8 people were killed this weekend in Southern California when a desert rally truck left the course and plowed into the crowd. The people killed were at the edge of the course, within 4 feet of the trucks competing and there were no barriers.
I have watched with horror for many years the Baja 1000 where the exact same thing occurs. Not that people get killed all the time, but some do, but that spectators stand so close to the trucks traveling over uneven ground at 70 miles an hour.
The talk in the press is that the driver of the truck should be proscecuted for manslaughter. That is rediculous. If you tried to cross the freeway and a truck couldn't stop and hit you, should the driver be proscecuted?
People need to take personal responsibility. They need to know the dangers and take reasonable precautions. This is the same attitude that allowed a couple from the east (the guy was from the UK) to rent a jeep in March in Las Vegas and ride into the Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument with a leather jacket, dress shoes and no concern about the weather.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
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3 comments:
I agree. I had very similar thoughts when I heard about this accident. I'm sorry for the deaths, but DUH! Unless the driver was aiming for the spectators, it's not his fault that they were standing way too close.
But seriously, how were they to know that trucks driving recklessly around a dirt track could lose control? I often like to stand right next to the targets at a firing range, just to get a close look at the bullet ripping through the paper. The archery range is another fun one.
Thanks for the comments. I saw a piece on tv last night about the destitute in New Orleans 5 years after Katrina. They said the kids would be emotionally damaged long term because they had to live in temporary homes. If everyone goes around feeling sorry for themselves they will be emotionally damaged. Hurricanes have been slamming into the Gulf Coast long before FEMA. "I can't wait for some natural disaster to befall me and mine so I can get some government cash or a nice mobile home." Sorry I channeled Dick Hickster there.
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