richard hammond in 280mph crash - Page 2

[JemB]

Whatever anyone says, drag racing at these speeds is pushing the envelope for anyone including so called professionals. we all know the risks, all we can do is minimise them as best possible.
besides the great northrun claims several lives each year, do you hear safety campaigners clamouring about that, will we ban it? i think not!

[UrbanKhoja]

Whatever anyone says, drag racing at these speeds is pushing the envelope for anyone including so called professionals. we all know the risks, all we can do is minimise them as best possible.
besides the great northrun claims several lives each year, do you hear safety campaigners clamouring about that, will we ban it? i think not!

good point :cool:

[cyfm]

yeh very good point about the Great North Run! I think that Richard himself is also behind the campaign to keep Top Gear on the air!
Personally I don't think Top Gear shouild be stopped because although some people might say 'oh its dangerous' but its also very imformative as a programe.

[UrbanKhoja]

yeh very good point about the Great North Run! I think that Richard himself is also behind the campaign to keep Top Gear on the air!
Personally I don't think Top Gear shouild be stopped because although some people might say 'oh its dangerous' but its also very imformative as a programe.

although i shouldnt thing many caravans will be keen for the new series to start :lol:

darren :cool:

[jwenting]

Seriously, that's stupid that he was allowed in a car faster than an F1 car and those drivers need a special licence!

they don't need a special license at all. In fact there have been race drivers (at least in F3 and I think Nascar, not AFAIK in F1) who didn't have a driver's license.
All you need is an endorsement from a team (else you won't have a car) and a FIA race license (which is mostly about knowing the rules).

And driving a car like the one Hammond was in is easier than an F1 car. Not much need for steering, braking, etc.
It's flat out straight ahead until you hit a predetermined point at which time you hit the brakes to get it to stop before the end of the track. No corners, no other traffic, no pitstops or traffic rules.
Of course it takes some training to keep it straight, and he without doubt had that.
But suffering catastrophic mechanical problems can't be fully trained for, and at 300mph+ even a tiny unballance can be catastrophic.

Anyway, he was driving on private property. On private property the only one who says what goes and what doesn't is the owner.
I'll oppose ANY plan by the government to tell me what I can do in my own home (or my own garden, racetrack, or as in this case airfield), as that's the establishment of a total police state.

[UrbanKhoja]

they don't need a special license at all. In fact there have been race drivers (at least in F3 and I think Nascar, not AFAIK in F1) who didn't have a driver's license.
All you need is an endorsement from a team (else you won't have a car) and a FIA race license (which is mostly about knowing the rules).

And driving a car like the one Hammond was in is easier than an F1 car. Not much need for steering, braking, etc.
It's flat out straight ahead until you hit a predetermined point at which time you hit the brakes to get it to stop before the end of the track. No corners, no other traffic, no pitstops or traffic rules.
Of course it takes some training to keep it straight, and he without doubt had that.
But suffering catastrophic mechanical problems can't be fully trained for, and at 300mph+ even a tiny unballance can be catastrophic.

Anyway, he was driving on private property. On private property the only one who says what goes and what doesn't is the owner.
I'll oppose ANY plan by the government to tell me what I can do in my own home (or my own garden, racetrack, or as in this case airfield), as that's the establishment of a total police state.

good point well made!

darren :cool:

[StuartP1989]

yeah i heared that he is ok now lets hope he is back filiming top gear soon becuase it is a really good show. i like the way the destroy cravans and the episode where the tried to destroy a toyata pick up truck. well top gear rules and i hope the hamster is back soon

[jbennet]

yeah he was on the BBC waving and going into a helicopter not so long ago ppl are saying there rumours the bbc was negligent and that hammmond shouldnt of been driving but he ahd already done 3 laps in the thing and was an experienced driver so i dont see how

[UrbanKhoja]

yeah he was on the BBC waving and going into a helicopter not so long ago ppl are saying there rumours the bbc was negligent and that hammmond shouldnt of been driving but he ahd already done 3 laps in the thing and was an experienced driver so i dont see how

i know the bbc is or will be put under investgation though

[jwenting]

there is an investigation under way to determine who (if anyone) is responsible for the accident.
If anything the insurance companies will want someone to sue (yes, the UK is becoming ever more like the US).

To me though it looks like just a regrettable accident such as they are bound to happen when you're dealing with experimental and powerful machines.
The people using those machines know the risks and accept them, Hammond certainly is no different. He knew that an accident could kill him, he accepted that.
At those speeds a tiny fabrication flaw in a tyre that's too small to detect during QA can cause a blowout and a crash will inevitably result for example.

If people never had taken risks we'd still be living in the trees cowering from the predators roaming below.
In fact we're fast reverting to that state, just look at the space program.
We are now incapable of reaching the moon for heaven's sake, not because we don't know how to but because we're too scared to risk the journey as someone might get hurt in the process.

[UrbanKhoja]

there is an investigation under way to determine who (if anyone) is responsible for the accident.
If anything the insurance companies will want someone to sue (yes, the UK is becoming ever more like the US).

To me though it looks like just a regrettable accident such as they are bound to happen when you're dealing with experimental and powerful machines.
The people using those machines know the risks and accept them, Hammond certainly is no different. He knew that an accident could kill him, he accepted that.
At those speeds a tiny fabrication flaw in a tyre that's too small to detect during QA can cause a blowout and a crash will inevitably result for example.

If people never had taken risks we'd still be living in the trees cowering from the predators roaming below.
In fact we're fast reverting to that state, just look at the space program.

We are now incapable of reaching the moon for heaven's sake, not because we don't know how to but because we're too scared to risk the journey as someone might get hurt in the process.

thats very true, i mean look at the current war in iraq, yes its sad so many solidiers have lost their lives, but the amount who lost theirs in ww1 or ww2 doesnt neven come close, yet its a front page every time. (i dont mean to sound heartless btw)

the car he was using was from a proper company who specialises in maintaining high performance cars, dragsters etc, they would have ensured the car was fit to run, as well as tg's h&s guys.

[jwenting]

the reason there's so much attention to every single scrape and hurt soldiers in Iraq get has nothing to do with this. It's composed of 3 reasons: 1) instant comms make it easier to report than ever (seconds to get your report to the editor rather than days or weeks), 2) there's hardly any control over the media (in WW1 and 2 they were strictly controlled, essentially could only publish official press releases), and most importantly 3) the media are on a deliberate campaign (like they were in Vietnam) to get the people to believe the battle is being lost and the president is deliberately sending these people out there to be killed.

That has little to do with the people having lost their guts for action even if there's risk (though had the spirit that drove Apollo been there still it would be less effective against them).

[jbennet]

i live in the uk and a member of my family was recently sent out to basra in iraq and he may have to go to afganistan and believe me, were losing the war

[UrbanKhoja]

i live in the uk and a member of my family was recently sent out to basra in iraq and he may have to go to afganistan and believe me, were losing the war

im not sure if anyone truely knows if we are or not, there a so few official press releases, and besides we are fighting a losing battle, our soldiers have rules / code of conduct or whatever you like to call it, guys like the taliban dont give a monkeys about any of that, its a similar story with the i.r.a, although i know on a completly different level

[Scottg1989]

just incase anyone did happen to miss the news about Richard Hammond's crash, check out the link to see a basic interpretation of what happened

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=7992996179798417145

[jbennet]

heres the sensible version

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-5760605308669387880&q=richard+hammond

[UrbanKhoja]

heres the sensible version

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-5760605308669387880&q=richard+hammond

interesting, although i have heard the bbc are hoping to use the footage for a documentry into the crash pending hamsters agreement, although they proberly wont use it for the series (although jc will proberly change that :lol: )

£172,701.80 has now been raised for yorkshire air ambulance!

http://www.justgiving.com/PHRichardHammond

[jbennet]

thats a good ivestment theres always ppl lost on those moors

[UrbanKhoja]

£173,490.00 - although thats just under £1000 in 5 days, not sure how they'll meet their £1/2 million target.[IMG]http://www.justgiving.com/images/spacer.gif[/IMG]