If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

I was driving home today on the 105 freeway in Los Angeles. I was headed westbound, and there was a ton of black smoke ahead of me. It turns out that a westbound car caught on fire. I don't know if it was an engine fire, or the driver dropped a cigarette on the upholstery or what.

But I did know that he did the sensible thing...he pulled over.

Then, he did the insensible thing...and pulled up onto the embankment beside the freeway. The embankment, of course, is covered with various shrubs and ground coverings. By the time I passed the scene of the car fire, the car fire had become a car-and-brush-and-maybe-soon-to-be-forest-fire.

Is it wrong to hope that the driver gets charged with Arson?

Curiously,

Josh

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

If your car were to be on fire, how much thought would you put into where you were parking it vs. getting the [censored] out of it?

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

lol, hippy

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
If your car were to be on fire, how much thought would you put into where you were parking it vs. getting the [censored] out of it?

[/ QUOTE ]

srsly, I dunno how big the fire was when it started, but Im pulling over to the closest shoulder asap, and not worrying about which.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If your car were to be on fire, how much thought would you put into where you were parking it vs. getting the [censored] out of it?

[/ QUOTE ]

srsly, I dunno how big the fire was when it started, but Im pulling over to the closest shoulder asap, and not worrying about which.

[/ QUOTE ]

No problem. But when there's an ample shoulder, why leave the shoulder and go up the embankment?

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If your car were to be on fire, how much thought would you put into where you were parking it vs. getting the [censored] out of it?

[/ QUOTE ]

srsly, I dunno how big the fire was when it started, but Im pulling over to the closest shoulder asap, and not worrying about which.

[/ QUOTE ]

No problem. But when there's an ample shoulder, why leave the shoulder and go up the embankment?

[/ QUOTE ]


concern that the car might blow/catch another car on fire?

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

If the ground cover is like most freeway embankments the guy is probably killing weeds, but who cares anyway?

Most people would get a sense of relief that all that smoke wasn't the result of a horrible accident.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

If the Darwin Awards are just this guy may stub his toe really hard in the next few weeks. He was under a fair amount of duress, hell he could have been on fire himself for all you know.

He may not have made an A+ play, but it was not nearly as bad as you are making it out to be.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

I would get as far off the road is possible. Better to light some [censored] shrubs than damage other cars

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

If the darwin awards are just op's...toast.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
By the time I passed the scene of the car fire, the car fire had become a car-and-brush-and-maybe-soon-to-be-forest-fire.


[/ QUOTE ]

It's been a while since I've been on the 105... didn't know they'd gone and planted a forest right off the shoulder.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
I would get as far off the road is possible. Better to light some [censored] shrubs than damage other cars

[/ QUOTE ]


Is it better to torch ten thousand homes or damage a car? And, how do you think another car would get damaged? Were they suddenly going to drive into a burning car, just for giggles?

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
By the time I passed the scene of the car fire, the car fire had become a car-and-brush-and-maybe-soon-to-be-forest-fire.


[/ QUOTE ]

It's been a while since I've been on the 105... didn't know they'd gone and planted a forest right off the shoulder.

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe I shouldn't have said that. It seems to have massively confused you.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

OP you're an idiot, his car was on fire.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

In principle I see where you're going, and agree that lack of forethought is retarded.

In practice, I don't think it would be possible to set LA ablaze from the 105 with one car exploding.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
OP you're an idiot, his car was on fire.

[/ QUOTE ]

I disagree that I'm an idiot, but I do see that I'm in the minority.

I guess I'm unusual because other people are always in the front of my mind, much moreso than I am. I know that if I have time to drive off the road into the brush, I have time to pull to the side of the road (since it's closer) and it will endanger roughly infinitely less, thats what I'd do.

I guess I'm disheartened by the selfishness shown by others here, but ultimately not surprised.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
OP you're an idiot, his car was on fire.

[/ QUOTE ]

I disagree that I'm an idiot, but I do see that I'm in the minority.

I guess I'm unusual because other people are always in the front of my mind, much moreso than I am. I know that if I have time to drive off the road into the brush, I have time to pull to the side of the road (since it's closer) and it will endanger roughly infinitely less, thats what I'd do.

I guess I'm disheartened by the selfishness shown by others here, but ultimately not surprised.

[/ QUOTE ]

Doing something that may endanger you in order to avoid the infinitesimal risk of starting a brush fire in downtown Los Angeles is not selfish - it's idiotic.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
In principle I see where you're going, and agree that lack of forethought is retarded.

In practice, I don't think it would be possible to set LA ablaze from the 105 with one car exploding.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's not an explosion that concerns me...it's a fire when the big news storying on CNN and other outlets all week has been the heatwave in the west. I'm not worried about all of LA burning...but a couple square miles could be ablaze very quickly, no problem.

I guess I feel like, when you live in a part of the country where wildfires are so common, you should do your part to prevent them.

If the driver were on fire, and he bailed out of a burning vehicle while it was still moving, and then the car rolled up the embankment, I can begin to justify it. I think that there is way less than a 1% chance of this being the case (based simply on the fact that in all of the car fires I've ever seen, the driver has never been on fire, including a handful of friends who have been in them. So, it's unlikely the driver was burning. It's also unlikely that he bailed out of a moving car. It's unlikely that, if he had bailed out of a moving car, that the car would veer towards the side of the road. It's unlikely that it would not hit any other cars. It's unlikely that the car went up the embankment).

I mean, he almost had to TRY to put the car up there. He drove farther than necessary, endangered more than necessary, and was probably in the car longer than necessary. I'd say that's stupid. Most here seem to think it's smart.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

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I mean, he almost had to TRY to put the car up there. He drove farther than necessary, endangered more than necessary, and was probably in the car longer than necessary. I'd say that's stupid. Most here seem to think it's smart.

[/ QUOTE ]

Smart, no. Unavoidable, yes.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
OP you're an idiot, his car was on fire.

[/ QUOTE ]

I disagree that I'm an idiot, but I do see that I'm in the minority.

I guess I'm unusual because other people are always in the front of my mind, much moreso than I am. I know that if I have time to drive off the road into the brush, I have time to pull to the side of the road (since it's closer) and it will endanger roughly infinitely less, thats what I'd do.

I guess I'm disheartened by the selfishness shown by others here, but ultimately not surprised.

[/ QUOTE ]

Doing something that may endanger you in order to avoid the infinitesimal risk of starting a brush fire in downtown Los Angeles is not selfish - it's idiotic.

[/ QUOTE ]

This was on the green-lined 105, not downtown.

I mean, he almost had to TRY to put the car up there. He drove farther than necessary, endangered more than necessary, and was probably in the car longer than necessary. I'd say that's stupid. Most here seem to think it's smart.

Are you saying it wasn't idiotic to stay in his car longer than necessary?

He could have parked on the friggin road and saved himself and the city danger. He basically had to try to do something as stupid as he did.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

I mean, he almost had to TRY to put the car up there. He drove farther than necessary, endangered more than necessary, and was probably in the car longer than necessary. I'd say that's stupid. Most here seem to think it's smart.

[/ QUOTE ]

Smart, no. Unavoidable, yes.

[/ QUOTE ]

How is it unavoidable?

Stop sooner, get out of your car sooner. Endanger everybody INCLUDING YOURSELF less.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

I mean, he almost had to TRY to put the car up there. He drove farther than necessary, endangered more than necessary, and was probably in the car longer than necessary. I'd say that's stupid. Most here seem to think it's smart.

[/ QUOTE ]

Smart, no. Unavoidable, yes.

[/ QUOTE ]

How is it unavoidable?

Stop sooner, get out of your car sooner. Endanger everybody INCLUDING YOURSELF less.

[/ QUOTE ]


What if the car was on fire and he slammed on brakes, hopped out without putting it in park and it just rolled onto the embankment?

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

I mean, he almost had to TRY to put the car up there. He drove farther than necessary, endangered more than necessary, and was probably in the car longer than necessary. I'd say that's stupid. Most here seem to think it's smart.

[/ QUOTE ]

Smart, no. Unavoidable, yes.

[/ QUOTE ]

How is it unavoidable?

Stop sooner, get out of your car sooner. Endanger everybody INCLUDING YOURSELF less.

[/ QUOTE ]


What if the car was on fire and he slammed on brakes, hopped out without putting it in park and it just rolled onto the embankment?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think this is physically possible. As i've stated numerous times, it was UP an embankment.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

If you want to be results-oriented, why couldn't the driver have given his car a thorough checkup before even starting it up and avoided the fire completely?

I haven't had a car catch on fire on the freeway; however I have had a tire blow out on me on the freeway, and when that happened, I had exactly 1 thing going through my mind: GET THIS CAR AS FAR OFF THE FREEWAY AND AS FAR AWAY FROM OTHER CARS AS I CAN.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
If you want to be results-oriented, why couldn't the driver have given his car a thorough checkup before even starting it up and avoided the fire completely?

I haven't had a car catch on fire on the freeway; however I have had a tire blow out on me on the freeway, and when that happened, I had exactly 1 thing going through my mind: GET THIS CAR AS FAR OFF THE FREEWAY AND AS FAR AWAY FROM OTHER CARS AS I CAN.

[/ QUOTE ]

You selfish prick.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]

I haven't had a car catch on fire on the freeway; however I have had a tire blow out on me on the freeway, and when that happened, I had exactly 1 thing going through my mind: GET THIS CAR AS FAR OFF THE FREEWAY AND AS FAR AWAY FROM OTHER CARS AS I CAN.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why away from other cars? If it's because you didn't want others to be put in danger, you agree with me that he shouldn't have driven up the embankment. If it's because you didn't want to be in harms way, you agree with me that stopping and getting out sooner would have been better.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

So did you put the fire out, or did you let LA burn?

Edit: Did Ponch and Jon show up and save LA?

2nd Edit: Best CHiPs Episode Ever.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

this thread has to be a joke.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
OP you're an idiot, his car was on fire.

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
OP you're an idiot, his car was on fire.

[/ QUOTE ]

That doesn't exempt him from using common sense. He should have waited until the next exit, found the closest/emptiest parking lot space to back in to, and then gotten out and called 911.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
OP you're an idiot, his car was on fire.

[/ QUOTE ]

That doesn't exempt him from using common sense. He should have waited until the next exit, found the closest/emptiest parking lot space to back in to, and then gotten out and called 911.

[/ QUOTE ]

See, you like to joke, but the fact is, he WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO ENDANGER PEOPLE INCLUDING HIMSELF. That's the whole point. You're joking that he should have gone out of his way...but that's precisely what he did. The safe thing for him is the exact thing as the safe thing for the city.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
OP you're an idiot, his car was on fire.

[/ QUOTE ]

That doesn't exempt him from using common sense. He should have waited until the next exit, found the closest/emptiest parking lot space to back in to, and then gotten out and called 911.

[/ QUOTE ]

See, you like to joke, but the fact is, he WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO ENDANGER PEOPLE INCLUDING HIMSELF. That's the whole point. You're joking that he should have gone out of his way...but that's precisely what he did. The safe thing for him is the exact thing as the safe thing for the city.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can't even believe this thread is for real. Are you seriously contending that this guy, after he noticed his CAR ON FIRE, headed towards the shoulder, but then had the presence of mind to think to himself, "Hmm, wait, I want to endanger as many people as possible", and made a conscious decision to go into the brush when he didn't have to?

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
OP you're an idiot, his car was on fire.

[/ QUOTE ]

That doesn't exempt him from using common sense. He should have waited until the next exit, found the closest/emptiest parking lot space to back in to, and then gotten out and called 911.

[/ QUOTE ]

See, you like to joke, but the fact is, he WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO ENDANGER PEOPLE INCLUDING HIMSELF. That's the whole point. You're joking that he should have gone out of his way...but that's precisely what he did. The safe thing for him is the exact thing as the safe thing for the city.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can't even believe this thread is for real. Are you seriously contending that this guy, after he noticed his CAR ON FIRE, headed towards the shoulder, but then had the presence of mind to think to himself, "Hmm, wait, I want to endanger as many people as possible", and made a conscious decision to go into the brush when he didn't have to?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm merely stipulating that there is no other REASONABLE way to end up on the embankment. Why didn't you answer my question about your blown out tire?

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
OP you're an idiot, his car was on fire.

[/ QUOTE ]

That doesn't exempt him from using common sense. He should have waited until the next exit, found the closest/emptiest parking lot space to back in to, and then gotten out and called 911.

[/ QUOTE ]

See, you like to joke, but the fact is, he WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO ENDANGER PEOPLE INCLUDING HIMSELF. That's the whole point. You're joking that he should have gone out of his way...but that's precisely what he did. The safe thing for him is the exact thing as the safe thing for the city.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can't even believe this thread is for real. Are you seriously contending that this guy, after he noticed his CAR ON FIRE, headed towards the shoulder, but then had the presence of mind to think to himself, "Hmm, wait, I want to endanger as many people as possible", and made a conscious decision to go into the brush when he didn't have to?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm merely stipulating that there is no other REASONABLE way to end up on the embankment. Why didn't you answer my question about your blown out tire?

[/ QUOTE ]

Because it was a retarded question and I was hoping you would just forget about it. When I have a blown tire, I want to get myself as far from traffic as possible. If it means going up an embankment, then I'll go up an embankment. It wouldn't even occur to me (and probably 99% of the population) to estimate the chances of my car endangering lives by causing a f*cking forest fire in Los Angeles, not because I'm selfish, but because I'm not going to realistically factor in the miniscule probability of it happening.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
OP you're an idiot, his car was on fire.

[/ QUOTE ]

That doesn't exempt him from using common sense. He should have waited until the next exit, found the closest/emptiest parking lot space to back in to, and then gotten out and called 911.

[/ QUOTE ]

See, you like to joke, but the fact is, he WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO ENDANGER PEOPLE INCLUDING HIMSELF. That's the whole point. You're joking that he should have gone out of his way...but that's precisely what he did. The safe thing for him is the exact thing as the safe thing for the city.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can't even believe this thread is for real. Are you seriously contending that this guy, after he noticed his CAR ON FIRE, headed towards the shoulder, but then had the presence of mind to think to himself, "Hmm, wait, I want to endanger as many people as possible", and made a conscious decision to go into the brush when he didn't have to?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm merely stipulating that there is no other REASONABLE way to end up on the embankment. Why didn't you answer my question about your blown out tire?

[/ QUOTE ]

Because it was a retarded question and I was hoping you would just forget about it. When I have a blown tire, I want to get myself as far from traffic as possible. If it means going up an embankment, then I'll go up an embankment. It wouldn't even occur to me (and probably 99% of the population) to estimate the chances of my car endangering lives by causing a f*cking forest fire in Los Angeles, not because I'm selfish, but because I'm not going to realistically factor in the miniscule probability of it happening.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why do you want to get as far from traffic as possible?

If your answer is either "to protect others" or "to protect myself", you have to agree with my point.

[as an aside...when you had the blowout, did you drive to the middle of the mojave to get as far away as possible?]

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]

Why do you want to get as far from traffic as possible?

If your answer is either "to protect others" or "to protect myself", you have to agree with my point.

[as an aside...when you had the blowout, did you drive to the middle of the mojave to get as far away as possible?]

[/ QUOTE ]

Seriously, are you actually reading what you're writing? Are you doing this just to get a rise out of people? I don't get it.

WHEN MY CAR IS DISABLED, I WANT TO GET IT AWAY FROM OTHER PEOPLE. Why? For my AND everyone else's protection. If my car goes into the brush, then so be it. That is not what you are saying. YOU are saying this poor guy with his car on fire should be charged with arson because he wasn't insane enough to consider that he could start a fire as he was pulling his car over. This thread is beyond retarded, and you know it.

See Josh, the most infuriating thing about you is that when you do or say something, the more people who tell you you're wrong, the more certain you think that you are right. For example, this thread. Basically everyone thinks you're being stupid, and instead of just admitting that perhaps you were a bit hasty in your judgment, you're all the more determined to prove all these people wrong. Stop it. Please.

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Why do you want to get as far from traffic as possible?

If your answer is either "to protect others" or "to protect myself", you have to agree with my point.

[as an aside...when you had the blowout, did you drive to the middle of the mojave to get as far away as possible?]

[/ QUOTE ]

Seriously, are you actually reading what you're writing? Are you doing this just to get a rise out of people? I don't get it.

WHEN MY CAR IS DISABLED, I WANT TO GET IT AWAY FROM OTHER PEOPLE. Why? For my AND everyone else's protection. If my car goes into the brush, then so be it. That is not what you are saying. YOU are saying this poor guy with his car on fire should be charged with arson because he wasn't insane enough to consider that he could start a fire as he was pulling his car over. This thread is beyond retarded, and you know it.

See Josh, the most infuriating thing about you is that when you do or say something, the more people who tell you you're wrong, the more certain you think that you are right. For example, this thread. Basically everyone thinks you're being stupid, and instead of just admitting that perhaps you were a bit hasty in your judgment, you're all the more determined to prove all these people wrong. Stop it. Please.

[/ QUOTE ]


BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TREEEEES? WONT ANYONE THINK OF THE TREES?

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Why do you want to get as far from traffic as possible?

If your answer is either "to protect others" or "to protect myself", you have to agree with my point.

[as an aside...when you had the blowout, did you drive to the middle of the mojave to get as far away as possible?]

[/ QUOTE ]

Seriously, are you actually reading what you're writing? Are you doing this just to get a rise out of people? I don't get it.

WHEN MY CAR IS DISABLED, I WANT TO GET IT AWAY FROM OTHER PEOPLE. Why? For my AND everyone else's protection.

[/ QUOTE ]

Then why drive it farther, further endangering yourself, to somewhere that also endangers others? THAT is what he did, and that is why what he did is retarded (or malicious).

See, the level 1 reaction would be something like "oh, crap, I gotta do something to preserve myself".

The level 2 reaction would be "in order to preserve myself, I gotta get my car somewhere safe, so that I can get out".

The level 3 would be "I should also not endanger others in the process"

The level 4 would be something like "and, if there's a kitty stuck in a tree, I should save it".

But the problem is, he didn't even get to level 1. If he did, he would not have gone out of his way to drive up the embankment. And, I mean, level 1 isn't really "thinking", it's more like "instinct", and he couldn't even do that.

So, he was either a complete moron, or he was trying to endanger a society. Those are the only two possibilities.

I mean....maybe it looks like I'm being stubborn here, but I'm actually just confused. Everybody says I'm crazy for thinking this, but nobody can put a logical (or even semi-logical) thought process here that could explain his actions. No instinct, no logic, no thinking...no reasoning whatsoever can explain it (at least none that anybody here has come up with).

So, he was either retarded (hence the Darwin award comment), or he was malicious (hence the arson comment). If there is some other possible explanation, please, share it. Nobody has yet.

Josh

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

[ QUOTE ]


BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TREEEEES? WONT ANYONE THINK OF THE TREES?

[/ QUOTE ]

Why do you think that driving farther than necessary, to endanger others, is the right move? He's out of the way of danger (from other cars), but he kept driving up an embankment. What possible logic/instinct/reason could lead to this result?

(note that I'm in no way a tree hugger...it's just that the stupidity of the driver is amazing to me). "Gee, I'm here, on the shoulder, in safety. I think I'll drive my burning car through the ditch and 30 feet up an embankment covered in bone-dry flamable shrubs before I get out". I mean...that makes sense to you guys? I don't understand.

Josh

Re: If the Darwin Awards are just, he\'s...toast.
 

What's so safe about parking a burning car a few feet away from traffic? Wouldn't parking a few more yards away from traffic be safer?