Well by now most of the free world has heard that Paul Walker, from the Fast & Furious movies has died in a car accident, along with the person that was driving the Porsche he was in. Reports are coming in that they may have been street racing. Circumstances aside, it's sad to see any person so full of life, get snuffed out.
People have started drawing similarities to James Dean already. I'd rather question how? a Porsche, with all it's safety features and computer assisted suspension and steering, can get into such an accident. Look at Carol Shelby, who raced open cockpit cars, with roll cages that make a swing set look heavy duty. Racing with a nitro glycerine pill under his tongue, open faced helmets, no kevlar, no carbon fiber, no traction control. And he died at 89.
I guess we'll never know all the details, it's not like a airplane accident where there are multiple black boxes and transcripts. I'm sure there are alot of accidents out there that mimic this, only no famous people died.
The point is, there are limits, limits to what the road can handle, limits to what a car can do to be safe, it comes down to the driver. Steve Mcqueen once said A lot of people go through life doing things badly. Racing’s important to men who do it well. When you’re racing, it... it’s life. Anything that happens before or after... is just waiting. I'll agree but sometimes anticipation is worth more, because it lasts longer, and remember McQueen died of cancer, not behind the wheel.
Carrol Shelby once said Yesterday's History. Tomorrow's a Mystery. So live for today. I'd probably add, and make sure you can live for another day.
No commentary on these events, it's just sad, The live fast, die young has been done by better legends that will ever come along. I think finding the balance of excitement, and being safe might have to be the new maxim. MG's motto has always been "Safety Fast". Have fun, be sensible. Hopefully there's a young street racer out there, that'll mimic Michael J Fox in Back to the Future 3 when he has his drag race with Flea.
