Car Accident Takes the Life of Actor Paul Walker

[Vrach]

So, anyway, here's a pic of the accident scene courtesy of TMZ. Apparently that pile of rubble with a Porsche wheel in it is the car he died in.

As tragic as this story is a question needs to be raised..... How does billions of dollars into engineering for car safety and strength get beaten by the humble wood bearing tree? Is this GTA physics at work?

Geez the irony is strong

GTA physics are pretty right on the money when you're comparing trees to lampposts and traffic lights. I've seen the latter get brought down by a drunken guy doing a singing in the rain bit. They're held in place by a couple of nuts and bolts, whereas a tree is a rooted and hard object that's very difficult to move, thus usually bringing any fast moving object to a sudden stop on impact.

Oh and driving over trees isn't what you design a car for. There's a better question out there and it's "Why the fuck do we build commercially sold cars (and motorcycles) that can go over 75 mph/hour" if there's literally no place other than a race track where you'll be allowed to go that fast? Every single car can top that speed limit, what I'm wondering is, why? We have speed limiters, why aren't they on every single car and legally mandatory with the same penalty as driving faster than that limit (ie. losing the driving license on the spot)?

 

[Kinitawowi]

Oh and driving over trees isn't what you design a car for. There's a better question out there and it's "Why the fuck do we build commercially sold cars (and motorcycles) that can go over 75 mph/hour" if there's literally no place other than a race track where you'll be allowed to go that fast? Every single car can top that speed limit, what I'm wondering is, why? We have speed limiters, why aren't they on every single car and legally mandatory with the same penalty as driving faster than that limit (ie. losing the driving license on the spot)?

Two possibilities;

1) because there are places where you'll be allowed to go that fast (e.g. German autobahns); or
2) because if every car can do the speed limit then it's clearly not doing its job and needs to be recalculated.

The speed limit of 70mph on British motorways was set in 1962, when only the fastest cars could do that speed; that forced a situation where cars were travelling at different speeds, allowing for such forgotten things as overtaking and the notion of a "fast lane". Now the slowest cars can do that speed, which means that everything on the motorway travels at exactly the same 75-ish mph because of speed limits. That in turn eliminates overtaking (because in order to overtake you have to go faster than a slower vehicle, which means you'll be breaking the limit) and causes mass vehicle bunching.

Ever seen two lorries on a motorway try to overtake each other, both running at the max of their 56mph limiters? That's why artificially limiting speeds is a bad idea.

 

[tangoprime]

So, anyway, here's a pic of the accident scene courtesy of TMZ. Apparently that pile of rubble with a Porsche wheel in it is the car he died in.

As tragic as this story is a question needs to be raised..... How does billions of dollars into engineering for car safety and strength get beaten by the humble wood bearing tree?

Physics are a harsh mistress.
Also, wow. That's a pretty brutal wreck for something that took place on a street with a 45mph speed limit. I'm guessing that there may have been speeding involved.

 

[Psychobabble]

Well this won't be a popular post, but here goes.

First off I've never been a fan of the FF series. Still Paul Walker seemed quite a decent bloke and it's sad he died so young. So before I get accused of being heartless I do find his untimely death tragic and wish I could make it unhappen. Thing is though I feel the exact same way about anyone who died a tragic and untimely death famous or not. But apparently the national feeling for the non-famous is "Well fuck THOSE people".

All this brouhaha over this one guy by people who didn't actually know him, along with the nearly unending media frenzy, is outright sensationalist disingenuous bullshit. To most of us he was just a guy in some movies, and there's nothing wrong with that, but please keep in mind that to others he was a son, a friend, a DAD. How about you fucking ghouls piss off and leave the people his death REALLY affected get used to not having him around in peace and fucking quiet.

 

[cerebus23]

The worst part is, FF7 is still in filming. For reference, this is like Robert Downey Jr. dying before the Filming of Avengers 2 is done.

I don't know how far they were into shooting FF7. Filming started September 30. Some sites say it's shooting, others say it's in post-production. Maybe, even if they're still shooting, Walker completed his part. I hope he played out, or most of it, and his character makes the final cut. But! How awkward is it going to be to release a movie about driving fast and furious when your deuteragonist just died in a car crash?

The worst part is his untimely death put his film company in a bit of a awkward position? surely you cannot be serious? Its not the first or the last time someone has died in the middle of shooting something they deal.

His family and friends will have a much harder time dealing with his loss.

Less the guy was a complete jerk, dunno no nothing about him, never seen a fast and furious movie in my life, but really how is the film company loosing out the worst thing in this i find that whole idea rather mind boggling?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

The worst part is, FF7 is still in filming. For reference, this is like Robert Downey Jr. dying before the Filming of Avengers 2 is done.

I don't know how far they were into shooting FF7. Filming started September 30. Some sites say it's shooting, others say it's in post-production. Maybe, even if they're still shooting, Walker completed his part. I hope he played out, or most of it, and his character makes the final cut. But! How awkward is it going to be to release a movie about driving fast and furious when your deuteragonist just died in a car crash?

The worst part is his untimely death put his film company in a bit of a awkward position? surely you cannot be serious? Its not the first or the last time someone has died in the middle of shooting something they deal.

His family and friends will have a much harder time dealing with his loss.

Less the guy was a complete jerk, dunno no nothing about him, never seen a fast and furious movie in my life, but really how is the film company loosing out the worst thing in this i find that whole idea rather mind boggling?

I never said the worst part was shooting would be inconvenienced?

 

[Caffeine_Bombed]

Mam, what's up with the influx of generally shitty people on the Escapist?

And yes people, we get it. A star of a car movie has died in a car crash. Now you can stop repeating "IRONY!" 3 pages in.

OT: I was only recently warming up to the F&F series with the last installment. My condolences to his family.

Hey you wanna be careful with that sort of language.
Apparently people are well within their rights to make jokes about a dead man but you call those people a naughty name? Oh you better believe that's a paddlin'!
Free speech for all or none at all...

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

Their whole design appears meant to tempt you into testing it's engines, speed through streets without a care in the world. All it takes is a bit of acceleration and you could easily reach deadly speeds, and no road is without its bumps.

I guess you could say that.... Paul Walker lived his whole life a quarter mile at a time [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P2b_ygxIRY]. YEEEAAAAHHHHHHHH! [http://cow.org/csi/]

....

ok, I'll go in the corner and face the wall and think about what I just did.

I guess he was...
TOO FAST AND FURIOUS

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
.
.
.
Meet ya guys in hell... I'll be waiting there.
But seriously, it's pretty fucking ironic.
And also cars are evil.

I think I will be joining you after the comment I made above.

OP: In all seriousness, IIRC the man is a father and a husband so let me just say that my heart goes out to those two people and that I hope that they have people around them that they can lean on for emotional support. As for Paul Walker, its a damn shame that this man has died, and I will always remember him for his role as O'Connor in The Fast and the Furious. Rest in peace, and Go with God.

 

[TomWiley]

The guy was on his way home from a charity event. Oh and he tried to keep his insolvent in charity a secret. That's a top bloke in my book.

As sad it is to see him pass away and leave behind a daughter... does anyone else see this as really ironic?

How is it ironic? He was a passenger, not a driver.

 

[Silvver]

The part that struck me was people recording the car on fire and then posting it publicly. What complete and utter scum with no respect for the victims whatsoever. But its a sad indictment of current culture that the first thing people do is pull out a camera there is an incident taking place..

 

[Psychobabble]

Well this won't be a popular post, but here goes.

First off I've never been a fan of the FF series. Still Paul Walker seemed quite a decent bloke and it's sad he died so young. So before I get accused of being heartless I do find his untimely death tragic and wish I could make it unhappen. Thing is though I feel the exact same way about anyone who died a tragic and untimely death famous or not. But apparently the national feeling for the non-famous is "Well fuck THOSE people".

All this brouhaha over this one guy by people who didn't actually know him, along with the nearly unending media frenzy, is outright sensationalist disingenuous bullshit. To most of us he was just a guy in some movies, and there's nothing wrong with that, but please keep in mind that to others he was a son, a friend, a DAD. How about you fucking ghouls piss off and leave the people his death REALLY affected get used to not having him around in peace and fucking quiet.

Let me refer you to the quote I posted earlier.

Please understand though that I am not directing the insults toward you, this was posted by a friend on an other board and I hope it at least clears up your misconception that we can't grieve for someone we didn't know in person.

I am seeing a lot of posts pretty much shitting on people who are mentioning that a celebrity has passed away.
Yes, public servants and our military are dying every day.
Doctors, mothers, fathers, sisters, daughters, sons, uncles... daily.
Over 2.5 million people in the US alone die yearly, approaching 7,000 people a day.
What is the difference?
For all the good the people who dont get mentioned may do... your average person doesnt know of them... or anything about them.
For better or worse, people tend to make a connection to a celebrity.
They see them, hear them, read about them.
Yes, I think that the world is WAY overboard on celebrity worship... but if you watch V, movies, listen to the radio, go online... you will become acquainted in some way with them.
If you enjoy their product, acting, singing, sports, politics, etc... then there will be a connection, no matter how slight.
No matter how great a person is, if you have no knowledge or connection... you tend to not be as effected by their passing as if it were a person that you at least knew of.
If you didnt have any connection with them during their life, then their death will have little to no effect on you... no matter how great a person they may be.
2.5 MILLION people a year... good and bad.
You cant mourn them all.
Mourn those that you knew... that you know touched your life in some way.
Feel bad for the families of all of them if you must.
But if someone out there had no idea who those 2,500,000 people were... and dont mourn them, and you talk shit about them... you are shit.
I love our men and women in uniform, I respect their service and sacrifice.
But I dont know most of them, and neither does the rest of the country.
Yes, they deserve recognition.
If you dont post their names to be daily for them to get at least some recognition... dont open your flapping cock holster to downgrade people who are saddened by the passing of someone who they felt that they knew in some small capacity.

In short, fuck you for having anything negative to say about a human mourning the passing of another human.

Choke on a dick.

Sounds quite reasonable up until the last bit where his sense of self absorbed entitlement shinned through. Yeah how dare someone point out that the feelings of the people his life was directly a part of are more important than those of us who only know him indirectly. And fuck those of us who ask that those not directly involved back off and consider how our reaction could be hurting the very people we are trying to offer our condolences to at his passing. Nope none of that matters. All that matters is we make ourselves feel good and important by leeching off someone else's tragedy.

 

[BlackStar42]

So, anyway, here's a pic of the accident scene courtesy of TMZ. Apparently that pile of rubble with a Porsche wheel in it is the car he died in.

As tragic as this story is a question needs to be raised..... How does billions of dollars into engineering for car safety and strength get beaten by the humble wood bearing tree? Is this GTA physics at work?

Geez the irony is strong

Newton's Third Law of Motion, my friend. You crash into a tree, the tree will push back with the same amount of force. Considering cars are quite heavy and typically move quite quickly, that's a LOT of force generated. And see how thin the tree is? Think knife through butter, they never had a chance

 

[ThunderCavalier]

RIP for the guy.

Also, Escapists... seriously, too soon.

I mean, EVERYONE got the irony. Hell, I kinda laughed at it, but seriously, too soon. The corpse is probably still warm--OH DAMMIT.

*sigh* RIP Paul Walker. I wasn't really a fan of the Fast & Furious movies, but I didn't think your performances were too bad, and overall you seem like a pretty cool guy.

 

[greatcheezer2021]

i just dont care anymore. all you people make me sick.

i wish when i die, i come back as a horrible pathogen and eradicate humanity. so that way everyone will have something proper to mourn about. my hypocrisy only goes so far.

 

[IceForce]

Hey you wanna be careful with that sort of language.
Apparently people are well within their rights to make jokes about a dead man but you call those people a naughty name? Oh you better believe that's a paddlin'!
Free speech for all or none at all...

I really do wish I had a dollar for every time someone on this forum misunderstands what "freedom of speech" means.

Freedom of speech has a very specific definition, and it has nothing to do with internet forums.
You might want to look it up.

 

[paulreed]

I'm was stunned and saddened by this news. May you rest in peace Paul Walker. I know there are so many people mourning because of this tragedy. Car accidents is not new to us. Annual reports for car crashes increases tremendously. This is why NHTSA proposed rules that would mandate Event Data Recorders (EDR) in all new cars and light trucks.

 

[Product Placement]

in·con·gru·ous adjective \(&#716in-ˈkäŋ-grə-wəs\
: strange because of not agreeing with what is usual or expected

Irony in this case would be him dying playing tennis.. something totally in-congruent with a risky act.


P.S. RIP Paul.

Oh, for the love of...

You're still quote mining the dictionary to get your point across?

Look, you may not agree with it but the irony is that he played a cool headed race driver, that could turn on a dime and do amazing, death defying car stunts. While we know he wasn't actually the character, from the movies, the fact that he died in a car accident is not something we expected.

So yes, for us, who did indeed find this ironic, it is incongruous, even if you don't agree with it.