Atlanta Man Shatters Coast-to-Coast Driving Record, Averaging 98MPH 666
New submitter The Grim Reefer sends this quote from CNN:
"[Ed] Bolian set out on a serious mission to beat the record for driving from New York to Los Angeles. The mark? Alex Roy and David Maher's cross-country record of 31 hours and 4 minutes, which they set in a modified BMW M5 in 2006. ... He went into preparation mode about 18 months ago and chose a Mercedes CL55 AMG with 115,000 miles for the journey. The Benz's gas tank was only 23 gallons, so he added two 22-gallon tanks in the trunk, upping his range to about 800 miles. ... To foil the police, he installed a switch to kill the rear lights and bought two laser jammers and three radar detectors. He commissioned a radar jammer, but it wasn't finished in time for the trek. There was also a police scanner, two GPS units and various chargers for smartphones and tablets -- not to mention snacks, iced coffee and a bedpan. ... The total time: 28 hours, 50 minutes and about 30 seconds. ... When they were moving, which, impressively, was all but 46 minutes of the trip, they were averaging around 100 mph. Their total average was 98 mph, and their top speed was 158 mph, according to an onboard tracking device."
When will he be arrested? (Score:5, Interesting)
Clear cut case of speeding and the guy even collected his own evidence.
Too bad there wasn't a legal route. (Score:5, Interesting)
In the Land of the Free and the Home of the brave, They needed to add a lot of cowardly countermeasures to make sure the were not caught and imprisoned, for what was in essence a joy ride.
If there was a way to go, I am going to do this stunt, I am expected to be at these locations between these times, and make sure the police give us enough room and clear out traffic. Sure it may require a little extra money say an traditional $10k to pay for the expense of blocking off the roads for the time.
But Risk taking should be rewarded, not punished, especially if you are willing to work with the system.
Re:Is this really something we want to celebrate? (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't know where YOU live, but I'm in Kansas and you can do 100+ easily out here, even on the state highways because roads are so straight. I ride my motorcycle out in the country and the only real limitation is the mental fatigue of high speeds. I can only maintain them for a while before slowing down to make the ride more relaxing.
Re:Too bad there wasn't a legal route. (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm sure Red Bull would be eager to sponsor such a thing.
Re:Why bother with a radar / laser jammer? (Score:4, Interesting)
Just feed the receiver with the right frequency to tell it how fast you want it to read. Imagine the look on the cop's face when you scream by at 100+ and the gun reads "55".
They don't need the radar gun reading to ticket you for speeding - if you ever go to court, you'll find that all police claim to be "trained in visual speed observation", and will back up the radar evidence with their professional judgement of how fast you were going. And the judge will accept their estimate because they have the training to show that they can make accurate estimates.
Saw this yesterday; was shocked by the detail (Score:4, Interesting)
OK, this guy plotted and planned in excrutiating detail for 18 months, works in the automobile industry, yet seems utterly fearless about the legal ramifications about admitting average speeds in excess of all posted limits in the country? The article I saw had a damning amount detail, including what sound like many admissions that he knows what he's doing is illegal (e.g. the comment about the vented trunk fumes while stopped by a cop).
Re:Irresponsible jerk. (Score:5, Interesting)
If he was driving 100MPH in a 75MPH zones, then he was only 33% above the speed limit. He also picked a vehicle designed for high-speed, Autobahn driving, meant to handle at those speeds, and I expect that his route intentionally avoided metro areas as much as possible to avoid both extra law enforcement and extra traffic. I can attest to my part of the country, it would not be that hard to go 150MPH in some areas without particularly endangering anyone but one's self, as there are long stretches of straight road with little to no usage. I wouldn't recommend it from a personal safety standpoint, but if one were to wreck in those areas it'd probably be a one-car accident.
Interesting data point (Score:5, Interesting)
To get an idea how much faster you could get around if the US had proper no speed limit highways like the German Autobahn.
(That said I don't condone reckless driving on roads that aren't built for that speed.)
One missing detail (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Americans CAN NOT DRIVE!! (Score:5, Interesting)
Do you drive dangerously, or just speed? Autobahnpolizei are known to ignore the guy going fast but safe in favor of catching the guys passing on the right, tailgating, weaving through traffic, and camping out in the middle lane.
In the US we ticket for speed, since it's the easiest to prove and carries the highest fines. The cops don't care so much about actual unsafe driving. Yes, it's screwed up.
Re:Insurance (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:When will he be arrested? (Score:4, Interesting)
Ah, one of those capitalists that believes that if something is related to money, that must be the one and only thing reason involved.
Never been to the province of Ontario have you? 62mph limit, when the highway is rated for 80mph.
Re:When will he be arrested? (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm conflicted about this. Yes, he broke the law, and as pointed out, even collected the evidence to be used against himself.
But "reckless" is a matter of opinion, the definition being "without thinking or caring about the consequences of an action", and it wasn't clear that this was the case. One could argue (and in his position, I would, in court) that the degree of preparation involved (only some of which, undoubtedly, we have heard here) is proof positive that the participants very much were thinking and caring about the consequences of their actions.
I recall an article back in the seventies, may have been in an auto or men's magazine (I remember the graphic was a pantera overtaking a sedan at an extremely high rate of speed) about the ethics of speeding. As I recall, the author exceeded the speed limit by large margins on a regular basis, but he had commensurate skills, a car equipped for the job, and a set of ironclad rules. I don't remember all of them, but one was: If anything you do makes another driver deviate in any fashion, by flinching, braking, swerving or anything other than jaw dropping as you go by, you have lost. Find another hobby. Another was: What you're doing is illegal. When you get pulled over, and it *will* happen, take it like a man. Don't whine, don't try to get out of it, be courteous and respectful. There were other rules that I don't recall. The gist was, if you have decided to speed, you have a duty to do so in a way that doesn't make you a menace or an asshole.
As for "speed limits are posted to keep the public safe", yeah, that's what they always say. And back when we had a 55 mile per hour national speed limit, they said it then too. Did the populace at large suddenly become better drivers when the double nickel was repealed? Speed limits tend to be arbitrary, and at best, "safety" is measured as some government-set lowest-common-demoninator. Drug laws exist to keep us safe too, and that's working out swell.
I have a Harley with a five speed transmission. I've heard of a six speed upgrade, but thought those were just for bragging rights, as nobody would ever really need a sixth gear. And then I visited Texas. Now I'm saving up for one.
Hey Slashdot, your cognitive dissonance is showing (Score:2, Interesting)
Once again, Slashdot demonstrates that they are largely the same as every other group of wingnuts with their pet interest (Slashdot's being Internet/tech and often intersecting topics). You'll defend it to the hills, hypothesize about chilling effects on liberty, have Internet arguments until your fingers bleed and claim that it's important to everybody (or that it should be) Yet, when taken outside of your box, suddenly you become the same as every other idiot group demanding to sell your liberty to buy some safety.
"But it's illegal!"
Yeah, so? I thought most of us were above such petulant arguments. The CFAA practically makes surfing the web illegal and you already commit three felonies a day [threefeloniesaday.com].
Look: just because you're a clumsy, uncoordinated, risk-averting, thrill-fearing nerd doesn't mean everyone else is. I like you guys, but when it comes to any story involving cars or driving, you show your true colors and disappoint me.
Because you most definitely did not read the article (on Slashdot? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!), I'll give you the cliff's notes. This wasn't just some unskilled lunatic pushing down the "go faster" pedal in a pickup truck, this guy is a dedicated enthusiast who spent a year and a half preparing, installing additional equipment to ensure his high-performance vehicle would be up the task, finding co and lead drivers to avoid traffic and construction zones and spending almost ten grand on maintenance. I doubt many of us have spent much more than that on an entire car.
Since Slashdot is a mainly US site, you could be forgiven for thinking that all cars are shitbuckets that spontaneously explode the second they breach 70mph. Car manufacturers from places that aren't 'Muricuh actually rework an entire vehicle -- chassis, suspension, brakes, anything that's necessary to handle additional power, and more -- when they soup up an engine because they're not for redneck motor "sports."
The car he was driving is a very German, very expensive and very performance-oriented Mercedes Benz. This is a vehicle designed to be very stable and manageable at much higher speeds than anything you've likely driven. Since I have, let me tell you what it's like: highway speed feels like walking pace. Cars like this barely need to make an effort to reach and maintain it. Even at double the speed, it's still hardly trying -- it hardly needs to. By comparison, a Ford Mustang, for example, feels pretty damn scary at half of highway speed because it's chassis, suspension and brakes are shit. Same factor, different hardware. Think of how a low-grade ARM processor would perform benchmarking AES calculation versus an i7 with an AES instruction set. Same factor, different hardware.
To everyone calling for extreme traffic laws and enforcement, try coming to Canada and see how you like it. BC is downright condescending and oppressive, Manitoba is not far behind, Ontario... I don't even want to know. In many places here, they take away your license, pile on debt for decades and destroy your life for the horrific act of ... uh, your tires chirped. I shit you not, this happens.
Oh, and I haven't even told you how many provinces have government-run insurance monopolies ("crown corporations") who are in bed with the cops. Just the other day, there was story in the paper praising how my province's auto insurance provider paid for the local police department's overtime to nail drivers doing barely over the limit. This is not an expenditure for the company, this is an investment: pay some overtime wages now, get the kickbacks in ticket amounts, obscene licensing costs and insurance rates for years to come. Yet, no one will write in to point out this blatant corruption because OMG!! Safety!!
Still not convinced? Look up "MPI VIU." This is the (government-run) insurance company colluding with the cops to
Re:Also consider equilibrium. (Score:4, Interesting)
I learned this physics lesson quite well when I hyrdroplaned at 55 MPH in July 2013 and hit the leading edge of a guardrail rear first. Thankfully the impact pushed me INTO my seat, and I was alone in the car (an hour earlier I had my children with me). The sheer force of spinning and rapidly decelerating knocked me the fuck out. I remember a loud "metal grinding" sound that was my rear bumper folding up and demolishing 20 feet of guardrail, and I remember spinning. Then I woke up at the bottom of a ditch.
Ever since I have been more careful (not not a pussy) while driving in the rain. I measure my tires' tread depth on a regular basis. That is one experience I never want to repeat again. And that was at 55 MPH (in a 70 zone). If I were hit by an assclown going twice my speed even on dry pavement? That is four times the force. Four times the pain, four times the brain scrambling in a spin. I may write software for a living, but I respect physics.
Re:As good as it gets? (Score:4, Interesting)
Pity, it works rather well here, I think the difference is that over here it's set up in such a way that a lower road toll equates to a profit for the state.
I'll point out that while there are unfairly lowered speed limits, as well as speed limits lowered not to meet safety standards but to make neighbors happy*, but for the most part if you follow NTSB recommendations you'll be very safe, and 'most' local traffic authorities are fixated on being safe. We've had some incidents where yellows have been shortened to generate more revenue from red light cameras, but for the most part judges have been very unsympathetic to red light cameras when this is discovered - and they're unsympathetic even when it's found that they didn't shorten them, but deliberately selected lights that weren't following NTSB standards for whatever reason.
There are constant improvements in the states safety wise, including demanding safer vehicles. As a result we've managed to get our annual fatalities down to just over 30k/year from a high of over 50k/year despite ever more vehicles on the road. One of the more interesting aspects is the psychology of driving that they consider today - most people drive at what they 'feel' is a safe speed, thus there's various psychological tricks you can use to make sure their 'feeling' matches up with reality. Remember, not an expert, just read some articles on it.
Additionally, remember that the USA is generally much more concerned with 'internal affairs' than other countries and we're a lot more fragmented legal wise. We're more like the EU than the UK between our 50 states. As a result we 'air our dirty laundry' a lot more.
I think that the difference in the end is more flavor than substantiative. Liability coverage is also mandatory here in the states, though the details vary.
*One interstate corridor was put in over protest, and part of the deal cut was lower speed limits in an effort to limit noise. Later studies have shown that not only do lower speeds not significantly limit noise, people aren't following them anyways.