If it happened to me, I would certainly turn into a raving psychopath willing to rip the culprits throats out with my bare hands. That's exactly why it would be a very bad idea indeed to take too much notice of what I said on road safety after the event. And it is a legal requirement to wear seatbelts at all times, not just common sense. That's so precisely because you can never tell when something is going to go wrong, from a lorry crossing the central reservation to a mechanical failure in your car, from a driver having a heart attack to an animal getting out of a field [I knew 2 people that this happened to - one was badly injured, the other killed, admittedly on a motorbike], from a drunken or just plain idiotic driver coming the other way to a lorry shedding its load in your path [that happened to me although it didn't hit the car]. Just as the accident might not have happened if McCormick was sober, I don't think it would be much consolation either way if it turned out that there was someone else to blame. I've done a lot of miles over the years and I've come to the conclusion that it's best to regard everyone else on the roads as though they were a raving lunatic and try to protect yourself accordingly. PS Just to emphasise that you should always assume the worst is going to happen, I've also had a sudden & complete power steering failure at 79mph [ish] in the outside lane of the M1 - the belt driving the pump came off. I was on my own thankfully and in fact other than needing arms like an Olympic rower, the car is steerable with difficulty. I didn't know that at the instant it happened so my advice, wear a belt at all times.
Big debate going on here about it: http://www.not606.com/content.php/1803-Drink-driving-killer-footballer-offered-contract-at-Swindon
And covering all of the same territory we have! The truth is that there is no good answer to anything so tragic. The only good thing that could happen is that it never happens again but unfortunately, it will.
I've always understood that power steering ceased to exsist when travelling at high speeds - such as over 40mph
No, it's speed sensitive, assistance is reduced at high speed compared to low but it's still there. Without it, it's like trying to steer a supertanker. Luckily, I was near Toddington services but when I got into the car park, I couldn't crank around to park in a space & had to stop at right angles to the marked bays.
Why should he be treated any different because he is a footballer? He made a mistake, got punished and has served his time so for me he should be allowed to get on rebuilding his life. Yes the consequence of his error was tragic but he broke a motoring law which many of us are guilty of be it driving the morning after or speeding and 99% of the time it does not result in such a catastrophic way. I have never met the guy but know a few who have and all the feedback was that he was a very level headed and nice lad and this was very out of character that said that is no excuse. All the conjecture regarding his girlfriend and stuff is BS the law states a level of alcohol content full stop there is no ifs or buts as for the seatbelts, well I am sure that is something that will haunt the unfortunate parents for the rest of their lifes, but does not have any bearing on what Luke did. Day release, reduced time for good behaviour and everything else concerning his release is normal practice he has received no preferential treatment because of his occupation and thus should not receive any detrimental treatment as well. Child molesters have protected identities on release, which cost a fortune, so they can live a normal life and you cannot compare what happened in this case to these scum. Unfortunately there is no happy ending to this story, that left the day the accident happened, but IMHO to punish him further because of his occupation is wrong. In regards to his talent if this had never happened he would have had a great chance at being a top flight keeper and possibly knocking on the international door, for his age one of the best keepers we have had. For me one thing that has been over looked is where were his mates when this happened? The older and supposedly wiser players, especially one who misguidely showed his support later, should hang their heads in shame for failing to control their friend and prevent him for being so stupid. NDG correct in your assesment of power steering but at your age you must have driven cars without that said you get used to it and it is scary when you lose it.
The steering rack on non power assisted systems is geared for your arms to do the work, a power assisted system is geared for the hydraulics to do it. I can assure you there's no comparison between driving with ordinary mechanical steering and driving what should be an assisted system with the assistance off! Anyway, the worst bit was that at the moment the steering went, for all I knew I had no control at all. It took me a few seconds to find out I could steer, albeit in a very limited way. The point I was making was that you never know when something unpredictable will go wrong, so always make sure everyone is wearing a belt, even in the back where I suspect the compliance rate isn't very high. Back on topic, I've been led to believe by what I've read [for what that's worth] that the conduct of McCormick's team-mates MAY have been worse than that; i.e. they wound him up about the absence of his other half before allowing him to go off in a state and drunk. If true, there isn't an offence to cover that but there should be!
Off-subject.....my first car was an Austin A35........you could stretch behind you and wipe the condensation off the rear window with a cloth.......but I digress....certainly no hydraulic steering in those days for the average motorist.......ordinary mechanical steering......through a peg and worm system......the problem was that the peg was adjustable to make it a snug fit in the worm....so you didn't have any slack steering through the steering wheel. During long journeys the peg adjustment would start to work loose (the lock nut on the end of the peg was effected by viberation) and you where aware of free play through the steering wheel.....meaning that you had over steer and under steer through the steering wheel when you turned it left or right and had to compensate for the free movement through the steering wheel........it just meant you had to stop and get your spanners out and get your head under the bonnet to re-adjust the setting, not a good thing on a wet dark night on the A303 on Salisbury plain. What the hell that has got to do with Luke McCormick I havn't the foggiest idea.
NotDistance is right, I have also tried to steer a car that had given up the ghost and it is very difficult - almost impossible to control.
Yes but it cant be has hard as getting those pesky horses to turn on your cart used to be tho Plym I had heard similar in regards to him being wound up, what truth there is in that or just more smoke I not sure either way they sure didnt help. It should be classed as being an accessory to the crime but never is and people who spike drinks is another one of my bugbears stupid to the extreme.
Even my sedate Honda Civic is unsteerable....I have rolled it down a slope a short distance without turning the engine on...and you can't turn the steering wheel at all........you feel there is more chance of shattering the steering wheel than changing direction.
