No doubt a totally avoidable tragedy. That video is difficult to watch.
U-n-a-c-c-e-p-t-a-b-l-e!
Disclaimer: Video is news moderated but still graphic, so beware.
Im sure you guys by now have heard about the disastrous car show incident that occured at a Cars for Kids event that occured in Tennessee this past weekend involving the death of six spectators, 3 of which were teenagers.
Well, I just watched the video on Youtube and it's got to be the stupidest, most avoidable accident Ive ever seen. There are *NO* barriers between the track and the spectators. Perhaps im a newbie to drag/funny-car racing, but NEVER have I seen a case where cars with that kind of raw power and potential for destruction are allowed to perform within FEET of spectators with NO SUCH barrier there to protect them. What a recipe for disaster.
I do not find the poor driver of the call in any way at fault in this, except that he himself should have been somewhat aware of the potential of his vehicle so close to bystanders. The organizers of the event are going to have some TOUGH questions to answer. Absolutely ridiculous... entirely avoidable tragedy.
1 - 20 of 52 Posts
Sorry about that, I just put a disclaimer in there, it is a bit graphic.
This is pretty much all I needed to read to know that something could have been done to avoid an accident of this nature. :alchi:Cars for Kids event that occured in Tennessee
I Just heard another tidbit about it on the radio (I listen to talk radio all day at work). Quoting some official.. "Its a complex situation... We've held this event for 18 years with no problems".
Well you are DAMN lucky then... I guess thats what complacency does for you. And what the HELL is complex about it?!!... you put barriers up to protect people, end of story.
Its unfortunate for the kids the charity was designed to assist as well.
Well you are DAMN lucky then... I guess thats what complacency does for you. And what the HELL is complex about it?!!... you put barriers up to protect people, end of story.
Its unfortunate for the kids the charity was designed to assist as well.
I don't even want to watch it. I know it happens in other countries all the time. Not that it is right mind you, but in other countries much of the liability is placed on the spectator.
Just take a look at snow skiing in CO vs Austria sometime. I was amazed at how much difference there is in trial marking. In Insbruck it would have been easy to ski off the end of the world
Just take a look at snow skiing in CO vs Austria sometime. I was amazed at how much difference there is in trial marking. In Insbruck it would have been easy to ski off the end of the world
Gee.....I would have never guessed that trying to drag race a top fuel funny car on the street would be a difficult thing to do. Hell you hear about this kinda stuff all the time with just regular street cars so what made them think that doing the samething with a funny car would be "more safe"? But that was a avoidable accident. They should have had it at a drag strip.....you know......where funny cars belong
"You can see the car, which we believe, is the one that was involved." Nah, I think its the OTHER top fuel car that's wrecked on the side of the road...
I wonder how much Kylee and Renee Jones got paid to give up that video?
Blame blame blame blame blame... Ya can't protect everyone from everything. The spectators stood on the sidelines. They could see, for themselves, that there was no barrier. They made the choice to stand there.
I, without a DOUBT, would be standing there with them.
EVERYTHING we do, every day of our lives, is potentially disastrous and deadly. Yea, it sucks. It's a crappy situation to have happened. Maybe it shouldn't have been done on the street like that, but this is freaking Tennessee. People are still free to do what they want without every aspect of their lives being governed and "protected."
I'm not saying that I'm glad it happened or that anyone deserved it or any other BS people will read into this. Just that things do go wrong and you can't protect everyone from everything. People should be allowed to make their own decisions about where they stand on the side of the road.
Years ago we had a Sprint Car flip upside down and land on some of the crowd up in Chico, home of the Gold Cup. There is a twenty foot tall safety fence in front of the entire grandstands. The car went through it. Shit happens and it sucks that it does, but every aspect of every situation can not be controlled. I still go to the races. I know people who don't, who are terrified of another freak accident like that happening. The same could happen in their own homes. A car could go through a wall in a home and run them down just the same. Crappy thought, but hey, it could happen...
K, now I almost feel like an ******* with no feelings...but... oh well.
I wonder how much Kylee and Renee Jones got paid to give up that video?
Blame blame blame blame blame... Ya can't protect everyone from everything. The spectators stood on the sidelines. They could see, for themselves, that there was no barrier. They made the choice to stand there.
I, without a DOUBT, would be standing there with them.
EVERYTHING we do, every day of our lives, is potentially disastrous and deadly. Yea, it sucks. It's a crappy situation to have happened. Maybe it shouldn't have been done on the street like that, but this is freaking Tennessee. People are still free to do what they want without every aspect of their lives being governed and "protected."
I'm not saying that I'm glad it happened or that anyone deserved it or any other BS people will read into this. Just that things do go wrong and you can't protect everyone from everything. People should be allowed to make their own decisions about where they stand on the side of the road.
Years ago we had a Sprint Car flip upside down and land on some of the crowd up in Chico, home of the Gold Cup. There is a twenty foot tall safety fence in front of the entire grandstands. The car went through it. Shit happens and it sucks that it does, but every aspect of every situation can not be controlled. I still go to the races. I know people who don't, who are terrified of another freak accident like that happening. The same could happen in their own homes. A car could go through a wall in a home and run them down just the same. Crappy thought, but hey, it could happen...
K, now I almost feel like an ******* with no feelings...but... oh well.
And I disagree that it was a "hard" video to watch. Just another story on the nightly news. Fits right in with the rest of the sensationalistic crap they throw up there to make us watch and give them money.
Was that anyone's winning lottery numbers up on the screen ?
It appears to me that was a normal street and not a drag strip. If that is the case then I have to wonder who thought it would be a good idea to let a drag racer go flying down a street lined with spectators at full throttle. Those cars loosing control and crashing into the barriers at the strip are not uncommon, much less an open street.
It appears to me that was a normal street and not a drag strip. If that is the case then I have to wonder who thought it would be a good idea to let a drag racer go flying down a street lined with spectators at full throttle. Those cars loosing control and crashing into the barriers at the strip are not uncommon, much less an open street.
I guess the question would be why do they allow them to drag race on the streets. Sick.
Wow when I first read the story, I thought that it was regular cars that were doing stand still burnouts and just lost control when they eased off the brake. You know like classic muscle cars just burning out like I see at every car show around here. I had NO IDEA they were acutal drag racers. Who the hell thought of putting real drag cars out there with no barrier?????? WOW....
Youre missing the point ENTIRELY. The accident where the car flew in the air, the ones where the raceboats flip up into a crowd etc etc... OK YES, *those* CAN be considered an ACCIDENT. There were safeties in place but sometimes you cant account for everything as you mentioned. Key phrase THERE WERE SAFETIES IN PLACE. At least there was SOMETHING that had been done to ATTEMPT to protect the public."You can see the car, which we believe, is the one that was involved." Nah, I think its the OTHER top fuel car that's wrecked on the side of the road...
I wonder how much Kylee and Renee Jones got paid to give up that video?
Blame blame blame blame blame... Ya can't protect everyone from everything. The spectators stood on the sidelines. They could see, for themselves, that there was no barrier. They made the choice to stand there.
I, without a DOUBT, would be standing there with them.
EVERYTHING we do, every day of our lives, is potentially disastrous and deadly. Yea, it sucks. It's a crappy situation to have happened. Maybe it shouldn't have been done on the street like that, but this is freaking Tennessee. People are still free to do what they want without every aspect of their lives being governed and "protected."
I'm not saying that I'm glad it happened or that anyone deserved it or any other BS people will read into this. Just that things do go wrong and you can't protect everyone from everything. People should be allowed to make their own decisions about where they stand on the side of the road.
Years ago we had a Sprint Car flip upside down and land on some of the crowd up in Chico, home of the Gold Cup. There is a twenty foot tall safety fence in front of the entire grandstands. The car went through it. Shit happens and it sucks that it does, but every aspect of every situation can not be controlled. I still go to the races. I know people who don't, who are terrified of another freak accident like that happening. The same could happen in their own homes. A car could go through a wall in a home and run them down just the same. Crappy thought, but hey, it could happen...
K, now I almost feel like an ******* with no feelings...but... oh well.
There is a difference between an ACCIDENT that no one could foresee, and a BLATENT DISREGARD of safety and COMMON FRIEKEN SENSE. In this case, had any idiot with half a brain stopped to assess the situation (top fuel drag car on a county road....hmmmmm gee i wonder), it did not need to happen in the first place. The car was supposed to hit a barrier, not people.
This is not one of those "Mcdonalds coffee is too hot even though the cup says HOT" situations that you seem to be making it out to be.
This goes two ways:
1. It was a blatant and total disregard for public safety and no Funny Car should EVER be on the street, barriers or not.That guy who OK'd it should have to personally appologize to all of the families and give some sort of financial contribution to them. I dont think its the drivers fault,but he really should have known better.
2. You would have to be a total dipshit to stand on a street that a Funny car is racing down with no barriers. Its common sense. Im not saying they deserved it,and it really is tragic and all that,but seriously,WTF?
I wouldnt be within 200 feet of that damn thing,barrier or not.
1. It was a blatant and total disregard for public safety and no Funny Car should EVER be on the street, barriers or not.That guy who OK'd it should have to personally appologize to all of the families and give some sort of financial contribution to them. I dont think its the drivers fault,but he really should have known better.
2. You would have to be a total dipshit to stand on a street that a Funny car is racing down with no barriers. Its common sense. Im not saying they deserved it,and it really is tragic and all that,but seriously,WTF?
I wouldnt be within 200 feet of that damn thing,barrier or not.
I have no problem with either of those points... agree with you 110%.This goes two ways:
1. It was a blatant and total disregard for public safety and no Funny Car should EVER be on the street, barriers or not.That guy who OK'd it should have to personally appologize to all of the families and give some sort of financial contribution to them. I dont think its the drivers fault,but he really should have known better.
2. You would have to be a total dipshit to stand on a street that a Funny car is racing down with no barriers. Its common sense. Im not saying they deserved it,and it really is tragic and all that,but seriously,WTF?
I wouldnt be within 200 feet of that damn thing,barrier or not.
Someone's goin' to jail for Gross Negligence...
Top Fuel Funny Cars should never touch any surface other than a properly prepped track. To do otherwise is to invite disaster. The people who are gonna be held accountable are those who organized and setup the event. People in general are stupid. If they see Funny cars running down a public street with no barriers in place, they will assume that it's perfectly safe to stand along the side and watch. You see this a lot in Rally Racing. Where there's a fence, people generally tend to stand behind it, believing that it's there to keep them out of danger. With no fence, people will literally stand right at the edge of the road because there's nothing telling them it's unsafe (that's where the stupid part comes in). They're the people you see on you tube who end up with the Citroen that missed the turn on top of them. Granted people should have more common sense, but the monkey see-monkey do affect is hard to overcome. You have one idiot standing in the road, eventually others with follow thinking it's ok. That's why it's so important for organizers of events like this to take proper safety precautions. Not just for the physical aspect of it, but also for the psychological as well. If people see others behind the barrier, they're less likely to stand in front of it. In short, blame rests on those who set it up, and those who watched it. Come to think of it, the driver should have had more sense as well. Knowing full well that the only thing stopping his car from flying off the road in case it got squirrely on him was people, should have been enough to think twice about even unloading the car off the trailer. I guess you kinda have to blame everybody. Anyone of them could have prevented this by simply understanding why it was a bad idea. Then again....as some mentioned before....it was Tennessee. You wouldn't find that kinda stuff going down in Jersey.
Top Fuel Funny Cars should never touch any surface other than a properly prepped track. To do otherwise is to invite disaster. The people who are gonna be held accountable are those who organized and setup the event. People in general are stupid. If they see Funny cars running down a public street with no barriers in place, they will assume that it's perfectly safe to stand along the side and watch. You see this a lot in Rally Racing. Where there's a fence, people generally tend to stand behind it, believing that it's there to keep them out of danger. With no fence, people will literally stand right at the edge of the road because there's nothing telling them it's unsafe (that's where the stupid part comes in). They're the people you see on you tube who end up with the Citroen that missed the turn on top of them. Granted people should have more common sense, but the monkey see-monkey do affect is hard to overcome. You have one idiot standing in the road, eventually others with follow thinking it's ok. That's why it's so important for organizers of events like this to take proper safety precautions. Not just for the physical aspect of it, but also for the psychological as well. If people see others behind the barrier, they're less likely to stand in front of it. In short, blame rests on those who set it up, and those who watched it. Come to think of it, the driver should have had more sense as well. Knowing full well that the only thing stopping his car from flying off the road in case it got squirrely on him was people, should have been enough to think twice about even unloading the car off the trailer. I guess you kinda have to blame everybody. Anyone of them could have prevented this by simply understanding why it was a bad idea. Then again....as some mentioned before....it was Tennessee. You wouldn't find that kinda stuff going down in Jersey.
I'd never stand where those people did. Drag racing has barriers, etc for a reason and even an exibition should be handled better than this. I don't want to blame the victims but all involved should have known better. I see no criminal charges coming but I see lawsuits. For sure.
Oh, and where was the "Funny Car" as far as I can tell, the vehicle in question is not a FC. Am I missing something? Not that it matters. The details that is.
Oh, and where was the "Funny Car" as far as I can tell, the vehicle in question is not a FC. Am I missing something? Not that it matters. The details that is.
I think everyone here has listed valid points. There is no doubt that this event was foolish in it's conception and execution but this is a relatively free country where we are free to do stupid things though not without consequences.
Look at the popularity of the Jackass series. (by the way, were they from Tennessee too? or was it Arkansas?) Any way, here's more fodder for the Darwin Awards.
It's a shame that there were people killed and hurt. It certainly could have been avoided as can most accidents. This one just happens to be more pointless and foolish than some I've seen.
I expect there will be a number of law suets as a result. Another foolish aspect of our "free society". Will we ever learn? Any student of history will tell you 'no'. As smart as we think we are we do things to prove the opposite every day.
By the way, it looked to me as there was only one car making a run up the road... Not that it matters.
:nono:
Look at the popularity of the Jackass series. (by the way, were they from Tennessee too? or was it Arkansas?) Any way, here's more fodder for the Darwin Awards.
It's a shame that there were people killed and hurt. It certainly could have been avoided as can most accidents. This one just happens to be more pointless and foolish than some I've seen.
I expect there will be a number of law suets as a result. Another foolish aspect of our "free society". Will we ever learn? Any student of history will tell you 'no'. As smart as we think we are we do things to prove the opposite every day.
By the way, it looked to me as there was only one car making a run up the road... Not that it matters.
:nono:
I guess you don't know what a funny car isOh, and where was the "Funny Car" as far as I can tell, the vehicle in question is not a FC. Am I missing something?
Oh oh oh oh snap. Look at the video again. There WAS a guardrail! The dipshits were standing outside of it. Not that it would have made that much of a difference,but there was a rail in place. Take a look...
1 - 20 of 52 Posts
- This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Cadillac Owners Forum
Cadillac Forums is the perfect place to go to talk about your favorite Caddys including the ATS, CTS, SRX and Escalade.
Full Forum Listing
Top Contributors this Month
View All
hightech-guy
379 Replies
NorthernSRX
309 Replies
Jimpilot
222 Replies
Recommended Communities
