Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1022
Tragic error of judgement...
5/27/2022 at 6:13 PM
With young people, it's more balls than brains. My teens knew of them, but didn't know them personally. My son knew his name, face, the Mustang and his videos with that car. Some of my daughters circle of friends had more interaction with the couple. Both have seen the videos and he had over 30,000 followers. Kids in their late teens and early twenties will do crazy stuff without a second thought. Sometimes for the thrills exclusive to youth, other times for the attention. Those turns at the end of the Valley Road are tight and do have speed restrictions. Growing up out there, I've seen and heard of the occasional collisions, near misses and single vehicle crashes from overshooting the road. It's a cool set of turns to run at a good speed with a motorcycle or with a "fun car" in the past, but they have their risks and now there's new issues are out there. Back then the worry was hitting the ditch or slamming on the brakes because of those stupid peacocks from old man Macphersons farm right at those turns. But things changed over time. The road has become much narrower. The paved shoulders from back in the waterslide days are gone. Replaced with uneven, loose gravel overgrown with weeds and lined with the crumbling edges of the broken down asphalt. The road surface aged poorly with breaks, dips and large cracks. Throw in the fact that the number of houses has tripled along that road so there's way more traffic. I know that the road was once part of a course for the local cycle club to run and practice on, but changed the route years ago because of the poor conditions and safety concerns from getting "buzzed" by cars. By my judgement it's no longer a good place to test your driving skills or your car's capabilities, but lots of kids will still try to "run the gauntlet", just like I did with my car. And if I had the social media and cameras like what the kids have now... I would be doing exactly the same things with that old "mullet missile" of mine at eighteen that Jonathan was doing. Laying down strips of burnt rubber, topping out on the Trans Canada, doing wild turns and recording every moment. But, that end of the road is crap now and I would never let or make my girlfriend stunt drive my car for a video clip. I was a dumb kid, then. Doing crazy $h!+ with my friends in our cars to assert our masculinity over each other for attention and glory However, I'd be looking for other spots with newer pavement that I would do myself with my own car before I try something like that. I've talked to a few who once lived on and some that still do live in the Grand Valley, most are angry at what happened because it was foolish to stand on the road to take the video and was totally preventable. Although true, I'm more sad. Mainly because it stigmatizes youth with cars to the negativity of dangerous or reckless teen driving. There are a lot more good drivers under twenty five than bad and in this case, at least they went out onto an empty road to record.
Right now, I've been helping with car searching for my 17 year old son the last few weeks. Lots of junk out there for the money people want/expect, to be honest. But this tragedy won't deter us in getting something sporty for him to have in the summer. I'm hoping he follows in my footsteps and gets a Mustang or Trans am,. Something newer, affordable, but similar to the ones I had (not a fan of the foreign, ricer, four cylinders). Fun cars give kids confidence, character, goals, independence, new skills, responsibilities and love towards something that was truly their own. In fact I still think that it's still a "right of passage" for most young people should go through before settling into a passive, generic, monotone, four door practical transportation that you will never love. Life is short, youth is finite, have some fun, but be responsible. That couple made a series of bad decisions and Jonathan lost his life. It's tragic, but my kids and others will learn from them. Kids shouldn't be made afraid of a "what if", rather, made more aware that regular life doesn't or shouldn't mimic the crap on social media or blockbuster movies. Nor should they attempt to imitate or compete against that stupidity and fake nonsense put out to entertain the naive . Jonathans passion for that car and to share on line may have gotten carried to a point where it clouded his judgement. His focus to record his proud achievement is what got him in the end. That's too bad, he would have been a great car guy to know personally. Instead of over the internet.
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.