No life (a.k.a. DattoMaster)  
Joined:
2008/10/10 22:02
From Melbourne Australia (and likely under the car)
Group:
Registered Users
|
I think maybe there could be a middle ground of sorts here. For all those who say it's a callous and harsh to be down on the bloke who lost his life - let me ask you this - maybe just maybe had enough people drummed it into his skull from a young age that driving is a privelege and there's huge difference between taking risks, and putting _other_ people at risk, do you think MAYBE, he might have been a little less inclined to hoon on the street (and let's not kid about, we don't know exactly how fast he was going, but you would have to be nuts to think he was doing 50 and driving like there was an raw egg between his right foot and the accelerator pedal) - and he _might_ actually still be alive today? Is there a possibility that the feelings of those who say he brought it on himself and who don't mourn his loss might actually have the very perspective/school of thought that might have saved this bloke had it gotten through to him?
I do think the bloke's death is a tragedy - without question. But if you were to ask me what I'd prefer - him dead and nobody else, or him to scrape through but another innocent bystander to get the slightest tiniest injury (let alone them dying) then I'd have to say (without hesitation) that his death would be my choice. If I had a carte blanche choice, I'd choose that he never had the accident, and nobody, himself, the passenger, innocent bystanders etc were killed or even harmed at all. But this is life, not a saved game on xbox.
We should realise that as tragic as the death is, this bloke was a murderer. He murdered himself. Or at the very least manslaughter. There's intent, pre-meditation, knowledge of the danger. Don't just imagine what it would have been like if he hit a child in the street and killed them. What about if he hit a child, and they survived, to spend the rest of their life a quadraplegic, their parents unable to provide them with _any_ quality of life (at least of the type we all take for granted) - being powerless to give back to their child what was stolen mercilessly. That'd be hell on earth. Forget this notion of 'closure' it's a myth propogated by talk shows and the like. Such trauma (esp if it's in their face every day thereafter) is profound and almost limitless in the despair it can cause. Nothing in the world could be said that would somehow make up for that, and it's precisely what the young bloke risked when hooning in an unrego'd car on a public road, in a suburban area.
Either we all keep group hugging and not attributing blame to anyone, or we start getting our gonads out of the grip of the politically correct and confront the reality of dangerous driving and risky behaviours. If this guy had done it on some deserted stretch of road somewhere, or in a factory area at night, whatever, I'd not have any objection whatsoever as to his behaviour.
I'm not suggesting I was a perfect angel when I was younger (and at 36 I'm not even close to that now, and nor will I ever be) but the things I did in cars which might have been in pretty shady territory legally, were nowhere near where anyone but myself could get hurt. furthermore, the stupid things I _did_ do - I had a win it or wear it attitude. If I did something foolish in a car (or got into some foolish confrontation that I could have walked away from) and I got egg on my face, I wouldn't be shaking a fist at the sky and claiming I was hard done by.
People, esp those that have had licences for only a few years, do die on the roads, and far more so than anyone would be comfortable with (there'll never be a zero road toll, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't aim for it), Either we get serious and more to the point firm about people driving like imbeciles (and I mean that in the general sense, not specifically to the young bloke who lost his life).
At the same time as getting hard on idiots, I wholeheartedly support the option others have raised - namely to get the government behind (if it can't be financed under its own steam without being too expensive to be accessible to those it's supposed to be helping) extra nights/weekends at dragstrips and other race circuits for all sorts of entry level, run what ya brung stuff. I'm not delusional enough to believe that even with such activities a few times a week that some idiots won't still be idiots. They will, but then when they wind up in court, they can't cry crocodile tears, play the victim and make out they had no other legitimate or affordable outlet for their passion/hobby.
People talk about the Datsun community, or family. Well one of the most important things about family (or should be) is that there should be a concerted effort to nurture in the younger siblings a sense of responsibility and discipline and ethics. Not just a 'well you are family, you can do no wrong' stance. There are even those families who stand up for their family members who commit atrocities like gang rapes. Now nobody is suggesting anyone here is a gang rapist, but you get my point. Maybe if those family members had raised their male sons to have respect for women, or whatever the scenario, they'd be less inclined to take such things for granted as if it was no big deal. I've said it before and I'll say it again - there's a chance that this poor bloke might actually still be ALIVE, if enough people had drummed into his head beforehand just how inappropriate driving an unregod car at speed on a suburban street was. To the passenger, I don't mean this lightly either - but I'm not sure I can take your word for the whole situation 100% at face value, and my reason for this is twofold - 1. you are his best mate and have just gone through a very traumatic event, and more disturbingly 2. you _chose_ to get into an unregistered car with him whilst he did what he did. I am _extremely_ relieved that you got out of it alive and well (physically) and I wish you a full and speedy recovery emotionally (I can't imagine what you are going through, and don't take that comment lightly). I would _hope_ that you might seize an opportunity to have some real good come out of this. I know the media is a parasite/vulture in general, and they'll likely twist and edit anything you say, but give it a go at writing to them, and your local government, and see what you can legitimately do to bring awareness to the issue, and perhaps prevent anyone else going through it. I'm not talking about their knee jerk speed limit or traffic island nonsense, but real change, push for driver education and the like. It certainly can't hurt to try.
For my own feelings, I must admit I am selfish enough that I am concerned that enough incidents like this, and sooner or later we'll have a situation where all car modification is illegal, and hoon laws end up making it impossible to enjoy our hobby. I'm sick to death of having to alternate between 50 and 20 km/h to go over 40,000 odd speed humps in local suburban streets. Extra stress on the brakes, the suspension, extra fuel consumed. Without the speedhumps I would have stuck to any reasonable limit. Now it's just crazy.
Posted on: 2008/12/21 21:18
|
Transfer
