480 km/h !! What a way to go

[bred2win]

Laws are enacted to protect. The young drivers law is more to protect us from newbie drivers. On the track it's entirely different. I'm sure she's had more driving practice than the average 17 year old and probably more than a lot of older folks. She was a racer. Period. Let her rest in peace. She died doing what she loved.

As parents we try so hard to protect our children from danger, but what do you say to a young child that loves horses and wants to ride ? Or a young child that wants to play hockey, football or ski ? Do you deprive them or encourage them to pursue their loves ?

In our society, we have a knee jerk reaction to protect everone from everything. So we make ridiculous laws and take people's freedoms away, bit by bit.

Accidents happen! It's sad and terrible, but TRUE. Let's respect this young lady for doing what she loved. Let's feel sympathy for her parents.

LET US NOT JUDGE.

 

[danmand]

Parents have an obligation to protect their children, at least untill they are 18 years old.

 

[ruck]

Parents have an obligaTION TO PROTECT THEIR CHILDREN, AT LEAST UNTILL THEY ARE 18 YEARS OLD.

so do you forbid them to do anything that you deem dangerous?
What if a parent had a bug phobia. Do you as a parent deny them the pleasure of going outside because of the danger of bugs?
Silly analogy but I think it works.

You as a parent but encourage active lifestyles. Nurture the things your children love to do. Help them become responsible in everything they do. THAT is true parenting. Parenting doesn't mean you block your children from the joys they receive from their activities. It's not drugs. It's racing. It's dangerous. She wanted to do it. What do you say to that?

BTW...all good racers start before they are even in their teens.

 

[Meister]

Until you actually understand the amount of training that goes into this, honestly you've no idea what you are talking about. Knee jerk reactions without knowing all the facts and assuming you know everything doesnt help.

The racing scene for children is highly regulated and full of safety protocols. Despite all the controls in place accidents still happen.

My 19 year old nephew is tuning up cars (civics, mazdas...) and racing them at cayuga race track (not drag strip). He loves this hobby and I totally support him.

But, to put somebody into a 7000 horsepower jet engine on wheels at any age is just ludicris. I know I'm going to get flak for this, but this type of racing has not much to do with skill, but it is rather an awesome spectacle of power and thunder.

My nephew regularly outruns bigger BMW and Mustangs with his smaller 200 hp car because he is excellent at negotiating turns. That is what I call racing.

 

[svtcobra]

My nephew regularly outruns bigger BMW and Mustangs with his smaller 200 hp car because he is excellent at negotiating turns. That is what I call racing.

Comparing civics to bigger BMW & Mustangs etc is not totally fair. Civics are smaller lighter cars which and can negotiate turns much easier than (Stock)Mustang or the biggers class cars. Of course he is going to beat the heavier cars that are not in his class.

Racing is all about the driver with experience and how well he is in tuned with his car and knows every inch of this power band and uses it to his potential.


Again my heart goes out to the family and her racing crew!!

 

[Tick]

My 19 year old nephew is tuning up cars (civics, mazdas...) and racing them at cayuga race track (not drag strip). He loves this hobby and I totally support him.

But, to put somebody into a 7000 horsepower jet engine on wheels at any age is just ludicris. I know I'm going to get flak for this, but this type of racing has not much to do with skill, but it is rather an awesome spectacle of power and thunder.

My nephew regularly outruns bigger BMW and Mustangs with his smaller 200 hp car because he is excellent at negotiating turns. That is what I call racing.

If he's racing tuners, then odds are he's already tried, or will try "Drifting". If he does, it's merely a matter of time before he smacks up a car. Now admittedly, the odds of dying crashing a small Honda is sigifigantly lower than behind the wheel of a jet car, but it's still a possibility. On the other hand, there's a good chance he'll be drifting in a location where he can potentially hit bystanders or private property. (Keep in mind, I am not JUDGING or ACCUSING the kid, just pointing out possibilities.) In ANY motor sport, the whole idea is to push the outer limits of the connection between man and machine. How far can a car be pushed before it malfunctions? This is the whole point, pushing a machine to the ragged edge and staying there.

It's a shame she died, it's a shame she was 17. It doesn't changed the fact that it happened, and will continue to happen to other drivers who do as she does. My heart goes out to the family and friends, but I'd be a fool to be either shocked that it happened, or outraged that it was "allowed" to happen.

She loved to race, she got behind the wheel of a car that I would personally be terrified to get into. She'd driven the car many times before successfully. Sadly, the law of averages got the best of her and she paid the price for it.
At least she got to do something she truly loved before she died.

 

[danmand]

so do you forbid them to do anything that you deem dangerous?
What if a parent had a bug phobia. Do you as a parent deny them the pleasure of going outside because of the danger of bugs?
Silly analogy but I think it works.

You as a parent but encourage active lifestyles. Nurture the things your children love to do. Help them become responsible in everything they do. THAT is true parenting. Parenting doesn't mean you block your children from the joys they receive from their activities. It's not drugs. It's racing. It's dangerous. She wanted to do it. What do you say to that?

Silly analogy indeed. And I fail to see what encouraging your children to an active lifestyle has to do with sitting on top of a jet engine with wheels at 480 km/hr.

 

[Meister]

Comparing civics to bigger BMW & Mustangs etc is not totally fair. Civics are smaller lighter cars which and can negotiate turns much easier than (Stock)Mustang or the biggers class cars. Of course he is going to beat the heavier cars that are not in his class.

Racing is all about the driver with experience and how well he is in tuned with his car and knows every inch of this power band and uses it to his potential.


Again my heart goes out to the family and her racing crew!!

That is true, there are different classes based on weight and performance add-ons. When I watched him race last time at Cayuga there was a guy who brought his Viper. Even though the car is quite powerful the driver routinely spun out and did quite poorly overall. So, yes, this guy didn't know his car very well.

 

[danmand]

It's the same thing, the danger is there whether your child plays competitive sports. Doesnt matter which sport it is, Gymnastics, field sports, racing, skateboarding, martial arts. There is a danger element involved in all of them, just some have more severe outcomes than others.

You are correct, of course, but this is more than a degree of danger element. It has to be extremely risky to drive a jet powered car at 480 km. That cannot quite be compared to skateboarding.

It is interesting to note, that if she had been sitting in her fathers car without a seatbelt, her father would have been fined. Such is our society.

 

[kramer]

This is a tragedy. I'm sure her family and friends are totally devastated by this.

I not going to judge at all, and I'm sure only those closest to her know the facts but I found this to be a bit odd as reported by CanWest News Service (and for all I know it is not accurate):

"Ken Hebert, who encouraged his daughter to enter racing, said her young age and esperience had nothing to do with the accident. Drag racing, he said, is safer than driving on the highway."

 

[goalie000]

The Danger is part of the whole package of racing anything. It, along with the adrenaline rush of going as fast as you can, pushing the limits without crossing over is what its all about. You don't have to win to get that rush.
It's a shame she died, but she was doing something She and Her family Loved and I'm sure they knew the possibility that something like this could happen and were prepared in some small way each and every time she went onto the track, even tho it was still a shock when it finally came about.

 

[Meesh]

I remember seeing a study that there are more (per capita) serious injuries in football than in motorsport. Where's the outcry against THESE parents? Or parents who let their children skydive. Or SCUBA dive.

Paul Tracy won a Can-Am race at age 17 - because he had the skill to do so, and it didn't just arrive at age 17 - he'd been racing for years.

I guess good parenting means wrapping your child in a cocoon until they reach the age of majority, then setting them free (totally unprepared for the real world!)

Racing ISN'T about the adrenaline rush (although there is one.) It's about control and balance. Getting them right is where the real rush comes from, not from the speed itself.

C'mon people. Many sports are dangerous, motorsports included. With skill, training and maturity, young teens are quite capable of handling dangerous situations. It's a sad time. Let's not cheapen it.

 

[new2game]

Hey Meesh...

I remember seeing a study that there are more (per capita) serious injuries in football than in motorsport. Where's the outcry against THESE parents? Or parents who let their children skydive. Or SCUBA dive.

Paul Tracy won a Can-Am race at age 17 - because he had the skill to do so, and it didn't just arrive at age 17 - he'd been racing for years.

I guess good parenting means wrapping your child in a cocoon until they reach the age of majority, then setting them free (totally unprepared for the real world!)

Racing ISN'T about the adrenaline rush (although there is one.) It's about control and balance. Getting them right is where the real rush comes from, not from the speed itself.

C'mon people. Many sports are dangerous, motorsports included. With skill, training and maturity, young teens are quite capable of handling dangerous situations. It's a sad time. Let's not cheapen it.

....exactly what I was trying to say, but you did a much better job....Thanks..


N2G

 

[danmand]

danmand, as I said, some have more severe outcomes.

I'm sure all the safety features were in place and this girl had taken this dragster out several times before without incident. Until all the facts are in, passing judgement on the accident is premature. I'm sure her father is ready to kill himself with grief over allowing his daughter to get involved in something that is very dangerous. Lets not compound his guilt

kramer, in a way it is safer. Less traffic, trained drivers, safety features and medical help is on standby and can be there within seconds instead of minutes.

I am not passing judgement on anybody, what they did was within the law. And I am sure she wore a seatbelt. I would not have allowed my children to do it.

But this was not racing, and all your good (and I agree) arguments why racing is as safe or safer than football and highway driving does not really apply.

This was stunt driving which is something entirely different and vastly more risky. The laws of physics dictate that anything moving at 500 km/hr will sooner or later be airborne.

 

[danmand]

Go study the design of top speed racing machines before you start quoting the laws of physics.

I don't need to. There are plenty of experiments that prove the hypothesys. If you believe it is safe to travel at 500 km/hr on wheels, then I won't argue with you.

 

[C Dick]

It's the same thing, the danger is there whether your child plays competitive sports. Doesnt matter which sport it is, Gymnastics, field sports, racing, skateboarding, martial arts. There is a danger element involved in all of them, just some have more severe outcomes than others.

That just doesn't make any sense, by that reasoning, all risks are the same so you might as well get bare-back anal from random crack heads, if you are going to hobby at all. Different activities have different risks, intelligent people weight up the risks and the rewards to make their decisions.

I am all for morons taking insane risks if they do not endanger other people, the issue is whether a 17-year-old is old enough to make an informed consent. I could convince my kids to do anything, no matter how dangerous it was, because they trust me totally. But that does not make it ok.

 

[C Dick]

Ask Dale Earnahrdt..or any top racing driver in any venue of this type of sport(sorry I'm not a real race fan) whether there should be some limits based on age.

Maybe I will ask Dale Earnhardt about it..no, wait, I can't, because he is dead because he was too stupid to wear the HANS (?) device that would have likely saved his life. He liked to refer to them as "nooses", because he was so cool.

 

[C Dick]

Just one more thing, some people have suggested that it was ok that she was driving the car, because she was such an expert driver. From the sounds of things, the accident had nothing to do with any driver error, it would not have mattered what she had done. It was not because she wasn't a good enough driver that she should not have been doing it. It is because a 17-year-old is, in my opinion, not old enough to consent to the significant risk associated with the activity. If she was 21, but not as expert a driver, I would feel less upset about it, because at least she made an adult decision.