Paul Walker from Fast and Furious died in a wreck...

The story I always heard about the CGT was that it was essentialy a lemans car in performance, but with street aero and tires.

Drove one, it didnt feel exceptionaly difficult or twichy, in fact pretty easy. I guess when you broach the limits your speed is just that much higher and the loss of controll that much greater. Also the rate at which it piled on speed maybe requires a recalibration for the driver, much like you cant just twist the throttle all the way, anyplace, on a modern superbike.

 

R.I.P. Paul Walker! He was a great and cool actor!

 

And there is the story this weekend about some idiot in Ohio, was running reportedly 125mph, ran into a minivan, killing both the people in the van. The moron speeding, lived, has vehicular homicide charges pending against him. Racing on the streets just isn't worth it; besides the chance of hitting another car and killing people, all the things close to the street, you may plow into, believe the news reported the Porsche GT hit a light pole and a tree. If the "black box" did not get destroyed in the wreck, no doubt authorities will be down loading the data, to see just how fast the Porsche was speeding. One thing that has puzzled me over the years, with so many supercars and hypercars, why none of them incorporate a integrated safety cage, into the design of the cars. It would not prevent all deaths, but it surely would help some. Seeing all the cars on WreckedExotics.com, way too many people pushing these cars far beyond their driving ability.

 

No lawyers need to visit anyone involved in this tragedy. Walker's heirs are entitled to the insurance policy covering the driver for this accident in the same way they are entitled to claim any life insurance proceeds. If the facts are that the crash clearly involve driver fault, it should be a simple application to the insurance company and coverage should be as clear as a life insurance policy without lawyers or lawsuits of any kind.

 

If any issue a auto maker is at fault is they have made basically a race car in performance but its not a race car in safety. No reinforced cages or especially a fuel system that will not leak and explode in the event of a crash.

With all respect to the driver he raced Mustangs very different than a rear/mid engine Porsche when you get into bad situations.

 

Yeah the lamp post was knocked over. Car rested against a tree.

Lamp post is in the screendump here I made of the crash site. There is a sign on it for a 35 mph speedlimit. Car came to rest against the tree to the left.
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You giving odds on that?

 

I give it high odds and would bet on it. This tragedy is so high profile, and the lost income so great, I would bet an application to the driver's insurer results in a tender of the policy. (I say this even though insurance insurance companies are dishonest and in many cases you need to hire a lawyer to sue them.)

 

Ah, but my point was that it really isn't "fair" for his heirs to get a dime, if it could be proven that he knew the driver was driving really fast on the city street and that he encouraged him in the endeavor.

Of course it cannot be proven, and I am only speculating.

Should the heirs of a passenger who encourages the driver to do a high speed pass, who was all smiles at 150+, who never said "Slow down, WTF you doing?" have a cause of action for negligence?

.

 

Safety cages are not allowed by the DOT/US gov't. Porsche GT3s in Europe have optional cages, but not allowed to come with them in the US. Those cages are only limited to the rear area of the car and don't extend to the passenger seating spaces. Some do install them in the aftermarket.

Cages that extend into the driver's seating area (i.e. connecting the A and B pillar cage above the window) are dangerous in accidents as a driver can hit their head on the bar in a crash.

 

I would not count on that... in any regard...

that said, sorry for his daughter and family...

 

IMHO that extreme scenario, if you could prove it, would at best constitute comparative negligence and even 50% of fault would likely exceed the policy. Maybe some dishonest insurance company or defense lawyer could dream up a way to deny the claim, but if they were wrong they would expose the driver to an excess exposure to which the insurer would be liable for. So, like I said, it should not require lawyers or a suit and I'd bet the policy is paid upon an application to the policy. I've seen extreme bad faith denials in complete tragedies, but this is likely too high profile to be a good business decision for the insurer to deny.

 

video of scene:

Video: Caught On Cellphone: Aftermath Footage Of Car Accident That Actor "Paul Walker" Passed Away From

 

I'll bet $10 against you and REALLY hope I loose. But I doubt I will.

 

0% chance both sides aren't represented within days, if not already. Does that mean a trial,... of coarse not.

 

it's always good to give the guy doing 125mph a better chance of survival than the innocents they go plowing into, damn irresponsible supercar makers...

how about nascar anti intrusion in the average street car/minivan to give the person plodding along with their kids playing by the rules a fair shot of living through someone else incredibly ill timed selfish & self-important thought process.

or better yet, just drive responsibly... what an idea.

 

Yes, the son of Roger was at the crash scene.

 

Porsche has already paid out in one accident involving the CGT on a track that I have heard of..there may be more.. and was held partially liable for many of the same performance reasons you stated...I expect the same here...sad preventable loss of life..

 

If this isnt a call for manufacturers to make halon fire supression systems standard
Item, I dont know what is.

 

I wouldn't take your money, even that level of confidence.!

Insurance is often misunderstood. Its simple if you understand the economics. Lets assume the driver had a really big insurance policy, say $5M, or even $10M. With this actor there would be a lifetime economic loss (which is calculated to heirs) that could be proven to exceed 50, 100M or more. If an insurer denies this claim, and refuses to settle it for an application for the policy, then they expose the drivers family (and then themselves in a certain return claim), to the excess. It would be complete foolishness to deny the claim of the facts turn out as one thinks. This is why it would be a bet they wouldn't likely take. That said I said it should not take lawyers for the claim on any policy to be paid. But odds are there are lawyers involved: Walkers lawyer makes the insurance application and the drivers family's lawyer supports tendering the policy for a release. That's what should happen. Regardless no lawyers or lawsuits or disputes are necessary for the insurance policies discussed to pay. (Other claims are a different matter.)

Ok, enough lawyer talk.

RIP to the guys, and condolences to the families. These appeared to be very good car guys. A horrible loss.

 

Porsche has basically acknowledged the CGT issue by having new tires developed for it. no?

that being said I don't see how they are liable...a skilled driver on a track I wld think can safely push the car to the limits...for the rest of us common folk on the street, that's a different story.

I wonder if the car had the new tires

 

Sorry, I meant tree. You can see clearly from the photo the right side of the car came to rest on the tree.

As to "pathetic" comment, the information is from this video on TMZ that I got this information -- directly from one of the people who worked for Roger and tried to save him. He goes into great detail what happened in the rescue attempt before the fire department showed up -- and after.

Maybe a instead of saying "pathetic speculators" you should do a little research first.
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RIP to Paul and Roger. I never felt comfortable behind the wheel of my Carrera GT and sold it within a year. I would push the F40 (and have) in the rain before I would drive aggressive in the CGT on dry pavement. The CGT chassis is so absolutely stiff with zero body roll and more power than you can imagine. Every time I made the long slide down into the seat and buckled up felt exactly like getting the front seat on Space Mountain. It was nerve-wracking and I could never get past that feeling so I decided to get rid of it. It is an absolute beast of a drive.

Edit: Here is the car head to head with my 599 GTO at Cars & Coffee back when the CGT was owned by a friend of mine.
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great post.

carbon fiber chassis, stiff suspension, no driver aids....the CGT is rare in that combination, and it's a really tough car to drive. the highlighted part of that post speaks volumes.

 

I seem to recall that the CGT was too much for Lewis Hamilton's father also. But at least he didn't lose his life in it!

Pictures: Lewis Hamilton's dad crashes Porsche yards from home - Mirror Online