If you think Lamborghinis
are nothing but non-renewable-resource-sucking status mobiles you probably don't care about yet another one being bashed and burned beyond recognition
. And if you think Lamborghini drivers are nothing but self-centered, over-moneyed cads you probably don't care about one meeting the same fate as his car.
Ever since "Dietrich" (aka Stefan Eriksson) balled up a Ferrari Enzo on PCH in February of 2006 the image of the spoiled rich guy with more money than brains has pervaded the national consciousness. Certainly there were wealthy guys wrecking expensive cars before Eriksson, but the value of that particular car (a million dollars-plus), along with the colorful (and criminal) background of the driver seemed to represent all the worst aspects of exotic car owners.
But Eriksson got off lucky with just a bruised lip, despite losing control of the Enzo at 162 mph. The driver of the Lamborghini Murcielago in last Saturday morning's crash suffered fatal burns, with accident investigators referencing "dental records" when asked about his identity.
It's depressingly ironic that this accident occurred less than 24 hours after my Friday post about modern supercars becoming both easier and more fun to drive in recent years. Everything from current tire technology to modern chassis and suspension engineering has taken much of the "bite" out of modern supercars when driven beyond their (and their owners') limits.
So why do these cars keep crashing, and should we care?
There's no way to know exactly what happened to cause this crash, but we do know certain facts related to this accident. We know it was 2:30 a.m., which suggests traffic was light (even in Los Angeles). We know that witnesses reported "someone driving recklessly" in said exotic before the crash. And we know that the parking garage where the Lamborghini landed has served as the landing zone for several previous off-highway excursions.
I also happen to be quite familiar with this stretch of the 101 freeway through Woodland Hills. Like the crash site of the Ferrari Enzo on PCH in 2006 (another stretch of road I know well), this part of the 101 can suck people into high-speed travel because (legal limits aside) it appears to be a safe section to go very fast if traffic is light (as it was at the time of both crashes).
On PCH, Eriksson turned what is a generally flat, straight stretch of road into a launch pad for his Enzo by crossing a very slight dip in the road at over three times the legal speed limit. On the 101 the Lamborghini driver turned what is a relatively gradual left curve into a sharp corner he couldn't make. I don't know what his speedo was reading at the time, but the distance traveled and the final condition of the car suggest he too might have crossed the 150 mph-plus range.
Both crashes prove (surprise!) that speeds of two-to-three times the legal limit are almost never safe on a public road, even when there's no obvious indications to the contrary.
They also confirm what many of us already know: high horsepower and the latest advancements in automotive design can't overcome colossally poor judgment. Supercars keep getting better, but bad decisions -- as usual -- trump everything in the end.
Which answers the first part of my question above ("Why do these cars keep crashing?"), yet leaves open the second question: Should we care?
I've said it before and I'll say it again: There are a certain number of wealthy people on the planet, and there are a certain number of highly capable drivers on the planet. But the overlap between those two groups is pretty small. And unless something happens to change that situation these "Rich guy crashes exotic car and (quite possibly) kills himself" stories will keep making headlines.
Tragic? Darwinism at work? Just the way it is?
Honestly, as long as the casualties are limited to these types of cars and these types of drivers it's tough for me to get too worked up over them. And I'm certainly not prepared to put some kind of limit on all cars and/or drivers because a percentage of them end badly.
What say you?
By rick8365
on September 2, 2008
06:15 AM
Natural selection.....too bad about the car. At least there was only one injury/fatality.
RE: modern supercar capabilities and their ability to compensate for driver inability..... I think of the "old" saying in the computer world - "garbage in, garbage out".
By dougtheeng
on September 2, 2008
06:21 AM
I don't think its a result of Darwinism - I think its simply being tempted by the vehicle you own. Every car that is sportier/faster then the average vehicle is going to tempt the driver. If you see light traffic and a curvy road in front of you, regardless of whether you're in an Evo or a GT-R, many people are going to be tempted to push the limit. The difference is that in an exotic super car, such excessive speeds can be reached that the vehicle AND owner are totally destroyed almost beyond recognition.
That being said, I don't care if an exotic owner wants to be an idiot and drive his car at such excessive speeds. If he kills the car and himself, that is a risk he knew he was taking. Excessively rich people have been doing silly things for years.
What I do care about is the innocent people - pedestrians, other drives, and random people in homes, etc - that are put in danger as a result.
By mrryte
on September 2, 2008
07:12 AM
The problem is this: there are some drivers out there that try to reenact "THE FAST AND FURIOUS" whenever possible. This could have happened in any vehicle from a motorbike to a souped-up sport compact to a SUV.
All drivers need to aware of this simple fact:no VDC, 4WD, ABS, LDS or any other safety device put in vehicles can overcome the laws of physics or unsafe driving.
As for "should we care"? Well; that depends...if you just see this as another rich person with WAY more dollars than sense then there's not much to care about.
On the other hand; if you remember that a human being lost his life for a senseless reason that should put it in a different perspective. The driver was someone's son, relative and friend.
By technetium99
on September 2, 2008
07:21 AM
This is completely evolution in action. The idiot who did this certainly took risks in other areas of life as well (ask anyone who has studied psychology - no one takes extreme risks in only one area of life) so lets just be thankful that he took no one else out with himself.
Damn crying shame about the car.
By 12rings
on September 2, 2008
07:24 AM
It takes some driver training to neogotiate speed in that manner.
What is irritaing is if they are in a Lambo or Enzo they could afford to go to driving school or even join a private racing club. Instead they endanger other people on the road. No sympathy here.
By karjunkie
on September 2, 2008
08:16 AM
"So why do these cars keep crashing, and should we care?"
Firstly, those cars don't crash, their drivers crash them. Secondly, we should only care that those drivers not only can kill themselves but do some major damage to innocent drivers and pedestrians that get in their way. several decades ago, I worked for the Ferrari dealer in Miami (Kirk F. White Motorcars) and witnessed first hand the massive destruction of several cars within a week of purchase by wealthy doctors who assumed that if you could buy a Daytona you could drive a Daytona! On the positive side, the Daytona's seats ended up making very nice bar stools.
By iskch
on September 2, 2008
08:59 AM
Good points made by "karjunkie" and "12rings". On top of that the driver/owner is responsible not the car. Too much YOUTUBE & GRAN TURISMO in my opinion.
By orangutan
on September 2, 2008
09:07 AM
Should we care? No. Natural selection at work? Yes. It's not just the super-rich in supercars killing themselves through bad driving, anyway. We should care about the quality of drivers in the United States and the foolishness that is "drivers' education". We have horrible drivers who are taught poorly to not at all, an infantilizing and sensationalist road sign system, and law enforcement agencies who view roads, drivers, and the law as profit machines.
By vvk
on September 2, 2008
09:38 AM
Perhaps the roads discussed here should be evaluated by engineers. Instead of blaming the drivers who suffered, maybe we should think about making our highways safer for high speed travel. Are we not as good as Germans at designing and building high speed highways?
By mazdaspeed_jon
on September 2, 2008
09:44 AM
Karl,
The car that crashed was actually a new Gallardo LP560-4. The guy had just bought it last week.
By Karl Brauer
on September 2, 2008
10:11 AM
Thanks for the correction Jon. Obviously there was no way to tell what it was based on the wreckage. The Gallardo is less powerful and even easier to drive than the Murcielago...
By dougtheeng
on September 2, 2008
10:26 AM
"Perhaps the roads discussed here should be evaluated by engineers. Instead of blaming the drivers who suffered, maybe we should think about making our highways safer for high speed travel. Are we not as good as Germans at designing and building high speed highways?"
I don't think the roads that these two crashed on are considered high speed highways (though I'm not from California, so correct me if I'm wrong).
Autobahns are, for the most part, similar to the long, open interstates - straight lines and large radius curves. Believe me when I say that every road and highway is carefully designed. When you see an on/off ramp, a curve, an interchange, etc, there are government codes that dictate the distances, radii, etc. These values include safety factors for the posted speed on the highway. A 100kph highway is designed for much, much higher.
By mrryte
on September 2, 2008
10:28 AM
"Are we not as good as Germans at designing and building high speed highways?"
We certainly are; the problem isn't the roads; it's the people driving and riding on them. No matter how safe you make the road, there will always be someone who thinks they're a better driver than everyone else.
Designing roads for higher speeds will only mean accidents will happen at higher speeds. :-(
By jdub53084
on September 2, 2008
10:44 AM
All car wrecks are bad. There is no reason for 40,000 people dying in cars every year.
I do believe people have the right to spend their money on whatever they wish and I'm for personal freedom etc.. but if you buy a car like a Lambo, Ferrari there should defiantly be a driver training course. Whats another 3,000 dollars spent on a driving course when you're spending a 1/2 a million?
By Karl Brauer
on September 2, 2008
11:53 AM
Autobahns are meant for extremely high speeds, and the locals know it (plus they have far better driving training). Expecting a 55-65 mph highway to safely support 150 mph-plus rates of travel is simply not realistic. Like I said, those stretches of PCH and the 101 are relatively smooth and straight, but even a slight dip in the road or gradual curve can be deadly when taken at three times the legal limit.
By m3shmem3
on September 2, 2008
12:18 PM
We should extend this man, this son, this friend, this human being the same deference that he failed to show others by his stupidity. It's fortunate he caused no harm to others, but a life lost is still sad.
Maybe more exposure like this will wake up a huge segment of the population, not just the wealthy, that there are life-altering consequences to re-making Tokyo Drift on public roads. When 200hp is now a base model, and a 135i or Mazdaspeed 3 reaches fatal speeds in a matter of seconds, most anybody can afford to find themselves with more car than they can handle.
By moparbad
on September 2, 2008
03:19 PM
Why was it newsworthy? Appropriate to discuss in this blog but not as news in Inside Line. Not in my judgement.
Sensationalism? Has the internet eroded any semblance of professionalism in journalism?
Perhaps my expectations of automotive news are too high and I should expect automotive blah blah blah.
By cx7lover
on September 2, 2008
03:51 PM
He wrecked near where I used to live too, I would see a lot of these types around woodland hills/Calabasas and, no.
By george2040
on September 2, 2008
04:03 PM
Perhaps encouraging customers to attend an exotic car driving school would help.
http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2007/08/20/story15.html?jst=s_cn_hl
Manufacturers could include the training in the cost of the car. A coworker recently attended a driving school to learn how to better use the capabilities of his new BMW M3.
Another way to attack the problem would be to make performance cars and roads more like roller coaster. Make both the cars and the roads feel more dangerous than they really are to maximize the ratio of adrenaline production vs. risk.
By billt9
on September 2, 2008
06:34 PM
High performance car manufacturers should ally and create a
High Performance Car Driver's License.
Having an official industry endorsed licensing program would encourage drivers to receive additional training.
Sure it wouldn't be mandatory, but the endorsement would encourage people to voluntarily participate.
And it's not possible for the government to run a mandatory license either, because who cares about spending national budget on the few?
By gcn
on September 3, 2008
01:57 PM
"someone driving recklessly"
When I read or hear this I generally interpret it as meaning "someone driving faster than I was".
By Karl Brauer
on September 3, 2008
03:06 PM
Remember what George Carlin said:
Everyone driving slower than you is an idiot.
Everyone driving faster than you is a maniac.
By trackwrex
on September 5, 2008
10:17 AM
Plain and simple: people who buy these cars should go through a driver's program. Learning car control and getting a sense of what these cars can do in a "controlled environment" (track) would give these people a greater understanding of what can happen.
By cruiserhead1
on September 5, 2008
05:51 PM
"Tragic? Darwinism at work? Just the way it is?"
yes and it's fine as long as they don't kill bystanders. The estate of the deceased knuckle dragger should pay for all collateral damage.
By busi
on October 29, 2009
10:13 PM
There should and could be a quite simple way to prevent allot of deadly accidents with these supercars.
It is many mankind's dream to drive a Ferrari, Lamborghini or other supercar. And it is quite normal that when given the occasion, the foot will hit the gas and if not familiar with the tremendous horsepower and speed made available, it often ends in horror.
My suggestion: It should be mandatory for any supercar owner, to attend a 2 day driving seminar or a so called advanced driving school.
They will learn how the car reacts in certain situations and they will also get familiar what it means to drive a car in speeds of 150+ mph. These courses are not cheap, but worth every penny to save lives and after all also these bautiful cars.
I am a fanatic myself and over my lifetime, I attended several of these courses.