[Robert]

By published accounts Roda was an accomplished driver who excelled in the amateur league, maybe that played a part in his mis judgement which costed his life. The CGT seems to be an unforgiving car on or off track, in 2007 2 passenger also died in an accident in Fontana race way and the car looked fairly intact and seems like a survivable crash.

Remember what Niki Lauda says about risk, which I am paraphrasing, is the risk you take worth what you get out of it?

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

Originally Posted by LarThaL

Yes, but an event such as this can change everything. I think they will finish the film and make it spectacular as a tribute to Walker. Wouldn't be surprised if the pull Dwayne Jonson back and Eva Mendez.

I agree, I am sure the producers and directors will work around it and with it to most everyones understanding, they will be very respectful about it.

I remember the West Wing … when John Spencer past on, they too did it very respectfully as it should be.

[NemesisX]

Originally Posted by track_warrior

I met him once at Laguna Seca a long time ago, pretty down to earth guy and a car nut like most of us. Sad news indeed for their families and friends as well as the car enthusiast community. May he and Roger Rodas rest in peace with the car gods, if i were to die in a car accident a Carrera GT would make a perfect coffin. I just hope their deaths were quick and painless.




Is this the M3 that crashed?

The car in the video is not the M3 that crashed, but it's related (the M3 that crashed was up ahead of the pack - they were all part of the same canyon run).

What I find disturbing about the video is the fact that the car is going too fast for conditions. How do I know that? Because the car is incapable of staying within its lane during turns. If you watch from 1 minute+, the car in the video often crosses the double yellow line because he's (presumably) going too fast to stay within his lane.

And judging by the comments, he doesn't even seem to care.

I'm sure Roger Rodas thought the same thing. It's a bright, sunny day and he has a wide open road to play with, so he felt OK to flagrantly exceed the speed limit (presumably, if the police reports are to be believed).

Traffic fatalities just do not need to happen. Imagine if Rodas had slammed into that pole going 45 MPH. Would there be severe damage? Sure. Would the probability of surviving the crash increase relative to slamming into a pole at, say, 90 MPH or 100 MPH? Absolutely, and I think this point is lost on too many car enthusiasts.

A disturbingly large proportion of car enthusiasts feel like it's OK to speed. The problem with speeding is that even if the probability of getting into a crash remains the same, the severity of the crash increases as the square of velocity. Slamming into a pole at 70 MPH is twice as bad as slamming into a pole at 50 MPH, not 70/50 times as bad (because kinetic energy increases as the square of velocity).

The road in question where Walker and Rodas died had a posted speed limit of 45 MPH. If they were going 45*sqrt(2) = 63 MPH, the damage is going to be twice as bad. If they were going 90 MPH? The damage is 4 times as bad.

Accidents will always happen. There's always going to be a base probability of getting into an accident. Speeding exacerbates the problem and it's a matter of elementary physics. Enthusiasts love to talk about how the autobahn (for example) has no speed limit and how German crash rates are comparable or even lower than crash rates in the U.S. None of that is relevant.

The only things that matter are the following two facts:

1) getting into an accident at X MPH is worse than getting into an accident at Y MPH if X > Y.

2) the probability of getting into a crash at any speed is non-zero

[car_fan]

Originally Posted by Robert

By published accounts Roda was an accomplished driver who excelled in the amateur league, maybe that played a part in his mis judgement which costed his life. The CGT seems to be an unforgiving car on or off track, in 2007 2 passenger also died in an accident in Fontana race way and the car looked fairly intact and seems like a survivable crash.

Remember what Niki Lauda says about risk, which I am paraphrasing, is the risk you take worth what you get out of it?

I have never driven a CGT, but I have sat in one. I am 6' 4 @ 250, there is not a lot of room in the CGT for me, it borders on confining its a tight fit. I am surprised that Jeremy Clarkson, who I believe is taller than I, seemed to be comfortable in the episode of TG where he drove the CGT.

What I am getting at is, if you crash a CGT (especially at high speed) it's very likely you will come intact with an interior panel

[CK335iMSport]

Originally Posted by car_fan

"F" the CGT regardless of Paul and Rodger being famous, known, popular or not. A human life, especially one who is known to have contributed to the lives of others is priceless . The Machine aka CGT is not even comparable

^^^ This...

[Nautik]

Originally Posted by car_fan

"F" the CGT regardless of Paul and Rodger being famous, known, popular or not. A human life, especially one who is known to have contributed to the lives of others is priceless . The Machine aka CGT is not even comparable

[iveman89]

Haven't been on this forum in a while but when I heard he died I thought of his M3.
His accident is truly sad and a loss, but it hit me hard for some reason. Dont know if its because he was known as a real down to earth humble guy or because he was a car nut. Either way he went out doing what he loved and there's a quote going around saying that. I just hope they died on impact.

as for people trying to help. Initially the people there didnt help, but Walkers best friend and Rodas son were trying to pull them out along with other trying to put the fire out.

[EvenSteven]

Originally Posted by LarThaL

Yes, but an event such as this can change everything. I think they will finish the film and make it spectacular as a tribute to Walker. Wouldn't be surprised if the pull Dwayne Jonson back and Eva Mendez.

They could only pull Dwayne Jonson if they delay the movie. He wanted to be in 7 but it conflicts with his Hercules movie filming.

[Quasimodem]

Originally Posted by Eau Rouge

Raw video prior to arrival of emergency services.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201830491596276

Wow.

[Darkone]

poor guy

[NemesisX]

Originally Posted by iveman89

Haven't been on this forum in a while but when I heard he died I thought of his M3.
His accident is truly sad and a loss, but it hit me hard for some reason. Dont know if its because he was known as a real down to earth humble guy or because he was a car nut. Either way he went out doing what he loved and there's a quote going around saying that. I just hope they died on impact.

as for people trying to help. Initially the people there didnt help, but Walkers best friend and Rodas son were trying to pull them out along with other trying to put the fire out.

And his son is 8 years old, by the way. Just imagine that.

[Nautik]

Originally Posted by EvenSteven

They could only pull Dwayne Jonson if they delay the movie. He wanted to be in 7 but it conflicts with his Hercules movie filming.

Very likely the movie will be delayed at this point so maybe he can make it in now.

[MikeyV]

Originally Posted by Nautik

Very likely the movie will be delayed at this point so maybe he can make it in now.

I'd put money on it that the film will be canned.

[Nang Vann]

Rest in peace Paul Walker. God Bless.

Felt I had a connection with him coz he loved skylines and GT-Rs.

Such a humble dude.

[sensi09]

I thought this was an interesting post

Originally Posted by Doug H

I raced with Roger. He was a great guy and capable driver. I had a CGT briefly in 2005ish and they are squirrelly, but Roger was more than capable. Speed in and of itself does not bite someone like him. he would have known that area and that car's limits well. Something else was perhaps going on that we may never know about. Keep it safe people and reserve the speed for the track where it belongs. Easier said than done perhaps . . . RIP fellow enthusiasts.

[MikeyV]

Originally Posted by Vic311

I don't think the Fast & Furious franchise is going to recover from this.

It never recovered from the lame as Too Fast Too Furious sequal. The first was by far and away the best, how could it not be when it was a remake of Point Break which is a modern day classic.

[Charlie@McKennaBMWService]

Originally Posted by Eau Rouge

He left behind a nice little stable.

Anyone planning on taking a trip to the crash site?

[Billup]

I wonder if the CGT will go up for auction... could probably score a pretty good deal.

[StrifeM3]

Originally Posted by Charlie@McKennaBMWService

Anyone planning on taking a trip to the crash site?

Yep going this week.

[MediaArtist]

I'll be driving over to the area for a client meeting anyway on Thursday and I'll try to pass by.

[NemesisX]

"Racing or not, speed was a factor in the crash, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office said. A 45 mph speed limit sign was attached to the light pole knocked down by the Porsche."

Oh god the irony...

[Charlie@McKennaBMWService]

Originally Posted by StrifeM3

Yep going this week.

Caravan anyone?