105 MPH

dang!

 

Whether or not more than half of us would or would not is not the point.

What I take from this discussion is that driving while in an emotionally delicate state is just as dangerous as drunk driving, as road rage-style driving... etc etc.

That the reality. You put your own life, and the lives of others on the road in danger if you let your emotions take control of you... under extreme emotional stress, you just won't think.... you won't think about the people around you, and you won't be able to process the road conditions.

It's tougher to say whether or not it's justifiable...

but what's clear to me is that *if* you were to hit someone and kill someone, arguing that you were rushing to the hospital to see your dying mother won't be a get-out-of-jail-free card... you'll go away for vehicular manslaughter.

And furthermore, I don't think it's justifiable if you get away with it and manage not to kill anyone... that doesn't mean that you are necessarily skilled and deserve to be able to do it again, but that you were lucky..

 

I disagree. That IS the point because it's meaningful action versus sitting around playing arm-chair quarterback.



h34r:

 

Had I witnessed this behavior, I would have called the cops on my cell phone and let them figure out whether the speeding were for an emergency or just reckless.

In this case, it was just reckless, dangerous, unnecessary, and completely unjustified.

 

Regardless of how many people do it, it is wrong. I do speed, but not even close to 105MPH. While both might be unsafe that fast is just way unsafe. If you NEED that speed call a cop or an ambulance. Someone who has the traning and the equiptment (lights and sirens etc..) to do it safer.

Someone mentioned earlier about giving birth, now that is justifiable. If someone's water was to break in my Prius, that would be a tragidy. Forget other human life preventing a mess in my car had a higher priority.

Would I have done it if someone was already gone...no. Me being a few minutes sooner will not help the fact that the person passed. I'm sorry someone the OP cared about died. I'm not trying to take away from that..and I don't think any here is. Just such an act was very reckless.

 

Here's the bottom line: TIME

She did the 60 miles at an average speed of 103 and got there in 35 minutes.

Had she stayed with the general traffic flow on the freeway and averaged 80 she'd've got there in 45 minutes.

Was the ten minutes worth the added risk?

Keep in mind that the perceived value of the ten minutes is not the same when evaluated by people who successfully complete their trip, and people who didn't. People who failed to complete their trip usually discover that they VASTLY over-valued the worth of ten minutes.

In this case, what would have been the repercussions of arriving ten minutes later than she did? If negligible, then taking the added risk was a poor decision.

Mark Baird
Alameda CA

 

sorry to hear about the situation. hope u didn't risk more lives in your rush!

 

Ha!.. I hope you don't figure out how to antimate your avatar! :lol:

 

Most of the time, the extra time is irrelevant.... even driving emergency ambulance, we did studies breaking our neck flying through traffic and then tried it again and was cautious over the same track "that was about a 15 minute run to the hospital".
We found we saved about 3 minutes. Not very much for the risk trade-off and wear and tear on the vehicle.
Most emergencies are emotional and there's really nothing you can do because the experts are going to be the only ones getting true hands on anyway. But there are some circumstances where that would be negated. I'm not going to try and throw guilt trips on anyone for not saving 3 minutes to save someone if they could really make a difference.... because those instances are extremely rare.
But I won't judge his situation... he may have been irresponsible... But maybe he didn't endanger anyone?
If you have a blow out at any speed, its just going to be ugly... and faster the uglier!

Anyway.. I think we've drove this poor subject into the ground.. I for one am done... you guys can continue.

 

A-HA!

I always suspected that probably 50% of ambulances f'in up traffic and making their way though rush hour traffic, is nothing more than an exercise. :angry:

 

Exactly my point!.... police officers included!

 

Same here. I am not sure if there are really any justifications to doing this without any kind of escort. The only one I can think that might be possible is below.

There was a time that my grandpa was being rushed to the hospital (an hour and 30 minutes away at normal speeds) and my parents followed the ambulance. This was about 10 years ago, but I think we were following the ambulance at about 90 on the interstate. We got to the hospital and were able to see them take my grandfather into the hospital and got to say hi to him. It turned out to be the last time that any of us were able to talk to him. This could be rationalization (aka as rational lies), but it seemed justified as we were following the ambulance and he was still alive, although I am still no 100% sure it was justified. If either one of these conditions weren't met (not following police/ambulance or he was already gone) I know it wouldn't have been justified.

 

I dont understand why you all feel the urge to bash this guy who just went through (obviously) such a big loss. Perhaps you all deserver a slap on the hands and need to be reminded about manners, as I can guarantee the last thing he needed to hear was 50 people bitching him out.

On another note, none of you were in his situation. I mean that literally. Were you the one driving his car at that speed, in his traffic conditions? Perhaps what traffic he had experienced was light, and to top that off do any of you other than him know how far in advance people were noticing him and moving over? If there were only 3 or four cars all of which saw him and moved over with the knowledge he was coming fast would you consider them to have been in danger?

He did the right thing. Not saying his speed, but flashing the lights and putting on his hazards. When you get a call like that logic is the first to go, but as stated previously you get a major rush of adreniline which actually increases the performance and reaction time.

And to the person who said 10 minutes are nothing... what if you went 80 instead of 105 and lost the 10 minutes only to discover that your mother in law or mother passed away 1 minute before you arrived? Would you have cherished those 9 minutes? Oh hell yes. There is a lot a person can say in 9 minutes, and some people may have something they just had to tell their mother before she passed, or wanted to say I love you one last time. You can see where im going with that. The value of 10 minutes sometimes can be something that you cant even judge.

Every situation is different. None of you were there for this one and in my opion have no right digging into this guy.


My condolences go out to you and your family for your recent loss.

 

First off, I think I speak for most of us when I say that I deeply sympathize with and regret his loss.
However, he doesn't live in a vacuum.
His behavior was reckless and put others unnecesssarily in danger.

 

I was all done with my point on this thread but bbianchi's note makes the most crucial point, albeit unintentionally, and I gotta respond.

Fortunately, no one else WAS in that situation - but VERY WELL COULD HAVE BEEN YANKED INTO IT AGAINST THEIR WILL had the speeder misjudged and smashed into them at 105MPH. How would you feel if some emotionally overwrought person slammed into YOU at 105MPH and killed your passenger and maimed you for the rest of your life? Wouild you say "Aw, no big deal, you had good reason to make yourself more important than all the rest of us and break the law, I'll pay my own medical bills because your illegal unsafe act was perfectly justified."

"Reminded about manners." EXACTLY. The law makes us mind our manners, in PARTICULAR when our emotional state is such that we're likely act outside the norms of accepted behavior. My personal situation, regardless of how grave or urgent, does NOT make me more important than the rest of the world and put me above the law. A close relative at death's door does NOT relieve me of my obligation to other people to not harm them, or expose them unecessarily to harm.

It is the height of BAD manners to place yourself above the law because you deem your personal situation more important than everyone else's around you - it's hard to think of anything MORE arrogant or inconsiderate.

Are we sorry about the personal loss? Of course we are. But not to the point of sacrificing our own safety.

Alright, I've ranted enough.

Mark Baird
Alameda CA

 

I have! On Alligator alley last year. Regular traffic is driving fast enough, but this guy flies past us. A minute or two later we see a trooper cross over from the oncoming side, and chase him. A little while later, we see the speeder pulled over. We suspect the road warrior reported him.

 

It is normally not a good idea to have people that are not doctors practicing medicine. Sure, many may have the skills but not the certification, but then there are those that do not have the skills. You certainly don't want one who knows not, but doesn't know that he knows not, practicing medicine on you.

However, a baby not breathing hasn't very long to live, and could even be considered dead by first-aid standards, so doing what you know can't do much more harm than not doing anything but wait for authority could do.

Good thinking, glad you were able to save a life.

 

Yea well certified or not, they only "Pratice" medicine anyhow. Granted some are better than others im sure there are EMT's with more trauma experience than some docturs and who's decisions end up saving the patient.

 

My point exactly.