What do you think, Oppo?

Kinja'd!!! "ImmoralMinority" (araimondo)
09/21/2019 at 17:29 • Filed to: None

Kinja'd!!!0 Kinja'd!!! 14

Fox News: Kevin Hart and passengers in car crash are lawyering up: reports.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

I still think the primary cause was likely excessive speed, but Hart is a deep pocket. But it presents an interesting question. If you swap a modern, 700 hp engine into a 70s car, does reasonable care involve the installation of safety devices - maybe harnesses and a roll cage?

I keep thinking about when I first heard about them going off the road, and I thought, "of course they did," because a 700 hp Barracuda is bound to crash.


DISCUSSION (14)


Kinja'd!!! farscythe - makin da cawfee! > ImmoralMinority
09/21/2019 at 17:40

Kinja'd!!!3

play stupid games...win stupid priz es

im with you on this one


Kinja'd!!! gettingoldercarguy > ImmoralMinority
09/21/2019 at 17:43

Kinja'd!!!2

Fucking idiots. You think I’d put a f oot in that car? They signed the waiver by getting into it. I know the law doesn’t work that way, but that pisses me off. Saying it should have airbags. Motherfucker please.


Kinja'd!!! DipodomysDeserti > ImmoralMinority
09/21/2019 at 17:49

Kinja'd!!!7

The only thing that would make this more ridiculous is if they named Plymouth  in the suit for not installing airbags and safety harnesses in a ‘70 Barracuda .


Kinja'd!!! farscythe - makin da cawfee! > ImmoralMinority
09/21/2019 at 17:50

Kinja'd!!!1

anyhooo...now that ive read the question proper

oh g0d yes you want a cage and straps for 700 hp


Kinja'd!!! Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > ImmoralMinority
09/21/2019 at 17:57

Kinja'd!!!0

This is why I'm glad I'm not rich. Ain't nothing somebody can take from me but student loan debt! 


Kinja'd!!! xc90v8/I4 :( > ImmoralMinority
09/21/2019 at 17:59

Kinja'd!!!3

I agree you should improve the safety when adding power. Probably not Airbags but a cage, proper harnesses, brakes, suspension etc

But this guy crashed his mates car and is gonna sue him for that?? I could borrow a friends Porsche and seriously injure myself... then sue him for allowing me to drive a powerful car.. that’s just stupid.


Kinja'd!!! Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > ImmoralMinority
09/21/2019 at 18:08

Kinja'd!!!0

Hart wasn’t even driving was he? Because if he wasn’t, that’s complete and total BS and no one should take the case. 


Kinja'd!!! WilliamsSW > ImmoralMinority
09/21/2019 at 18:11

Kinja'd!!!5

The * DRIVER* is suing?

Fuck. Him.

Can I borrow your motorcycle, wreck it, then sue you?


Kinja'd!!! shop-teacher > ImmoralMinority
09/21/2019 at 18:26

Kinja'd!!!2

I figured that was inevitable. I don’t think anyone involved is liable for anything, but I’m sure the lawyers will make out well.

I do agree with you that a car like this should have a cage. I don't think anyone here deserves a pay day here though.


Kinja'd!!! Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > ImmoralMinority
09/21/2019 at 19:12

Kinja'd!!!2

A scary thought just entered my head - “700 hp doesn’t seem like all that much these days ”. Yeah, I caught myself shortly after thinking that and acknowledged that this is an old car and probably shouldn’t be running this much power . The horsepower wars are getting obscene, especially considering that the roads are probably in worse shape than they were 30-40 years ago.

I watched a video the other day, and they joked about the difference between a 500 hp Supra and a 1000 hp one - about half a second in the ¼ mile was the answer. Years ago hot-rodders built powe rful cars and crashed them and it was just Da rwin at work or a learning experience. Take a look around various mountain roads that are used for drifting in Japan - the slopes are littered with crashed cars. But the owners continue to make payments on this abandoned scrap metal because they fuct up and take responsibility for their actions. Here? Someone else’s fault, especially if they have money.

My final thought?  Suck it up and live with the consequences of your actions (if you have medical insurance). If you don't have insurance, well, that's when the lawyers get called since there's no way to recover without going bankrupt.


Kinja'd!!! SpeedSix > ImmoralMinority
09/21/2019 at 21:03

Kinja'd!!!2

I’m not sure who could expect airbags in a 70s Plymouth.

Can’t go around installing airbags willy-nilly, done improperly I’m sure they’d cause more injuries (or cause injury when the result otherwise would be no injury) since location, shape, and strength are all factors that any regular shop wouldn’t be able to properly engineer for.

There’s a reason that even small manufacturers (i.e. 300 cars annually) are exempted from such safety standards, because the engineering is cost-prohibitive.

That said, if it’s a cost-no-object restomod, I’d have specified welding in a cage to the bare shell before all interior fittings - you can hide the cage well if the car’s being totally disassembled and largely scratchbuilt (I believe the panels were alloy and carbon fibre).


Kinja'd!!! wafflesnfalafel > ImmoralMinority
09/21/2019 at 21:23

Kinja'd!!!1

yeah - Hart is screwed.  His car so he is primary regardless of the operator.  I’d be interested to see how his insurance is set up.  


Kinja'd!!! RallyWrench > DipodomysDeserti
09/22/2019 at 00:33

Kinja'd!!!1

They’ll try. When I was in high school, a girl crashed her 914 into a tree when rummaging for a CD, paralyzing the passenger. I saw the chassis later, the right front wheel ended up in the passenger seat. It’s a miracle it wasn’t worse. Her family sued Porsche for making an unsafe car... that was 25 years old at that point. That suit was thrown  out, but still... They'll try.


Kinja'd!!! DipodomysDeserti > RallyWrench
09/22/2019 at 00:47

Kinja'd!!!0

BRB, gotta go wreck one of my old Hondas in California so I can sue old man Soichiro for putting cable operated drum brakes on a motorcycle.