31 hours, 4 minutes

October 17, 2007 12:29 AM

31 hours, 4 minutes. Blowing the doors off the previous record of 32 hours, 7 minutes, Alex Roy of Team Polizei and co-pilot Dave Maher set a new transcontinental driving record in a modified BMW M5. Of course, to pull off such a feat today required a modest collection of equipment: thermal night-vision camera, binoculars, radar detector, radar jammer, CB and police scanners, oh, and a spotter airplane. As you might expect, not everyone is celebrating. Some photos.
posted by knave (70 comments total)

If this is the guy I think it is from my limited exposure to the Gumball murder run, then he comes across as a smug git. And that is amongst a field of gits of overpowering smugness.
posted by asok at 12:51 AM on October 17, 2007

These guys are douches. A spotter airplane, seriously? This is a rich guy with too much fucking time on his hands, not someone I'm going to congratulate for pulling off such a ballsy feat...because nothing about it is ballsy! Grow a pair, and a moustache, and tell us all again when you did it the old fashioned, interesting way.
posted by Roman Graves at 1:06 AM on October 17, 2007

All that being true, the guy in the "not everyone is celebrating" link is a douche.
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:24 AM on October 17, 2007

Christ, what an asshole.
posted by blacklite at 1:37 AM on October 17, 2007 [7 favorites]

What a wonderful way for a jackass to endanger his fellow man though flagrant violation of laws explicitly designed for the safety of all.

What's the record for doing it drunk?
posted by Rictic at 1:38 AM on October 17, 2007 [2 favorites]

IIRC (can't find the news item on Google) the last time they held a Cannonball run in Europe, the racers managed to kill a young woman commuter who had the bad luck to be commuting on the wrong road on her way to work.

This sort of thing is best confined to a race track.
posted by cstross at 1:58 AM on October 17, 2007

that was a really well written article. thanks.

regardless of what you might think of the driver..
posted by Dillonlikescookies at 2:06 AM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

The only viable reason for driving across the country that fast is to get laid deliver an organ transplant.

I still feel guilty about driving across the country in 57 hours about 12 years ago. I think I worked it out that I averaged fifty miles an hour including stops to eat and sleep.
posted by BrotherCaine at 2:08 AM on October 17, 2007

There are people that make Paris Hilton look like a useful human being. This guy is one.
posted by rdr at 2:25 AM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

"I don't want to hear about him."
posted by The Ultimate Olympian at 2:31 AM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

It was in the Sports section of the New York Times. Does anybody else remember when they used to say they didn't cover professional wrestling because professional wrestling was not a sport? Turns out they spoke too soon. If you are a professional wrestler and you murder your wife and child and suicide, you can get your story in the Sports section of the New York Times.

Progress!
posted by bukvich at 3:39 AM on October 17, 2007

Big deal. With a bit of luck, you can nearly do the same thing with a properly routed $160 Greyhound ticket. Without driving.

Though, I don't even really like cars, and I'm envious of his toys. That Lex Luther thing? Not so much.
posted by loquacious at 3:55 AM on October 17, 2007

A spotter airplane, seriously?

It's the arms race, isn't it. When the record was set, there weren't any police radars -- shit, there were barely any police -- and traffic was non-existant by comparison.

Yes, it's an insane, completely anti-social thing to do, and the guy is a complete asshole. But he drove at an average of 90 miles an hour for 31 hours straight on public roads. I can't help but be impressed by that.

the racers managed to kill a young woman commuter who had the bad luck to be commuting on the wrong road on her way to work.

I believe it was an old couple driving a Golf.

More here.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 4:57 AM on October 17, 2007

"But he drove at an average of 90 miles an hour for 31 hours straight on public roads. I can't help but be impressed by that."

Meh.
Maybe I'm just old, but the ratio of death (and not just of the participants) to worth is too heavily weighted towards the latter for me to think it's anything but a douche-tard, richie-rich, don't have anything worthwhile to do or know the difference one-trick pony. Go race the Paris-Dakkar (which is none too safe either) if you're so fucking special.

As a side note, I also, actually (emberassingly enough) use a spotter plane on my morning commute so, you know, mea culpa and all that.
posted by From Bklyn at 5:21 AM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

The only viable reason for driving across the country that fast is to ... deliver an organ transplant

Not even then; that is what airplanes are for. 30+ hours is too long for organs to survive the trip. (We just did an organ harvest last night so the way the system works is still on my mind.)

Although I don't want to defend the racers, I do think a lot of their critics come across as the type of people who drive side by side at or below the speed limit on major highways, oblivious to the cars backing up behind them and setting the stage for a multi-car pile up.
posted by TedW at 5:37 AM on October 17, 2007

I wouldn't piss on the Gumball crowd if they were on fire. Bunch of idle wankers with too much cash and time on their hands. You want to enjoy your geek toys? Go to a track day or enter the DARPA challenge or suchlike.

That being said, the wired article is a really gripping piece.
posted by Jakob at 5:53 AM on October 17, 2007

the ratio of death (and not just of the participants) to worth is too heavily weighted towards the latter for me to think it's anything but a douche-tard, richie-rich, don't have anything worthwhile to do or know the difference one-trick pony.

And so it differs from the rest of motor racing how, exactly?

OK, I get your point -- the risk of death to innocent participants by speeding on public roads is indefensible. I wasn't trying to defend it. However, your other points apply to all motor sports as far as I can tell.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 6:15 AM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

Fun article. Two nits, cuz I'm a jerk like that:

The bleeps of X-band are usually just junk picked up from motion detectors and burglar alarms... But the occasional croaking blaaat! means K-band — and almost certainly a police trigger gun hitting home.

Right on wrt X-band. K-band radiation is usually from motion detectors too (commercial automatic doors, specifically), but often used by cops as well. Telling the difference takes experience, but there's no "almost certainly a police trigger gun" about it. Now Ka radar is always a cop -- maybe that's what he meant.

Second nit:

The curve and acceleration is a physical sensation in the gut, and now the city is 10 miles out, now 8, and the turbos spool up and kick and Maher says, "Cop! No — taxi!"...

E39 BMW M5s don't have turbos -- "just" a (very nice) 400bhp 5.0L naturally aspirated V8. If, indeed, he's running an aftermarket turbo system, that'd be really unusual, worthy of a sidebar. All that is mentioned earlier is a Powerchip ECU upgrade though. Just makes me wonder if the writer knows a connecting rod from a camshaft if he's throwing in the casual "turbo" reference like that.
posted by LordSludge at 7:16 AM on October 17, 2007

This thread is a bunch of grannies! I'm sure you all drive in the right lane at 55mph on I-95 or I-5. Yeah sure 90mph is too fast but the way he's doing it is a hell of a lot safer than how they did in the 70s with no spotter planes, no night vision or really any technology help at all (not to mention no airbags and seatbelts probably optional). Obviously this should not be legal or encouraged, but if your going to do it, this guy really went out of his way to make it as safe as possible. If nothing else the technology is amazing and guess what, this guy broke the record and will be (in)famous until someone else does - that's just how it is, shaking your finger and nagging won't change what is an essential part of American mythology and character - crossing the continent, speed, cars, technology, record breaking.
posted by stbalbach at 7:17 AM on October 17, 2007 [2 favorites]

What a wonderful way for a jackass to endanger his fellow man though flagrant violation of laws explicitly designed for the safety of all. coffers of police departments.

Fixed that for ya.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 7:22 AM on October 17, 2007

Fixed that for ya.
Fixed, just for you.
posted by stbalbach at 7:38 AM on October 17, 2007

Yeah, this guy is soooo dangerous what with his careful route planning, top shelf equipment, professional co-pilot, and spotter airplane. He is risking the lives of valium popping, chardonnay swilling, cell phone using, Chihuahua holding, Cadillac Escalade drivers everywhere.

Where the hell is this speeding=death logic coming from? If only the cops would ruthlessly pursue drivers' poor decision making, tailgating and distraction like they pursue speed limit violations. I'd rather ride with this guy than 99% of the people I see on the road.
posted by well_balanced at 7:56 AM on October 17, 2007

Cars = evil, duh.
posted by smackfu at 8:03 AM on October 17, 2007

stbalbach is right, yes it endangers your fellow man and that is bad, but driving fast takes alot of concentration and skill and if you aren't impressed by that then your lack of context for what he is doing makes your comments almost meaningless. I mean, if you think the only reason to drive fast is for a reason (organ transplant or whatever) then you don't get it. I agree it shouldn't be allowed, and more that it shows an inhuman regard for the lives of others, yet it also requires a ton of self reliance and will. stbalbach is right, "...is an essential part of american mythology and character"
....danger is my middle name
posted by MNDZ at 8:06 AM on October 17, 2007

Where the hell is this speeding=death logic coming from?

Probably the fact that when you're doing an average of 90 miles an hour on public roads, it doesn't leave you very much time to react to and avoid the mistakes of all the other assholes who are driving.

And then when that collision does happen -- at those speeds, it's much more likely to be fatal -- as the two old dears who met up with the drivers from the gumball rally found to their cost.

Nevertheless: what stbalback said.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 8:28 AM on October 17, 2007

first of all, did no one see the video of police lights and horn installed on their car, so they can get us 'grannies' out of their way by impersonating cops? that's a real achievement.

second of all, i am not a granny. but the fact that they AVERAGED 90mph means that at times, they were going a hell of a lot faster than that. i get going pretty fast on sparsely driven sections of road all the time (Arizona back roads), but where I would be driving 85-90, those guys are driving >155. They removed the speed limiting chip, which would have capped them at that speed.

So, good for them and all. But this story isn't about the 'triumph of man and machine,' or a 'modern day cannonball run,' or whatever cliche you want. We're talking about two guys who drove really fast, didn't kill any innocent bystanders, and avoided the cops. There simply isn't any way to 'make this as safe as possible.' They were lucky, pure and simple. Watch the videos of them hitting 90+ in the middle of a rainstorm over the Great Plains with no visibility.

Congratulations. You didn't get caught or dead.
posted by uaudio at 9:17 AM on October 17, 2007 [2 favorites]

At one point in time I was regularly making ~640 miles in just a hair over 8 hours. Jersey City to 8 Mile in Detroit... It was tough. That not quite a 80 mph average. To get above 90 for 31 hours is awesome.
posted by bastionofsanity at 9:20 AM on October 17, 2007

"However, your other points apply to all motor sports as far as I can tell."

I made other points about... oh right, the spotter plane I use on my morning commute. Wait, what?

Look, if you can't accept that now that I am older and have offspring and quake with fear every time the needle on the speed-o-meter goes past seventy, that I know what's best for all you young whipper-snappers... well then... um... what was I going on about againOhShit there's my exit... (iphone rocks for commenting while you drive...)
posted by From Bklyn at 9:47 AM on October 17, 2007

Am I the only one in this thread who LIKES Alex Roy and the Team Polezi folks? I've watched all the movies/coverage/etc of the last 2-3 Gumballs, and they were the most human and entertaining of the bunch.

Also note, the Gumball was cancelled after the fatal accident last year and I believe (although I can't find a press release) that a large amount of money was donated to the family of the deceased. It's no excuse for what happened, however.
posted by mrbill at 10:14 AM on October 17, 2007

The only viable reason for driving across the country that fast is to get laid deliver an organ transplant.

+

The gear is all bought and loaded . . . mail-order porta-pissoir bags of quick-hardening gel

=

[Insert your own Lisa Nowak punchline here.]
posted by not_on_display at 10:21 AM on October 17, 2007

Those guys need to meet a bridge abutment.
posted by pracowity at 10:21 AM on October 17, 2007

HA! These rich twats got nothing on my 12 hours from Dallas, TX to Minneapolis, MN... with stops. The Kansas Turnpike is like a 200 mile long slot car track, and who knew southern Iowa had so many hills!
posted by Jeremy at 10:28 AM on October 17, 2007

They should've used a Z06. Where they were doing 160, the Z06 could have been doing 200; and they could've uploaded all their waypoints onto the stock GPS.

But no, a Z06 would have been too conspicous. These guys were trying to keep it secret.
posted by ikkyu2 at 10:30 AM on October 17, 2007

I'm not an 'old grannie,' I've just seen the statistics and realized that the biggest thing that I have to fear at my age is car accidents. By far.

Look, if you want to race around in three thousand pound missiles, good for you. Just don't do it on the public transit system. They're not for that, they're for transportation.

Doing a marathon driving session for 31 hours, with a single driver, no sleep, and at those speeds is a clear-cut reckless endangerment.
posted by Rictic at 10:37 AM on October 17, 2007

Graffiti takes skill. I just dont think it should be painted on the side of my house.
posted by damn dirty ape at 10:38 AM on October 17, 2007

Yeah sure 90mph is too fast but the way he's doing it is a hell of a lot safer than how they did in the 70s with no ...

Don't be ridiculous. While 90mph instantaneous speed may only be slightly into seriously irresponsible territory, to average 90mph, you have to spend a lot of time going much much faster. As in:

Maher gives it his last surge of energy, climbing to 122 mph, 142, 160 before the gas light demands they stop for fuel.

Seriously retarded.

Surely the authorities could just look him up and throw the book at him though.. Any evidence he provides to demonstrate his record should be perfectly admissible in court. He's rich though, so I guess reckless endangerment doesn't apply to him.
posted by Chuckles at 10:46 AM on October 17, 2007

I second the comment about all your grannies in this thread. Regardless what you think of him or how much money he has, driving 31 hours solid with that kind of planning, forethought and driving is a real skill. Driving fast does not necessarily equate to higher deaths, driving recklessly does. I can't find the link now, but Jeremy Clarkson wrote an excellent op-ed on that line of argument recently as the nannies in the UK have tried to take away every bit of fun drivers can have.

I've never had a problem with fast drivers on the highways, in fact, it's you slow-poke grandmas driving 50 in the left lane side by side that lead to my desire to engage car-to-car missiles and be done with you. Drive right, pass left, you ninnies.

For people with the training and skill, I have no problem with such events and antics. It's the dumb-ass riceboys in their souped up Civic SIs doing burnouts in public parking lots and losing control, or illegal street racing copy cats after watching "Fast and Furious" that cause trouble. If you know your vehicle, its limits, your own limits and have the skill and forethought to know when you are within safe limits and when you're just being a dangerous asshole, there's rarely a problem. Unfortunately, most drivers are not that self-aware or well trained.
posted by tgrundke at 10:50 AM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

Chuckles - I believe they accomplished this last year and have purposely waited until all statues of limitations expired before announcing their feat.
posted by tgrundke at 10:51 AM on October 17, 2007

I'm of two minds on this; First, how cool would it be to have the kind of gear that would makes something like this even feasible? Thermal-optic imaging? Radar jamming? Hell, I want this for my daily commute.

On the other, it is reprehensibly dangerous to drive for 31 hours, without sleep, at speeds averaging 90mph, on public roads.
posted by quin at 10:53 AM on October 17, 2007

Driving fast does not necessarily equate to higher deaths, driving recklessly does.

This shows a real misunderstanding of basic physics - ¹/₂mv².


From the article:

While running nearly 120 mph in a 55 zone on the return trip from the aborted Cannonball run with the English copilot, he'd been hit with radar by a westbound state trooper, leading to a tense, 20-minute Smokey-Bandit chase deep into farm country. Roy managed to escape, but the Ohio state patrol would be unlikely to forget the blue BMW loaded with weird antennas.

If you are anything but a rich white guy, that shit gets you shot. Heh.. Maybe this is all an elaborate attempt at suicide by cop? (a truly vile term, I'm pretty surprised to find myself using it)
posted by Chuckles at 11:05 AM on October 17, 2007

I don't think very many people would argue that driving at those speeds on public roads is, on balance, a responsible or wise thing to do. Delta-vee is the single most dangerous aspect of driving in traffic and ho boy did they have some vee.

That said, I think Alex Roy is probably the only guy I can think of that I would even give the chance to explain himself. Among the dozens of assholes in fast cars that take part in the Gumball et al rallies, the 144s are easily the most responsible ones. Not that that's a hard award to win.
posted by Skorgu at 11:11 AM on October 17, 2007

No matter how good you are, and how much preparation you have done: driving fast is dangerous. An M5 hurtling down the road at over 160kph is one big ball of energy, and if you don’t have the friction to dissipate that energy as heat, people will die.

But (and it’s a big one) - Alex Roy now holds the record for the fastest transam crossing ever. He wanted it, he planned it, he achieved it. It sure beats masturbating in the shower and no one can take it away from him.

Great post btw – NZ media will no doubt pick this story up sometime next week.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 11:20 AM on October 17, 2007

What strikes me is that as (potentially) dangerous as what he did was to all the other people on the road, and as frivolous as the goal seems in light of that potential danger, I don't see it as any more frivolous than speeding to avoid being late for a meeting. The speeds are faster, and the chances for death are greater, but probably marginally so after you top 70 mph as almost all US highways do.
posted by OmieWise at 11:25 AM on October 17, 2007

This shows a real misunderstanding of basic physics

So how can we be so irresponsible as to permit 65 and 70mph speed limits when clearly anything over 35mph kills orphans and grandmothers? Federal speed limits are related to fuel economy and lowest common denominator drivers. Yes, reaction time is reduced at higher velocity but I would argue that this guy has at least several times the situational awareness of you driving 70mph due to his electronics.

This is a special case. I would imagine that speeding cops are far more of a public safety threat than this carefully considered effort.
posted by well_balanced at 11:30 AM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

Good article.
posted by smackfu at 11:31 AM on October 17, 2007

After being awake for over 31 hours, driving 117 mph+ on public roads is a death wish. I don't care how skilled or talented you think he is, they were lucky to survive that last stretch.

Consider the article states they were 131 miles out at 29 hours and 27 minutes. The previous record was 32 hours and 7 minutes, so they need to go 131 miles in 160 minutes. Yet Maher says they'll need to go over 100mph the rest of the way to have a shot. If they're too tired to do basic math, I'm not sure hitting triple digits is the best idea.

They beat the previous record by over an hour, yet still pushed it past 115 on the final stretch. This is just stupid.
posted by ShadowCrash at 11:57 AM on October 17, 2007

Good article.

Actually, if you compare the quoted dialogue from the Oklahoma cop scare scene with the accompanying YouTube clip of the same, you'll see that the writer does a horrific job of capturing quotes. Either that, or he's simply making up better quotes. In either case, very sloppy.
posted by william_boot at 12:50 PM on October 17, 2007

Chalk me up in the not pissed off category. These guys are professionals. There's a multitude of stoned-out rice racers doing stupid stunts like this all the time where I live, driving at speeds that make reactions difficult. These guys are pro's with the gear and talent necessary to minimize the possibilities of an accident. They were probably some of the safest drivers on the road at the time.

And to people saying that staying up 31 hours straight is some sort of inhuman feat that makes you senseless and useless: Not true. In situations where your skill sets are being pushed to the limits for a goal you have been planning on for a long time, we are capable of remarkable longevity and alertness. Shit, I stayed up for 37 hours straight in college finishing a research paper and was alert and focused the entire time. 31 hours is not that long.
posted by lazaruslong at 12:55 PM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

But no, a Z06 would have been too conspicous. These guys were trying to keep it secret.

ikkyu2, they (smartly) did not use the Polizei 144 badging and corporate logos in the Cannonball attempt. That picture is either from a Gumball run, or perhaps shortly after returning from one. (Looks like Brooklyn Bridge in the background.) If you note the actual videos, there's no badging on the car.

A stock Z06 vs. a tricked out, modified M5? Have you ever even been inside of or seen an M5? There's not very many of them. It's like comparing the Bell X-1 rocketplane to the Concord. Sure, they both go real fast - but the Z06 likes to go straight, while the M5 eats up turns like a lumberjack eats flapjacks, and has much nicer seats - much nicer everything - all around.

I have a friend who had one. He was pretty unassuming, very generous and well-balanced, but he liked his toys, and he knew how to drive.

Normally I'm terrified in most cars with most drivers in freeway traffic. I have a very keen instinctual understanding of physics, and the fact that most cars are made out of cardboard and tinfoil doesnt help much. Not so in the M5.

I'm not super-proud of the following story, but it's a good one. Remember, I mostly hate cars.

One day, we had to make a run from Irvine, CA to Hollywood, CA, and we had to make it fast. During evening rush hour on the 405. He needed me to be co-pilot and ballast so he could use the carpool lane. Rolling averages for the freeway most of the way seemed to be about 20 MPH.

I think we managed to average 50-60 despite this, with some bursts over 100, easily.

Holy. Shit. It was a revelation. I had no idea that kind of freeway driving was even possible. It was like the Deathstar trench run in Star Wars as executed by a blind, Zen-drenched Shaolin monk. It was like witnessing brain surgery. Fucking incredible.

Not once during the entire trip did I ever grab the "Oh shit" handle overhead on the door jam. I don't think my heartrate even ever climbed all that much.

Not once during the entire trip did he ever enter an unsafe following distance, nor cut anyone off, nor make any unsafe or illegal passes. He never honked. He never flashed his lights to make someone move. No one ever honked at us, either. I'm not even sure if that many people even saw us, really, that's how ninja it was.

Somehow he just found and made open space all around us the whole way, a perfect, winding canyon through all the cars which he threaded like a needle, hands at 10 and 2 the entire way, eyes locked and scanning the freeway like some kind of cyborg.

It was a textbook case of flow and zen's "effortless effort" all rolled into one. There was no struggle, there was no battle - just flow.

I've never seen driving like it before or since, and it had a hell of a lot to do with that car, which my friend readily admitted. Those M-series cars are ludicrously refined driving machines, particularly the M5.

31 hours in the cramped cockpit of a Z06? Hell. No. I'll take a long distance ride in the M5 any day.

Though, I will grant you that a big-block American supercar would indeed be the traditional way to run the Cannonball - but those days of long, straight and empty American roads are almost over. All that top end speed means squat if you never get to use it.
posted by loquacious at 1:05 PM on October 17, 2007 [8 favorites]

loquacious - great input there, and you are incredibly correct stating "all that top end speed means squat if you never get to use it." Top end grunt ain't worth a piss since we have so few big open highways in America these days. Hell, even the autobahn is so congested anymore that the opportunity to truly open up the throttle are limited.

And let's be honest - most big block American cars handle for shit and you wouldn't want to take them anywhere near a corner or curve at top speed. Change that to an M-series Bimmer, Audi R8 or equivalent and you're in the game.
posted by tgrundke at 1:14 PM on October 17, 2007

I read his book (well, the galley proof) just a week or two ago, and it's pretty fascinating. It suffers from a little too much portentousness and forced drama, but it's a really readable account of someone doing something very difficult that happens to be illegal.

I was a little annoyed that the galleys left off the ending, but it was pretty clear that they'd beaten the record.
posted by klangklangston at 2:05 PM on October 17, 2007

Excellent redemption of the post, loquacious.

It is true. M5s are sex.
posted by blacklite at 2:12 PM on October 17, 2007

Wow, its incredible how unconvincing these lame rationalizations are. "Cops are more dangerous" "driving 70 is just as bad" "some people drive with magical zen powers" etc. You guys know this is wrong, stupid, reckless, and dangerous. Call a spade a spade.

This is like listening to a pathetic drunk tell you how he's just as good a driver drunk because he really really knows how to drive.
posted by damn dirty ape at 2:42 PM on October 17, 2007

Having spent some extended time driving on Germany's unrestricted autobahns, I now have a whole new contempt for the speed=death lot *and* the I-should-drive-as-fast-as-I-like lot.

Skorgu is exactly right about it being the difference in speeds that matters.
posted by bonaldi at 3:41 PM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

"This is like listening to a pathetic drunk tell you how he's just as good a driver drunk because he really really knows how to drive."

And this is like listening to the bullshit scare tactics of MADD.
posted by klangklangston at 3:44 PM on October 17, 2007

From the NY Times article:

"...as drivers whittle their times, the threshold of a 30-hour run looms."

That sounds like a call for a meetup. Who wants to participate in the first annual MeFi rally challenge? Google maps tells me that MA to Portland, OR, is 3000 miles. Who wants to do it in 30 hours?
posted by Eideteker at 4:14 PM on October 17, 2007

That is great loquacious, and amusing to me because for the past six months, I've been dedicating myself to the same thing. Becoming the perfect driver.

It involves watching the road a full minute ahead of you, and trying to evaluate what the cars are going to be doing by the time you reach them. When speeding, always be going no more than 9mph over the speed limit, not being afraid to pass when going around a corner, never cutting someone off, and leaving at least three car lengths between you and the car in front of you.

It's actually very difficult. I don't talk on my cell, I don't eat, the only concession to enjoyment is my stereo. But I've found that I'm getting better at it, and most of the time, I can cut through traffic like it isn't there.

My only real complaint is that active driving, really makes you aware of when other drivers aren't paying attention. It's a lot.
posted by quin at 4:23 PM on October 17, 2007

M5 are le sexy sexy. vry.

I too, bonaldi, I too have driven the vaunted autobahns of Germany (just last week, as it happens). And I would like to second your comment.

I would like to add that (having, now, driven fast in both places,) Fast in America is much more fun because it is illegal. While Fast in Germany is just fast. As it turns out, driving very fast (+110mph) is tiring, especially in traffic, and uses a lot of gas. And most importantly unless you can keep this speed up for a couple hours, (a point excellently made in the article) you're not really getting there much faster, especially if someone dawdles at the rest stop or there's construction work, or - so that kind of, uh, puts it in perspective.

Also the tickets? For speeding? They like, suck.
posted by From Bklyn at 4:27 PM on October 17, 2007

Also note, the Gumball was cancelled after the fatal accident last year and I believe (although I can't find a press release) that a large amount of money was donated to the family of the deceased. It's no excuse for what happened, however.

That's a remarkably weak-sounding disclaimer. "Sorry about your dear old mum, I know it doesn't excuse what happened but here's a packet of cash!"

For people with the training and skill, I have no problem with such events and antics.

Objectivist much?
posted by JHarris at 4:28 PM on October 17, 2007

Sure, they both go real fast - but the Z06 likes to go straight, while the M5 eats up turns like a lumberjack eats flapjacks, and has much nicer seats - much nicer everything - all around.

"If the pilot's good, I mean if he's reeeally sharp, he can barrel that thing in so low, oh it's a sight to see. You wouldn't expect it with a big ol' plane like a '52, but varrooom! The jet exhaust frying chickens in the barnyard!"
posted by JHarris at 4:32 PM on October 17, 2007

US Freeways are the driving equivalent of instant coffee - flat, white and boring.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 4:50 PM on October 17, 2007

US Freeways are the driving equivalent of instant coffee - flat, white and boring.

You've obviously never been in LA on the 110 freeway just after 2 AM on a Saturday Night.

Take one ancient freeway. Make it curvy. Curvier. Now make it only two lanes. Have it twist and wind around hills, tunnels and bridges. Now make the entrance and exit ramps, oh, about 10 feet long, with sharp, 90 degree turns where they exit to the surface streets. Add potholes the size of Buicks.

Finally, garnish with a bunch of overpowered tuners, benzos and bimmers each piloted by drunk idiots.

Goddamn I hate that freeway. Sometime in the very near future it'll be the permanent home to some kind of fucked up Autoduel Thunderdome in which blazing wrecks and fatalities happen every day.

Oh, dear. The future is now.
posted by loquacious at 5:23 PM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

Heh. Loq, you need to drive in Detroit more. I expected the traffic in LA to be bad, but I've never been really afraid here, and I was regularly afraid for my life in the anarchic world of I-94 (or the 275 interchange, sweet Jesus!).

I mean, if I'm going 100mph in the center lane here, I don't get people blowing past me on the right, blaring their horns.
posted by klangklangston at 5:31 PM on October 17, 2007

I mean, if I'm going 100mph in the center lane here, I don't get people blowing past me on the right, blaring their horns.

That's because in LA they'd get shot. Duh. :)
posted by loquacious at 5:39 PM on October 17, 2007

C'mon, man, Detroit invented the car jacking!
posted by klangklangston at 6:18 PM on October 17, 2007

I'm mostly kidding. I think. The gunplay of Los Angeles is a bit overrated, maybe, per capita at least. But I've seen plenty of people get extra stupid nuts on the freeway. And I wouldn't want to tangle with Detroit, either, but I haven't been there.

LA is still the only city that I've ever seen a running sub-machine gun battle in. Like, on foot. This was only a couple of years ago, too.
posted by loquacious at 7:32 PM on October 17, 2007

"... Sometime in the very near future it'll be the permanent home to some kind of fucked up Autoduel Thunderdome in which blazing wrecks and fatalities happen every day. ..."
posted by loquacious at 8:23 PM on October 17

Like enough bad movies haven't already been recognizably made in LA.

On the main thread topic, I stand, conflicted, on the one hand admiring the sheer "stoooopid" chutzpah and maniacal devotion of Alex Roy and Dave Maher in accomplishing such a run, and on the other, wanting to kick their wimpy, electronically and aircraft assisted asses for implying that their "record" somehow compares to that of those who just freakin' drove the route, Back In The Day. 90+ MPH, coast to coast, is an insanity not to be sneezed at, but the "mystique" of it all falls apart for aircraft assisted guys who pull off the road, and try to hide, even for 2 minutes, from cops who might have caught them.
posted by paulsc at 2:00 AM on October 18, 2007

Driving expensive cars fast is cool.

If you disagree - you are an old boring fuddy duddy who takes one of those piss annoying inflated moral position because your a good two shoes boring fuddy duddy.

Like vegitarians who think they're better than you because you eat meat. And vegans who think they're better than everyone.

You all have your vices.

No? Then your a worse boring fuddy duddy to people who claim to hate cars.

Cars are cool.



I'm not sure why he didn't just use his Team Polizei Bentley Continental GT. Though I guess it would have been a pain to continually refuel.

Though Alex Roy does sometimes come accross as a bit of a baby who is ready to throw is toys out the cot in the Gumball series - he is a legend.

Godspeed
posted by 13twelve at 9:27 AM on October 18, 2007

Loq, you know the design of the 110 was intentional, right? It was Caltrans' first major freeway project. A great deal of rhetoric was expended and a great deal of architectural and design work was undertaken to produce a freeway that would be scenic, beautiful in its own right, and a pleasant, diverting motoring experience, at 35 miles per hour in your 1930's Dodge or Buick automobile.

Point A to Point B at 80mph, which seems to be the goal of today's modern Interstates, was not on the radar of the original designers. I don't think you can blame the designers for the fact that this is how people try to use the 110 today.
posted by ikkyu2 at 10:48 AM on October 19, 2007 [1 favorite]

Am I the only one in this thread who LIKES Alex Roy and the Team Polezi folks?

Not at all. Of all of the stupid and dangerous crap in the world, I'd far rather more of it were of the Alex Roy variety.

Plus you've got to love the "Dr. Evil" laugh...
posted by nonliteral at 11:08 AM on October 22, 2007