Yes, it's illegal. They're not in jail because they didn't get caught. The same reason you haven't been punished for every law you've broken. The footage won't be released until the statute of...
Yes, it's illegal.
They're not in jail because they didn't get caught. The same reason you haven't been punished for every law you've broken.
The footage won't be released until the statute of limitations has expired, so the evidence will be useless at that point, and there is little reason for law enforcement departments along the route to expend time/money/energy to try to catch them as there was no harm done and they've all got bigger fish to fry.
It's illegal, yes, and that it seems so admired is rather disheartening. Wikipedia links to an article pointing out how ridiculous this is. Unfortunately, it appears that given the ways US laws...
Unfortunately, it appears that given the ways US laws work, the perpetrators can flagrantly violate a number of laws, then brag about doing so online, without any consequences.
It's admired because it's an amazing feat of endurance that takes a lot of planning and a lot of luck. If there were more than a dozen people trying to do this run then yeah, you'd get a lot more...
It's admired because it's an amazing feat of endurance that takes a lot of planning and a lot of luck. If there were more than a dozen people trying to do this run then yeah, you'd get a lot more people being unhappy about it, but how often does this get attempted?
The article mentions evading the police as a negative, and a lot of people are willing to overlook radar jammers and that sort of thing because there are tons of reasons to dislike police. Yeah, car culture has gone overboard in the United States but I don't think something that gets talked about once every few years is a good example of that. I'm a huge public transportation zealot and I still think the stories about this record are cool.
That article seems to have more of an issue with how people seem to celebrate it, not much about the dangers or issues with the actual run itself. America has always had a love affair with the...
That article seems to have more of an issue with how people seem to celebrate it, not much about the dangers or issues with the actual run itself.
America has always had a love affair with the charming outlaw. It's been there since the days of the Wester Frontier, and maybe even before. It's not an American exclusive ideal either (see: Robin Hood). At least these outlaws aren't being celebrated despite bank robberies and murders, just driving a ridiculous race in a ridiculous (and illegal) manner.
That said, there's a lot of reasons to condemn the run (those speeds on unregulated courses is a recipe for disaster) but it's also understandable why people would admire it. I don't think resting on "but it's illegal!" is enough to justify vilifying it entirely. I'd be much more aghast about it if they didn't seem to take so many safety precautions. I think articles like this are a good way to respond to the media attention that will undoubtedly inspire many more unprepared people to try such a dangerous thing—point out everything that has to go into such a run to show them that it's not as simple as getting in your barely street-legal tuner and start tearing through the country and way too much speed.
I love that someone is still trying this. In this day and age, the freedom to do these sorts of things are dying. As long as you aren't putting other people in danger, do what you want. It's...
I love that someone is still trying this. In this day and age, the freedom to do these sorts of things are dying. As long as you aren't putting other people in danger, do what you want. It's America after all. Most of the high speed driving is out in the middle of nowhere.
This will probably be the last record crossing, at least the last relatively safe one.
Why do you think they aren't putting other people in danger? I haven't paid much attention, but I assume danger is inherent in driving at such high speeds on public roads. Unexpected things can...
Why do you think they aren't putting other people in danger? I haven't paid much attention, but I assume danger is inherent in driving at such high speeds on public roads. Unexpected things can happen in rural areas too.
Previous discussion of the record-breaking run: https://tildes.net/~misc/jwx/these_guys_just_drove_an_e63_amg_across_america_in_a_record_27_hours_25_minutes#comments
There's something about this level of meticulous planning that I love. This was a great read.
Isn't this illegal? I don't see why they're not all in jail.
Yes, it's illegal.
They're not in jail because they didn't get caught. The same reason you haven't been punished for every law you've broken.
The footage won't be released until the statute of limitations has expired, so the evidence will be useless at that point, and there is little reason for law enforcement departments along the route to expend time/money/energy to try to catch them as there was no harm done and they've all got bigger fish to fry.
It's illegal, yes, and that it seems so admired is rather disheartening. Wikipedia links to an article pointing out how ridiculous this is.
Unfortunately, it appears that given the ways US laws work, the perpetrators can flagrantly violate a number of laws, then brag about doing so online, without any consequences.
It's admired because it's an amazing feat of endurance that takes a lot of planning and a lot of luck. If there were more than a dozen people trying to do this run then yeah, you'd get a lot more people being unhappy about it, but how often does this get attempted?
The article mentions evading the police as a negative, and a lot of people are willing to overlook radar jammers and that sort of thing because there are tons of reasons to dislike police. Yeah, car culture has gone overboard in the United States but I don't think something that gets talked about once every few years is a good example of that. I'm a huge public transportation zealot and I still think the stories about this record are cool.
That article seems to have more of an issue with how people seem to celebrate it, not much about the dangers or issues with the actual run itself.
America has always had a love affair with the charming outlaw. It's been there since the days of the Wester Frontier, and maybe even before. It's not an American exclusive ideal either (see: Robin Hood). At least these outlaws aren't being celebrated despite bank robberies and murders, just driving a ridiculous race in a ridiculous (and illegal) manner.
That said, there's a lot of reasons to condemn the run (those speeds on unregulated courses is a recipe for disaster) but it's also understandable why people would admire it. I don't think resting on "but it's illegal!" is enough to justify vilifying it entirely. I'd be much more aghast about it if they didn't seem to take so many safety precautions. I think articles like this are a good way to respond to the media attention that will undoubtedly inspire many more unprepared people to try such a dangerous thing—point out everything that has to go into such a run to show them that it's not as simple as getting in your barely street-legal tuner and start tearing through the country and way too much speed.
I love that someone is still trying this. In this day and age, the freedom to do these sorts of things are dying. As long as you aren't putting other people in danger, do what you want. It's America after all. Most of the high speed driving is out in the middle of nowhere.
This will probably be the last record crossing, at least the last relatively safe one.
Why do you think they aren't putting other people in danger? I haven't paid much attention, but I assume danger is inherent in driving at such high speeds on public roads. Unexpected things can happen in rural areas too.
Previous discussion of the record-breaking run: https://tildes.net/~misc/jwx/these_guys_just_drove_an_e63_amg_across_america_in_a_record_27_hours_25_minutes#comments