NASCAR Driver Gets A Different Trophy
© 2009 John C. Dvorak Cage Match


See story below the video. 

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Meet James Edward Neal. You probably don't remember him. He raced for a while in regional series in the '80s, though as you'll see, he still knows how to find the gas pedal. Mr. Neal was pulled over in San Clemente, Calif., about 3 a.m. Monday and did the traffic-stop equivalent of a short pit, nearly slowing to a stop and then, stupidly, deciding to run.

Rocketing his 2003 Corvette down Interstate 5, Neal, 56, hit speeds of up to 140 mph. He drew the attention of the California Highway Patrol (CHiPs!), which discussed throwing down a spike strip after observing him veering from lane to lane and occasionally turning off his lights to avoid detection.

Finally, however, deputies wisely decided to let him go. (Clearly, they weren't on fresh tires.) Neal then shot all the way to La Jolla inside of a half hour, a distance of about 50 miles. But, as is so often the case, Neal's equipment failed him (his engine blew), and he was nabbed.

The irony? (Well, aside from the irony inherent in a NASCAR driver getting pulled over for speeding.) The cops were only pulling Neal over in the first place because he didn't have a front plate. Chances are he wouldn't have even gotten a ticket for that. Whoops.


From Yahoo Sports

 This is a case in which there is a huge variety of responses and consequences depending on where it occurs
. Here  in Ontario they would follow him in a helicopter of Cessna until they could safely box him in and arrest him. At that speed he would have his car seized, and operators permit, too, plus receive a summons to traffic court! The fine Is nominally a $10K.
 But in nearby Ohio, he could be shot at if he persisted in running! In the past couple of decades, Ohio State Troopers have shot and killed more than one driver, especially for running the wrong way on divided highway lanes!
 I am not making any aspersions as to what is the correct or sufficient response, but it is clear that excessive speeding is life threatening to other motorists and pedestrians. In many cases, it is obvious that a fine is only a license to do it again, so a sufficient deterrent in slam, sewing mailbag repairs or the like is indicated IMNSHO !
 In most cases as a freight jockey, I would have survived a collision with such an idiot, but being responsible for a unit worth between a 1/3 to 1/4 million dollars hauling a load say 22 skids of DVDs and CDs valued for Customs Declaration purposes at a cool million, I and all of my fellow cargo relocators should not have to face this sort of unnecessary hazard!
Then supplant that cargo with say a hazmat load of acid or caustic and the consequences are vastly multiplied! The cryogenic tankers hauling Oxygen or Propane are common, and just hit one of those "Thermos" bottles and survival not in the odds! Many four wheelers are a thoughtless, careless lot, who need to be educated =tied to a chair mounted on the front bumper of a class 8 freight rig for and ten hour shift!
 

he blew up a corvette engine???

Reminds me of the lady teacher who thought she could turn left inside of the truck turning left. The underrider punched though the side of the beetle and dragged it along. The driver only knew about it when he stopped at the gate up the hill and the guard said to him " do you know you have a beetle stuck to your rig?"

Another I saw a Toyota Cressida station wagon come past me at 747 take off speed ( I was a pax in a bus, and we were doing 10kph in fog at the time). Said to the driver we would see him soon again. Travelled a bit further and came to Van Reenens pass and started down, with our long tail of cars that were happy to follow. Saw blue lights in the fog, and were shown to move over a lane. 100m or so further more lights, yellow and red, a tow truck and an ambulance, plus what looked like white crumpled paper in the road. 200 or so metres on more lights, blue and red, traffic police and another ambulance, plus the newly made Cressida convertible, cleaned off at door height. The truck was at the bottom of the pass, where he had been pulled over by another motorist who told him about the accident. He did not feel the car hit the rear of his rig at 200 plus.

Did you know Armco railing can go though an engine block? The BMW driver did find that out, and that it can go though him and out the rear without deforming, even after he smashed 100m of plastic barrier before meeting the steel.