To blame or not to blame, that is the question…
Whether tis nobler to admit wrongdoing or seek out another to take the fall. Which is exactly what actor Paul Walker‘s father and daughter are trying to do.
Ridiculous as it may sound Walker’s father and daughter are suing Porsche over the the Fast & Furious star’s fiery car crash death. In spite of the fact that Walker and his race car driving buddy were playing out the ridiculously risky, high speed stunt driving from his movies on actual city streets. Walker paid the ultimate price two years back when he died in a fiery crash during a high speed joyride in his 2005 Porsche Carerra GT.
Of course, Walker was but a victim of circumstances, the lawsuits allege.
It was sports car manufacturer Porsche’s fault, they say.
“Shifting the blame is the oldest tactic known to humankind for avoiding taking responsibility for our actions,” writes relationship doctor David Hawkins.
Have we become a society that holds everyone responsible but ourselves?
But here’s the bottom line:
Walker and his race car pal were driving at speeds of up to 100 miles-per-hour when they slammed into a light pole, according to some experts – well above and beyond the legal, posted speed limit of 45. Yet according to his heirs, it wasn’t their fault, it was the cars problem. Seriously?
That’s like blaming a school shooting on the gun.
Walker’s Porsche should not have been licensed for “use on the road,” his father says. On top of which it should have had electronic stability control and thicker doors (like a Honda) that might have helped Walker and his pal survive.
Hey look if Walker wanted a car with stability control and really thick doors he could have bought a Honda, for crying out loud.
It would be completely naive to assume that Walker and the race car driver were unaware of the capabilities and limitations of the car they chose to buy and then drive like idiots. High performance race cars typically do not have stability control and unlike Hondas are stripped down to achieve a lighter curb weight.
Conveniently, Walker’s father’s lawsuit dials back the car’s estimated speed to between 63 and 71 miles-per hour – which is still far faster than 45 – but well below the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department estimate of between 80 and 93.
Look, here’s the deal.
Never mind that Walker had no business traveling at reckless and highly illegal speeds with little to no regard for the safety of others. Forget that they could easily have caused life threatening injuries o any number of innocent bystanders. Let’s just place all of the the blame on Porsche they were driving and breaking the law in.
The sports car manufacturer’s take?
That Walker was a “knowledgeable and sophisticated user” of the car and knew of the perils, risks and dangers of riding in it. Porsche also alleged that the car had been “abused and altered” and improperly maintained, after it was sold.
Walker’s heirs lawsuits are classic examples of blame shifting and not holding oneself accountable for one’s own actions.
There’s more.
At one seriously ridiculous point, fans of Walker had the audacity to suggest that the road on which he died be renamed for him.
Great idea!
Name a city street after a dude who died traveling in excess of twice the posted speed limit.
Not saying it makes sense but there is precedence with the James Dean Memorial Highway.
Good point, Monarch…
I’m not sure back in that distant time if the news was as well reported as it is today. On top of which, the culture in those distant times celebrated hot rodding, etc.
Plus, Dean was not just high-speed joyriding in city traffic amongst pedestrians and other local traffic. He was on a stretch of highway – albeit speeding at approximately 85 MPH – when a Ford sedan turned in front of him.
The other HUGE difference is that Dean was a critically-acclaimed actor, not a B actor like Walker.
James Dean was killed when an elderly couple crossed the white line and crashed int0 him. CHP said Dean was doing 60mph at the time, the speed limit.
Factor in that Dean had just made a PSA about taking your speed to the local track rather than racing on the streets makes your comment fail, KCMonarch.
Let the monkey go and blame the monkey wrench is SOP.
It was actually a college student/Korean War veteran whose car collided with Dean’s when making a left hand turn off of the highway. He was cleared of any wrong doing.
An eye witness to the accident stated he was run off the road by Dean’s car less than a minute before the fatal crash.
Monarch is correct
You need to Google and do some fact checking Orphan…
Pretty much none of what you describe as Dean’s crash and death is correct.
The car that he collided with at an estimated 85 MOH was a 1950 Ford Tudor driven by a 23 year-old man.
If you ever need one, I have several recipes for crow.
In short, Walker was totally responsible for his crash while Dean, with the exception of his speed, was not responsible for his wreck (according to stands used by police and insurance companies for determining who was at fault in a collision. Based on who had the last chance to avoid the crash).
A company did reconstruct the accident and determined Dean was traveling 70-75mph. Interesting read.
http://crashteams.com/Services/Special-Services/James-Dean/James-Dean-Accident-Reconstruction.html
I am nominating Junior for a Pulitzer in recognition of his bulldog tenacity on this story!
Thanks, Mysterious…
Coming from you especially, I’m honored.
I’m also one of the few people who called Walker out at the time instead of giving him a pass for his foolishness.
Agree with all except this statement: “High performance race cars typically do not have stability control and unlike Hondas are stripped down to achieve a lighter curb weight.”
The first part is categorically wrong; stability control wasn’t that common when the Carrera GT was designed and only became government mandated for 2012 model year. As for the 2nd part, insinuating that it was designed to be less safe is misleading too.
Kyle R is a car guy, so I defer to his wisdom.
However, according to my reading, stability control is not allowed on some race cars for competition.
Not sure about the “insinuation” part…
Dean had gotten speeding ticket in Bakersfield a few hours before his fatal wreck. Some sources believe he was doing 85 mph.
I could find nothing about how fast he was going when he got the ticket.
108 miles in two-hours puts him within the speed limit. But if they stopped for 15-minutes as his mechanic said that makes it about 85mph avg.
Interesting that witnesses at the coroner’s inquest said it was the mechanic and not Dean who was driving. Based on the driver they saw was wearing a red shirt (the mechanic) and Dean’s was white.
Wiki says he was ticketed south of Bakersfield for going 65 in a 55 mph zone.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_James_Dean
He later took the highway route known for fast driving (Route 466 at that time).
some personal injury attorney will probably get 2-3 million….its California!
I would sue the movie studio and anyone else with big pockets that had anything to do with that movie franchise for turning him into a douchebag who thought that he had to race cars really fast to be a man
Save the speed for the track, kiddos.
Particularly when you are a millionaire actor.
Random thots…
Narrative from a humorous auto insurance tv commercial: “Actually, the accident is half your fault. If you hadn’t left the house today, it never would have happened”; of course this means that, case Walker, apportioned fault makes him at minimum 50% guilty, nod the (il)logic which is equal to that his family’s.
On a personal note, a former neighbor of Kerouac’s was one of the attorney’s (there were several) involved the ‘McDonald’s coffee burn case’. Though adept at his craft, likable, I didn’t agree with the outcome, but ‘law’ (I once heard described as ‘an ass’ ) prevailed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald%27s_Restaurants
Though Kerouac owned/continues to own several classic muscle cars circa late 1960’s to 1970, and enjoyed driving them dangerously fast ‘on the track’, never did so street where others can be impacted; just too many things that can go wrong and in a worst case scenario, there are no ‘do-over’s or apologies that suffice.
Which reminds: have never understood the (il)logic behind having an maximum speed limit when certain stock vehicles (yesterday’s as today’s) are capable of exceeding said by more than 2x.