West Coast Connection Forum
Lifestyle => Train of Thought => Topic started by: Trauma-san on October 14, 2005, 08:40:42 AM
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Two lessons from this: Don't drive like an idiot on the highway, it'll eventually catch up to you, and 2. if your car breaks down, do NOT sit in a parked car on the side of a highway or interstate, get out of the car and climb up the side of the embankment... sitting in a parked car takes away your mobility.... this all happened in Charlotte yesterday.
Driver in I-77 crash
had prior trouble
He's charged with DWI in fatal crash
Albert Lamont Pharr was driving fast, up to 90 mph, as authorities say he wove in and out of Interstate 77 traffic Wednesday evening with his 1-year-old child in tow.
Then, with a tractor-trailer in his way, the 26-year-old darted into an emergency lane to make a hasty pass. But he didn't look far enough ahead: A Jeep Cherokee was parked there, engine off and driver still inside.
The fiery wreck near Tyvola Road tied up traffic for hours Wednesday but caused permanent damage to two families.
The driver of the Cherokee is dead, and Pharr faces a slew of charges that includes driving while impaired. Pharr lay in a Chapel Hill burn center Thursday in fair condition.
Pharr has been accused before of high-speed, reckless and drunken driving.
On March 17, 2002, Pharr sped away from a DWI checkpoint near Remount Road, driving 65 mph in a 35 mph zone, according to a court affidavit.
He turned into a residential neighborhood, slammed on the brakes, then started to run. He threw down a bag of cocaine, the affidavit said, and kept going.
When the trooper caught up to him, the affidavit said, Pharr's breath smelled of alcohol. He slurred his words and stood unsteadily.
But the DWI charge was voluntarily dismissed in exchange for a guilty plea on a charge of felony possession of cocaine, according to court records. Pharr was sentenced to eight to 10 months, court records show.
Then this week, the N.C. Highway Patrol said he was driving drunk again, this time with his child. Witnesses had spotted Pharr's 1995 Ford Thunderbird weaving through northbound lanes on Interstate 77 Wednesday as far back as the S.C. line, Trooper Brandon Roberts said.
Just north of Tyvola Road, around 6:30 p.m., a tractor-trailer lumbered ahead of him. So Pharr zoomed into the emergency lane.
The tractor-trailer was sideswiped, a bit of paint rubbed off. The Thunderbird then slammed into the parked Cherokee, rupturing a gas tank and causing both vehicles to go up in flames.
The driver sitting in the Cherokee was pronounced dead at the scene. That person's name hadn't been released Thursday, Roberts said, because authorities were trying to confirm the person's identity against dental records.
At the scene, Pharr's breath smelled of alcohol, Roberts said. In addition to the DWI charge, he has been charged with careless and reckless driving, improper use of a lane, improper passing, not decreasing speed to avoid hitting another vehicle and having no insurance.
The district attorney will review the case, Roberts said, and could press other charges.
Pharr remained hospitalized Thursday night at the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill.
Though his 1-year-old child was taken to Carolinas Medical Center, Roberts said, the baby barely had a scratch. It had been strapped securely into a child safety seat.
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Man thats fucked up, but how can u blame the dude in the cherokee rest in peace. Homeboy prob had car troubles sittin in his ride waiting for one of his boys or the tow truck to show up. How is he supposed to assume some drunk faggot is gonna come rumblin down.
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Man thats fucked up, but how can u blame the dude in the cherokee rest in peace. Homeboy prob had car troubles sittin in his ride waiting for one of his boys or the tow truck to show up. How is he supposed to assume some drunk faggot is gonna come rumblin down.
I'm not blaming him, I'm just saying this happens all the time.
Your reaction actually gets to the heart of the problem on the highways most of the time. You're very quick to jump all over the drunk faggot that hit the car, and it's true the drunk faggot deserves death over this shit.
However, you have to assume that there's drunk faggots everywhere out there. If you're going to take care of yourself you need to worry less about them not doing what they're obviously going to do whether laws or the people like it or not, and you need to worry more about how you can be defensive and stay the fuck out of the idiots way.
So you can say "Oh, I'll sit here in my car and as long as everybody drives the way they're supposed to, I'll be alright", or you can say "These people are fucking crazy I'm getting out of the car and hiding in the woods until the cops show up".
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That's is basically how I drive, I pretend everybody is stupid around me and have no respect for the law.
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Man thats fucked up, but how can u blame the dude in the cherokee rest in peace. Homeboy prob had car troubles sittin in his ride waiting for one of his boys or the tow truck to show up. How is he supposed to assume some drunk faggot is gonna come rumblin down.
I'm not blaming him, I'm just saying this happens all the time.
Your reaction actually gets to the heart of the problem on the highways most of the time. You're very quick to jump all over the drunk faggot that hit the car, and it's true the drunk faggot deserves death over this shit.
However, you have to assume that there's drunk faggots everywhere out there. If you're going to take care of yourself you need to worry less about them not doing what they're obviously going to do whether laws or the people like it or not, and you need to worry more about how you can be defensive and stay the fuck out of the idiots way.
So you can say "Oh, I'll sit here in my car and as long as everybody drives the way they're supposed to, I'll be alright", or you can say "These people are fucking crazy I'm getting out of the car and hiding in the woods until the cops show up".
I dont understand how one could live their life effectively if they assumed people around them were destined to fuck up. Homeboy in the cherokee had no reason to believe some idiot is gonna barrel into him and i dont think he souldve had that assumption
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It's called Defensive Driving. He had every right to believe that someone would hit him parked on the side of the highway, there is absolutely NO WAY I would have been in that car. If this news story was about me, it would have included quotes of me telling the reporter how fucked up it was to see my car explode into a fireball from my vantage point sitting safely 150 feet up the side of the embankment.
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word..
i've broken down on a country road with no hard-shoulder and that shits scary.. i got out..
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when i broke down on the m4 motorway i pulled into the hard shoulder and called the aa, they advised me to stay in my car while i was waiting
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man in the bay area people drive like fuckin animals without turn signals and shit at high speeds so theres always some accident happening. Driving has almost become a sport for me since it requires the perfect muscle/mental combination. Europe has to be even crazier tho with the higher speed limits.
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when i broke down on the m4 motorway i pulled into the hard shoulder and called the aa, they advised me to stay in my car while i was waiting
I can't really comment on that because I'm not sure what the driving conditions are over there or where you were or anything, so maybe that's alright in that situation. In most any area of the U.S., though, if I broke down, I would get out of the car a.s.a.p.
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Your reaction whn your car breaks down depends on the situation and what kind of car you're driving. Getting out of the car can be just as dangerous.
But about that news story, what kind of fucking idiot drives down the emergency lane just to get past a truck. Drunk or not he's a stupid son of a bitch. Man, people like that make me fuckin sick. I hope he loses custody of his kid for putting him/her in danger.
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It only takes one lunatic to kill you. Never forget that, whereever you go. >:(
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^ yeah thats true...
we call em "sunday drivers" over here a lot... as the roads are filled with coffin dodgers (old people) who drive once a week
generally over here the hard shoulder would be safe.. i only got out as i was on a country road with no hard shoulder and was close to a corner..
how can you say all of europe is crazier..you guys are so quick to bash the whole of europe.. europe is FORTY FIVE countries. with nearly as many languages to boot... think about it for a second.. the ends of the spectrum are as far apart in wealth, culture, road quality etc as America and Iraq.. multiply those differences up across 45 and you realise how tarnishing "europe" as being all the same is extremely fucking ignorant.
i'd imagine rural US vs city wide US driving conditions vary a great deal... cities here can be hectic.. and yes america does sound nuts.. i've heard italy is totally insane too..
some countries have very well laid down and funded motorways.. particualarly france (which can be toll based) and germany where the autobahns have no limit at all.
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I hope you weren't talking to me, I don't pretend to know what the roads are like in Europe. I imagine they're very different depending on where you are.
What I can talk about is this stretch of I-77 that the accident happened on. I drive on it every day. If I broke down on that road, I would get out of my car and as far away from the car as I could. Like I said, a woman was hit parked in her car about a year ago on the same stretch of road, about a mile from where this happened.
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i wasnt.. i was replying to the person that actually mentioned europe dude ;)
as for speed limits.. i dunno.. i wont lie.. i have a fast car and i break the limits all the time.. but never when conditions are bad, or when its busy and not when i'm tired etc.. you _do_ need your wits about you at over 80.. (the limit here is 70 btw).. in town of course i keep it slow.. theres not much choice.. its often bumper to bumper..
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well its very rare to see anyone drive on the hard shoulder here, i've only seen it a couple of times in my life. but the emergency services do sometimes.
we got bad drivers here too i get so frustated on the motorway especially the m25 (the one that circles london), they've just widened it to 5 lanes in some places and everyone drives in the 3 outside lanes they haven't got a fucking clue its rediculas, its like that on all motorways you get middle lane drivers who sit in the middle overtaking lane likes its there own personal lane ppl do that in the fast lane (the outside overtaking lane) to some extent too, this leads to the fast lane filled with bmw and mercedeiz drivers all doing ninety odd mph tailgating eachother, it gets fucking dangerous when things slow down because they all have to break really suddenly.
we also get dicks like the guy last week who just pulled right across into the middle lane as soon as he got on the motorway, he pulled out probably 2 cars lengths infront of me and i was traveling probably 20 to 30 mph faster than him its only because i have good breaks i didn't go straight into the back of him. I saw I overtook him after and looked at him and saw him laugh, i was about to give him major roadrage and give him a taste of his own medicine by breaking him infront of him, but my senses came thru because it was a busy motorway and i didn't want to cause an accident so a let it slide but he really knew how to get me frustrated!!!!
what is the speed limit in america isn't it 50 mph or somink rediculas? over here on the motorway its 70 mph but everyone speeds half the driver cruise along at 70 - 80 mph whilst the other half tend to travel between 80 - 110 mph. i usually keep it under 100 because if the police deem it dangerous driving they can give you a year ban. but i always leave loads of room especially because i'd rather use my breaks as little as possible so i leave enough room for me to be able to just let off the accelerator when things slow down.
other european countries drive a bit faster than we do but from experience the tend to be worse drivers too, however to be honest most of england's bad drivers tend to be around london its definatly the most aggressive place, i don't like to drive there it takes too long, costs too much and is too stressful!! which is why i normally take the train but thats pretty much the only time i use public services unless its a night out because its cheaper and more convienient to drive.
oh and what overseer was saying about the coffin dodgers is another scary point, when i worked at a petrol station I saw so many old timers that really didn't have a clue driving they had a hard enough time filling i dread to think what they were like when they got behind the wheel. I'll tell you a story about one i used to work with at my last job in bristol we had this lady who was about 65/70 in invoice processing she planned every root before going out so that she would never have to go on a dual carridge way or make a right turn (across on coming traffic) thus she had never done either of those in her life, this meant her drive to work was half an hour longer than it could be if she went on the ring road. If someone is that scared or incompetent they shouldn't be on the road at all.
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Hell no it's not 50! Come on man. I don't know how they label roads over there, but over here the biggest are called Interstates... on the Interstate, (where this accident happened), the speed limit can be 55 if it's a really congested area of the city with lots of ramps, 60 or 65 if it's in the city but is pretty well isolated from outside traffic, and on the roads between cities it's 70 or sometimes even 75. That's Miles Per Hour as well, I don't know if you use MPH where you are.
People typically drive 5 or 10 miles over the speedlimit. If we were out in the country or something, I would never drive 100 miles an hour, that's insane. I think I've seen 100 once or twice in my life and the car was on the verge of out of control. If I'm driving 90 I'm fucking FLYING and if a cop catches you driving 90 you're in some serious shit. I do usually drive around 75 or 80 if I'm on the interstate travelling (which I do daily with my job).
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wtf so a quiet a few drivers in England are driving around 100MPh?!
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yea i theres always people doing 100 on the motor way but i wouldn;t say its alot maybe 5 or 10 % of drivers.
Yea we use mph, the motorways are the fastests roads like yout interstates, most country lanes are national speed limit which is 60 mph but in alot of them you can't actually drive that fast so you just gotta judge the speed for the road, in towns and cities it tends to be 30 - 40 mph and 20 - 30 in residential areas. Plus after making decent roads everywhere, they've now added speed humps, chicanes (although they can be quite fun when its quiet) etc everywhere, and thats not even mentioning the speed cameras, talking of speed cameras anyone noticed the m25 variable speed limit cameras flashing alot lately?? i think they may have lowered the tollerence they give you.... any info would be welcomed.
Cars over here are alot more reliable than american cars and unlike america we have MOTs every year which comprises of a number of test to how safe you car is to be legally alowed on the road. We don't buy american cars here, well we do have fords but they make different models for europe and they tend to be some of the safest cars, but apart from ford we buy european or japaneese in general which are far superior cars than your petrol guzzlers. I've taken all of my cars i've had over 100 and as long as the road can take that sort of speed and its not congested its relatively safe. The fastest i've been on the road was 170 mph but i wasn't driving, it was at the classic car show at the birmingham NEC, my dad was doing something for charity offering people a ride in his Lous Esprit turbo and he paid for meto go out in this guys AC Cobra (beautiful looking car, it was the exhaust pipes on the either side of the car) it was fucking awsome i've wanted one ever since. The police got a bit upset with the even tho because they tried to pull over one of the other cars but as soon as they put on their lights he pretty much left them standing they couldn't keep up! they did catch up with him later tho lucky for him they just gave him a talking too, it would have probably been an entirely different story if it hadn't been for charity tho.
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what a creep, driving with his baby drunk
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drunks are like that.. if you ever have the misfortune to know a "proper" drunk you'll learn how they'll lie, cheat, hide and steal to get a drink.. ultimately if they don't learn they will lose everything from wifes, homes, jobs and even lose respect from their own children..
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Drunks are horrible. Worse than Drug Addicts.
The absolute worst addiction, though, trust me... is gambling. A gambler not only can do all the dangerous and self destructive damage to himself and his family and his relationships, but can also ruin his/her life and everyone elses around him financially. It's scary. My mother's a gambling addict, but she's toned it down a little. I've got a friend who's dad was a gambler, he lost their house, lost their marriage, filed bankruptcy, his kids hate him... etc.
Don Rizzle, we have our cars checked every year for safety as well. Also you're talking about all these nice newer cars people are driving 100 mph, I've never been one to buy a new car, all of mine are old. If I was to spend several thousand dollars mine could handle 100 mph pretty capably too, but that's not really something I'm interested in... I always thought of cars as a status symbol, and I don't need status symbols. I'd rather have the money in the bank tallying up than sitting in my driveway depreciating.
I've had several decent cars though that I could drive as fast as I wanted I guess... I had a '82 Datsun 280ZX Turbo that was fast as shit, I bought some nice Pirelli tires for it and it handled great. Just a little thing though, it was so fun. I also have a '69 Mustang that's a beast, they're extremely fast but the suspension and the brakes aren't at a point where I'd feel comfortable flying in.
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It only takes one lunatic to kill you. Never forget that, whereever you go. >:(
lol
i just got my Learners since im 16, and im glad that drivers in Canada are pretty gentle through my knowledge & experience
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don't get me wrong i'm the same as you i don't see the point in paying out thousands on something that is garenteed to lose its value, I baught my first 2 cars for under 600 pounds and my current car is a honda civic which cost me 1.5k when i baught it and they were all about 10 years old at the time of purchase.
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^ yeah true... if u buy new u gotta keep new and sell regularly to stop losing lots..
i got the car i have now coz i wanna keep it for a long time while I save for a house
as for the safety test.. i guess it varies from state to state (like i know cali is nuts on emissions etc) but our testing is very strict.. they're thorough.. its a 40 minute rigourous test including emissions, brake, tyres, head/side lights, indicators, safety belts... and structural integrity (rust).. and its getting stricter every year
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yea i just asumed america didn't have tests because the sheds you see on pimp my ride would never be alowed on our roads
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yeah fo real.. a lot of the cars on pimp my ride would be scrap over here
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^ yeah true... if u buy new u gotta keep new and sell regularly to stop losing lots..
i got the car i have now coz i wanna keep it for a long time while I save for a house
as for the safety test.. i guess it varies from state to state (like i know cali is nuts on emissions etc) but our testing is very strict.. they're thorough.. its a 40 minute rigourous test including emissions, brake, tyres, head/side lights, indicators, safety belts... and structural integrity (rust).. and its getting stricter every year
That's the same as here. You have to get your car inspected every year, they test the emissions, the brakes, the tires, the lights, the belts, the emergency brake, rust, the windshield wipers, headlight alignment, the horn, etc.
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drunks are like that.. if you ever have the misfortune to know a "proper" drunk you'll learn how they'll lie, cheat, hide and steal to get a drink.. ultimately if they don't learn they will lose everything from wifes, homes, jobs and even lose respect from their own children..
Tell me about it,2 family members of mine used to be alchaholics.One of them just started doing that again & that person to me is very very close.
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^ yeah true... if u buy new u gotta keep new and sell regularly to stop losing lots..
i got the car i have now coz i wanna keep it for a long time while I save for a house
as for the safety test.. i guess it varies from state to state (like i know cali is nuts on emissions etc) but our testing is very strict.. they're thorough.. its a 40 minute rigourous test including emissions, brake, tyres, head/side lights, indicators, safety belts... and structural integrity (rust).. and its getting stricter every year
That's the same as here. You have to get your car inspected every year, they test the emissions, the brakes, the tires, the lights, the belts, the emergency brake, rust, the windshield wipers, headlight alignment, the horn, etc.
It's not mandatory though. And even if you don't pass the emission test, you can still drive your car. At least in Minnesota that is the case.
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If it's not mandatory, why would they have the test? It is mandatory in my state. You think I go down to the garage and say "wel, think i'm gonna see if I can talk you into not making my car legal!" ? I go down to the garage because they make me go down to the garage.
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Yeah in Cali you gotta get a smog check every 2 years. I gotta go get mine pretty soon or else I won't be allowed to register.
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If it's not mandatory, why would they have the test? It is mandatory in my state. You think I go down to the garage and say "wel, think i'm gonna see if I can talk you into not making my car legal!" ? I go down to the garage because they make me go down to the garage.
I don't know. I have never had to take my car in for an emissions test ever. But Cali is pretty anal about exhaust so I guess it's different from state to state.