NautyAngel

It is fair time and we took the kids like good parents. My mom came along too, so it was nice -1:1 ratio of kids to adults! lol

Anyway, as we were leaving we walked by the WSP exhibit ... and saw was sort of looked like the front end of a camaro. You could see the chevy emblem, and a bit of the passenger side facia. As we walked around the side, there was an LT1 rim - like the one off of Ellis' car that were on ours for a time - that the whole center was ripped out of. The car was in 2 pieces (many more, really, but two large chunks). From what we could make out it was black/T-tops and must have been a nice car. Air bag were deployed ... all that jazz.

Around the other side were bulletins with names ... two of the three teenage boys who were in the car when the wreck happened. The third bulletin was the story ... three teenagers out driving around, the driver had had his liscence 3 weeks and wasnt even supposed to have passengers yet. It is estimated that the car was travelling in excess of 100 mph when it left the road, went airborn, and hit a tree (Ellis, I swear mom almost fainted when she read that!) The front end of the car stayed at the tree, but the rear end (back seat back) flew past the tree and landed on a car in a nearby driveway. The driver (the only survivor) was belted in, but he was ejected out of both the seat belt and his pants and landed on the driveway. The front passenger was also belted in, but took the full force of the tree - he never had a chance. The back seat passenger was not belted in, and he flew out the back window sometime durring the flight of the rear end.

There were not really any gorey details ... the car really spoke for itself. Only someone who is intimately familiar with camaros would have recognized it. A very, very grim reminder that speed must always be respected.

HitmanLSX

in that scenario I think the parents or whoever let that kid drive that car are even more responsible than the kid driving. You don't give a kid a car like that unless you're sure they can handle it and respect the power it has.

On a more up beat note some idiot in a mini-van today in downtown bothell hopped the curb and hit a building while trying to park and totally smashed their front end.

howierd42

It should be mandatory for all drivers to take their cars to the track and learn respect for them. It is just not good enough to drive through an intersection, parallel park and hand someone a driver's license as if they could drive AND control any vehicle they might get into.

NautyAngel

I have to agree with you both. What do you expect a 16 year old kid to do with a car like that? And a 16 year old kid who doesnt even know what he is getting into - like Howard said, parallel parking a driving a city grid just dont get the job done.

Rottluver

iTrader: (3)

I completely agree with respecting speed, but not every kid who gets a hot rod kills himself. I have had tons of fast cars and I got my first F-Bod when I was 15. Then another one shortly after and another within the year. All V8's and I didn't crash, hurt or kill anyone.........I do agree that giving a very high powered car to a young kid is not usually a wise choice, but it also depends on the parents, the kid and the car IMHO.

NautyAngel

I know that as well. It was a general statement, and of course there are exceptions. My boyfriend when I was 16 had a 280-Z ... one of the ones that went 180 or so, but he had been driving for alot longer than was legal (since he was about 12 ... his dad was a drunk) and he respected the vehicle. But for the most part, you give a teenager a fast and powerful car without taking alot of time to teach them how to handle it and respect it, they are going to be out there with what amounts to a loaded gun. It may not happen, but it can.

All that aside, what happened to those kids could happen to anyone who was driving at such a high speed on the streets, even if they DO have experience. That was why I said it was a reminder to respect speed - not a reminder of why not to give a kid a fast car. Heck ... it doesnt take a Camaro to do that kind of thing ... but a 16 year old with a Camaro is more likely, I think, to be tempted then a 16 year old with a Pinto.

Z ANGEL

I've seen things like that, they do them at schools sometimes to teach the kids 'what not to do'. It's definitely an eye opener. But the funny thing is, when I was a teenager, I would have looked at that and said 'it won't happen to me'. Most kids are oblivious to their fate and I think it's the Parents responsibility to know their child enough to know that he could respect a car with that much power.

I also agree that it could happen to any kid in any car. I had friends die like that in high school driving a Honda...They went around a corner at about 100mph and hit another car head on, killed 2 boys, seriously injured the 3rd, his face print was implanted in the back of the passenger seat..literally.. My brother had just gotten out of that car less than 5 minutes before that.

And yes, Ellis had a similar accident in his Black '95 Z28, he went around a corner, blew a tire and went up and embankment then air born across the road into a bunch of trees, thank goodness he was OK. I thought it was his car you were talking about for a minute when you were describing it

Racehead

I was a rear seat passenger in a '71 Camaro when I was 16 that hit a telephone pole while going roughly 100 mph. We were sideways at the time ( over correcting big time ) and the pole hit at the front of the passenger side door. Both guys in front had their seat belts on, I did not. It broke my neck among other injuries, the other guys all recieved similiar injuries, mostly lower extrematy stuff because of their proximity to the impact point. The car was bent in an "L", but nobody died. Kind of a miracle really.

BTW my 17 yr old daughter is going to take the Proformance driving school next spring. The first time you have a high speed, panicked sideways moment is the WRONG time to learn what to do about it IMO.

99blancoSS

iTrader: (115)

I think the insurance industry will completely disagree with you here. Statistics show the truth in this matter and its not pretty for teenage boys in cars. More often than not they drive too fast and cause wrecks, those are just the facts. I never had a wreck when I was that age but I did drive way to fast and was a good driver and very lucky sometimes. from 16-25 is no joke, boys are idiots behind the wheel sometimes. My Uncle wouldnt let my cousing have his sisters galaxie for just that reason. He was an idiot and the car had a built small block 400 in it. No way was all my uncle said. Parents have to take responsibility here if they want their kids to live. Rott your one of the few, the very few. If most of the teenage boys were the same way they wouldnt be paying the highest insurance money of anyone.

krazzycowgirl

My kids when they turn 16 (damn that just around the corner too) Will have two cars. one is their Daily driver most likely a underpowered car like a storm or something like that. Then they are going to have a show/racecar one they have built under the watchfull eyes of Dan & I.
Heck Mike is just 11yrs old & has started by starting up one of the cars & moving it around the place here. He is also starting to learn how to change the Oil & do tune ups on the cars.

Over the Last 5yrs of racing I have learn to respect the cars & Also what to do & what not to Do when you start in a spin lol.

99blancoSS

iTrader: (115)

That would be the coolest thing ever to me if I was a kid again. To have a daily driver and a track car!!

NataSS Inc

iTrader: (9)

A#1 reason why EVERYONE should go take the proformance school. Like Bill said,

Rottluver

iTrader: (3)

As was mine, just a general statement........not meant to diminish the point of the thread, just offering another viewpoint.

Oh yeah, in between my 1st two F-bods, I had a powerhouse of a 1979 Datsun 210 sedean with a whopping 56 hp.........and I drove that thing more crazy then I ever did my F-Bods....mostly cuz I "knew" the F-Bod would get me into trouble much easier/faster.
Teens, on the whole, get into more accidents, and a lot of them are speed related, but a kid will speed in a diesel Yugo just as much as he will in a powerful car. Yes, the powerful car will present the potential for trouble to be found easier, but as a kid, they will speed regardless of the car they are in.....for the most part.

Racehead

I agree with part of what you're saying Darrin. Kids will push the limit no matter what kind of car they are in. A modern stock 4 cylinder grocery getter will do at least 90-100 mph which is more than enough to kill yourself with. However, when I was younger I ALWAYS knew exactly how fast ANY car I was driving would go. Thankfully they were cars like a '71 Toyota station wagon, '76 Toyota P/U, '72 Chev station wagon, '63 ford Fairlane etc. If I had an LS1 car back then I'm sure my terminal velocitys would have gone up on scale with capability. I know not every kid was like me, I was pretty much the fearless hellion that everyone talks about.

IMO teenage kids should have 2 experiences happen to them to prepare them.

1. They need to see a few dead kids their own age at the local morgue up close and personal. It's very hard to ignore or dismiss a cold harsh reality like that.

2. They need a high performance/street survival driving class so they have a decent skill set in place when something happens, 'cuz we all know something WILL eventually happen.

Red Cell

Well said.

NautyAngel

Acdtually, I think that is what effected mom, and to some extent me, so much. It was too close to home .... the car, the way it left the road airborn and hit a tree ... but the difference between them dying and Ellis living was speed.

I know when I was in high school a girl (Caitlen's dad was real good friends with her) driving a Fiero lost control up on one of the grades .... end of story. There was virtually nothing left. Also, when I was 17 I was IN a very nice, just painted and dudded up 80's Z-28 with a couple guys. The owner (driver) was about 20 ... I was sitting on the console between the driver and passneger seat and he was doing brodies in a parkinglot when the front passenger wheel came flying off (the lug nuts apparently were not on tight enough, they were deep ones and only the last 1/4 inch were stripped out - saw that with my own eyes). Lucdkily none of us were hurt, but the car .... it was ugly.

But my thoughts were that kids are not the only ones it could happen to. No matter how good you are, you just cant steer to miss a tree when you are airborn, and something as simple as a bad tire can do it

99blancoSS

iTrader: (115)

Its not the top end speed that gets kids into trouble most of the time, its the quickness of it. A pos car might get to 100 eventually but not on a side street in town, usually on the freeway. Its is what it is because of the way it is if you can understand that. Teenage boys in general are a nightmare on the road and if you equip them with gobs of hp then there is going to be trouble. It might not be true of you rott or even anyone you know, but there are more then enough of them out there. I see it and hear it everyday when school lets out for lunch. Its only takes a minute for someone to die in a fast car where it takes a lot longer in a slow car. Its reaction time or lack thereof or even knowledge of it that inexperienced drivers get into trouble with. Its takes a while to learn these things and develop good judgement.

slowpokez28

Well Guys and gals..Angi's thread was not really about teenagers it was a reminder speed kills.

when i saw that wreck i told my wife that could be me if one thing goes wrong,Rather i'm street racing,drag racing on a legal track, or going fast for my jollies.

I got it a verbal disagreement at work I told the guys at work about the wreck
and their response was we have seen you drive and how well you handle speed and just in general how my car is a extension of me.It won't happen to you you are too good and respecdt speed too much.
I told them that it doesnt matter..I'm going over 100 and I hit oil or blow a tire.or worse yet some silly person/ or dog didnt see me comming and runs out in front of me.

I have never had a accident at high speed.



To some it Up everybody .always keep in mind your not God of high speed and **** happens. we would miss you if something would happen

NautyAngel

Tom is right. As valuable as I think the conversation about teens/fast cars is (and I have got to tell you, teen girls can be just as bad with a fast car as teen boys), my thoughts about what I saw and my reason for posting had nothing to do with the fact that it was teens in the car. This kind of thing can happen to anyone , no matter age or experience. If the roof of your car is on the ground or your tires are in the air, all the steering skill in the world wont help. I understand that experience and skill play a big part in staying out of that sittuation in the first place ... but things happen.

I can think of two very close calls for me that could have ended very differently. The first was in my mom's 81 Toyota Corolla. I was coming off of White Pass into Naches following Thanksgiving weekend. I had 2 kids (one my own newborn) in the car and I was not being stupid by any means, simply following the speed of traffic, which was about 65. There was a lady in a mini-van waiting to turn into a fruit stand ... she started out infront of me, stopped, LOOKED STRAIGHT AT ME, and pulled fully across my lane. I had to brake rapidly and swerve off the pavement into loose gravel to avoid broadsiding her. How the car did not roll when I hit the bump/gravel is completely beyond me, but thankfully everything turned out fine. My own mother was behind me in her truck and saw the whole thing ... I never made a risky move or a mistake, but it could have been tragic just the same thanks to that bimbo.

Second time was a few weeks ago ... I was going about 90 on hiway 97 - no traffic in sight, perfect day, best of conditions. I came around a curve and saw the tire shreds from a semi just in time to steer around them ... but if I had been glancing down at my speedometer or anything, I would have hit it ... and at 90 mph on a curve, well I am sure it would not have been pretty.

I am no kid, and I know how to handle my car ... but it still could happen.

Racehead

NautyAngel,
I agree with you. It doesn't matter if you've been drag racing for 20 years, or if your an experienced road racer, or some guy who regularly drives fast, knows how to handle his car and should be used to it. All it takes is for a tire to let go while your driving like you always do, or to hit a bit of oil on a corner that you go thru safely everyday, or for someone to pull out/step out in front of you where you'd never expect a car/person to be. These things happen all the time and can happen to any of us on any given day.