Death @ M3 meet this past weekend.

This should be a lesson to all. Drive within your ability. 19 yr old passenger burns to death. This happened this past weekend. http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...5&pagenumber=1

This comes hot on the heals of the doing 170mph on Ocean Pkwy post. Did you guys notice that the thread on bimmerforums has nearly 18,000 hits!!!!

that really pisses me off in a couple of ways. I really hate seeing some moron drive past their ability in the first place but when it causes an accident and or injures someone else or even death, it makes me furious. I see this moreso than not with a proliferation of cheap fast cars and people that don't know what the hell they're doing. I think that for some cars there should be a mandatory race school or special driving course in order to legally drive them. I also believe this would be good for most people driving suv's as they don't know how to park them, don't stay in their lane worth a damn, and are always cutting people off because, "they can". I wish people would take driving more seriously. I say this not only because I was just hit by an suv and still in physical therapy, but also because there is an upward trend toward younger and younger people or inexperienced people getting ahold of higher horsepower cars than they can deal with.

Unfortunate incident...... BUT I don't have sympathy for people who drive recklessly on the streets. I like all the comments about people being "insensitive" to the situation. If these people were sensitive they wouldn't be driving like that on the roads especially when they're endangering OTHER people who don't have a choice!

Now that was stupid, driving at speeds like that racing other cars in the midst of the general law abiding public (Street Racing), you hear about it all the time,especially on the West coast where it seems to be more prevalent, not to say it does'nt happen in the East.... "Youth, inexperience and stupidity kills both the guilty and the innocent...". What a shame...

when i started driving over 20 yrs ago, my first car had a paltry 105 hp--and i still managed to total it, almost loosing my own life. the cars we're talking about here have over 300 hp. this is becoming a serious problem. and where do these 'kids' get the scratch to buy $60k cars anyways? you see this all over so cal.

Did someone say something about natural selection?

Well it was the passanger in the back that died not the driver.

this is exactly the reason i avoid the bmw get togethers around here - too much testosterone, not enough driving skills and sense. there is a reason insurance costs the same for an M3 as it does for a much more powerful (and expensive) 996 TT.

This really makes you think about how you drive. I will sometimes lose somebody at a light if I know that our cars are unevenly matched on a rare instance. Maybe I shouldn't. If I have a guy with an M5 or SL55 at the light, I won't even bother. Not because I don't think I can run with him or beat him, but because both cars are so fast we could end up killing ourselves in a race. I hit 100 all of the time in the 996 out on the highway. The car is so fast that you merge on the freeway at that speed without even feeling it. At the same time, I have only rarely taken it above those speeds on a public highway. I have hit 135 with the top down and 142 with the top up. Both were on long highway straights in perfect weather with no one in front of me for quite a distance. The car was relatively new to me when I did it and I wanted to see what it could do. I haven't done it since. I am especially cautious of going into turns at high speeds. I just don't do it. I always keep traction and PSM on (though they can't change physics). How many of you regularly hit 100 in your car? Maybe I should rethink the way I drive. Though at the same time, the cars beg to be driven fast. Maybe this is still a whole different thing from what they were doing. I don't want to endanger anyone.

For some reason I tend to be more careful when I drive my 996, don't know why. I've only gone as high as 130 (or somewhere around there) in the middle of no where on I-5 heading north to San Jose in the middle of the night. Most of the time I cruise along at 80, with occasional bursts up to 90mph. Educated as a safety engineer and after studying the aftermath of accidents it makes one drive a little more cautiously. Folks that push beyond their limits (usually they don't know it until its too late) endanger themselves and the public that shares the road with them. Just remember, there are many things that are beyond your control (whether your driving at the speed limit or speeding - excessively) and only one of those items that you can't control will put you and/or other drivers in harms way. Of course if you're driving slower, the margin for error is larger. At speeds in the triple digit range, you don't have much room for mistakes. Have you seen what a small animal like a rabbit can do your car at 100mph + ? Someone had posted here about racing another Porsche up to 170mph. In my opinion, that just selfish and inconsiderate. All it takes is someone who didn't see him to change lanes or a small animal to jump onto the roadway to cause a very, VERY bad accident. Most accidents where the occupant(s) survive the accident occur with the impact speed less than 30 mph (if I remember correctly). If the speed at impact is greater..... well you know....

I too aviod the BMW gang. It seems every young college kid in the Boston area has a 3 series all pumped up with fat pipes and NO skill. Burnouts are real cool. I was young and stupid once too, still young, but at least I had fear in me. Back then I thought I was the best driver out there. Then I get introduced to the Porsche realm, got a few DE's and a bunch of Autocrosses and realize I couldnt drive for ****. After years of DE events and autocrosses I have learned a few things. Respect for the machine, respect for driver abilities and also learned MORE fear.... God bless those who were hurt. Let everyone who heard of this incident learn AND remember.

I got about half way through the posts...very sad. I think we have all had a momentary lapse in judgement when driving, however, at least for me, never with a passenger. God bless the victim and his family.

yes, i did sillier crap than that without even having a license when i was a 19 year old punk like that kid. just because i did it and was so very very lucky to have never injured anyone including myself doesn't mean i can't condemn it as absolutely stupid now. truth is there really isn't a whole lotta diff between what that teenager did and sitting around drinking booze while playing russian roulete with those other two kids in his car (and the rest of the players who were participating in the other car). it must be a bitch being a parent with kids old enough to drive. i was making bigger car payments than i was on my apt rent at that kid's age so perhaps his parents weren't responsible for putting a car like that in the hands of 19 yr old. however, few teenage boys have any biz whatsoever driving a car like that.

I already know my car is fast...i dont bother racing anyone...i just cruise it nice and slow so everyone can see me. Besides i'm still breaking it in.

Very sad indeed.

SAFETYWORK - That was me who went 170 Mph on the Ocean Pkwy in NY. There was no one in front of me on a closed section of the road with NO entry or exit points. At least you were man enough to admit you went 130+ on a public road, unlike the other people who commented - yet still a bit hypocritical. I think most of us are sensible enough to not drive at high rates of speed in traffic situations, but we all will open the cars up a bit from time to time when the roadways and traffic permit. Just all be careful... We dont need any of the members on our boards ending up in a serious accident also. Adam

PS - That goes for you too Laurence.. PLEASE be careful on the road.. Hate for anything to happen to you..

Adgony- still touting the 170 I see. I guess it's not clear that on a public highway, there is no rationalization of how safe you were. One teesny tiny, little, iity bitty thing (like a brick laying in the road, or a pot hole), and you'd be sliding and rolling over the guard rails, across the median, and into oncoming traffic. Do us all a favor and practice your "safe" driving in another brand. Or keep it up and we can admire your obit- or that of your victim. But please, stop telling us about your good judgement. AS

The very reason I rarely participate in "drives" with people I don't know. An enjoyable and safe drive can turn into a half assed race with the wrong combination of people and machines.