bed and attempted to confront the scum bags. The thieves raced on for several blocks, careening across the tarmac and hitting parked cars. Unfortunately, Richard was killed when the truck crashed and he was ejected from the vehicle. One suspect was caught at the scene but the other escaped. Police are looking for tips, here's hoping they find the other slime ball and run them both up the river. [ San Diego Union Tribune ]
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