Camaros in the news: Two young men dead along with 2 Camaros

[formare]

Very sad. The car likely could have saved these young people if they had the belts on.

[itsorange]

yeah if that passenger is a marine (from Camp Lejeune, NC) his command is going to be PISSED!!

[Nutbutt]

The ultimate car requires the ultimate responsibility.

[PonyKiller74]

I think its also a judgment call with the parents to know if their children are mature and responsible enough to have such a vehicle. Yes they may be over 18 and considered an adult, but maturity and understanding trumps that any day. Not saying these kids did wrong, but the Camaro is a monster and should never be taken for granted when behind the wheel. Hope everyone drives fast and fun but be safe about it. Just my 2 pennies

[Lurker67]

I played hockey years back with a guy who is a medical examiner.. He told us in the locker room once - best way to stay alive, "Wear a seat belt" Said he had examined many who had not worn them - almost none who had".

My wife works in the ICU at a Boston area hospital - same thing - some pretty serious injuries w/o seat belt. She never gets the people who did wear them - they don't make it to the area she works.

[NoUCantDriveIt]

Some of y'all beat me to it, but I'm going to post anyway.

From time to time our younger members get defensive when some of us suggest holding off on getting their Camaro. That as much as they want one, it might not be their time yet. THIS is where some of our concern comes from. Many of us are parents, and our child could have been an innocent vehicle coming from the other direction. Some of us have friends that have gone through the tragedy these parents are going through now. Regardless of what auto maker puts their tag on it, the temptation to use the power in these cars is too great to resist. When combined with less driving experience, too often the result is like the first link the OP posted.

So when us "old timers" try to suggest an old beater for a couple of years, it’s not because we want to keep the hp all to ourselves, nor do we doubt how mature and responsible they are in other parts of their life. We don't caution because we don't respect them, we caution because we DO. The younger member is part of our C5 family, and we care about their safety. We want them around to experience some of the wonderful things life can bring. Too much car for the driver can prevent that.

</ End parental lecture>

[mhood]

People are killed every day in automobile accidents while wearing their seat belts. There is no way to know if wearing seat belts would have changed anything in this accident.

I also drove a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner when I was 17...

[bi11ymc]

Originally Posted by mhood

People are killed every day in automobile accidents while wearing their seat belts. There is no way to know if wearing seat belts would have changed anything in this accident.

I also drove a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner when I was 17...

You could be right. But, three in car, two not wearing seat belts ejected and died, one wearing seat belt is alive and not severely injured. Odds are they would have at least had a chance if they had been wearing the seat belts.

[Gangster]

While I agree there is no way to know ,the statistics dont lie. You are more likely to live if you wear them.
This reminds me of a story a few years back, there was a 18 year old kid frequenting the bmw board saying he had a brand new m5. alot of guys were bashing him about having so much car at 18 yrs old and he was saying how mature and responsible he was. After frequenting the board a few weeks no one heard from him and there was an article in the paper about 4 kids in a m5 that were racing on a private air strip in the middle of the night and they went off the end airborn and hit a tree and they were all killed. You couldnt even tell what the car was at first it was so badly torn up. turned out it was the kid from the board and 3 of his class mates all around 18 yrs old and it was his fathers m5.

Ive been racing cars since I was 16 (Im now 47)going to the track with my permit and a 12 second car me and my brother built,street raced for many years for money in my younger days. My son is now 18-1/2 and has very little interest in racing. He responsibly drives a bone stock 99 honda civic I gave him at 16 and never even asks to learn clutch so he can drive my 2010 camaro,I guess I should be happy he didnt turn out like me.

[mhood]

I hate to sound like a fatalist but when your number comes up, it comes up. And few things lie as well as "statistics".

[SummitWhiteLS]

Originally Posted by mhood

People are killed every day in automobile accidents while wearing their seat belts. There is no way to know if wearing seat belts would have changed anything in this accident.

I've been a Professional Firefighter for almost 17 years, and I can tell you that seat belts save lives.

Everyone knows that the chances of surviving a serious accident are much greater if you wear seat belts.

Period.

[Memphis SS]

Originally Posted by NoUCantDriveIt

Some of y'all beat me to it, but I'm going to post anyway.

From time to time our younger members get defensive when some of us suggest holding off on getting their Camaro. That as much as they want one, it might not be their time yet. THIS is where some of our concern comes from. Many of us are parents, and our child could have been an innocent vehicle coming from the other direction. Some of us have friends that have gone through the tragedy these parents are going through now. Regardless of what auto maker puts their tag on it, the temptation to use the power in these cars is too great to resist. When combined with less driving experience, too often the result is like the first link the OP posted.

So when us "old timers" try to suggest an old beater for a couple of years, it’s not because we want to keep the hp all to ourselves, nor do we doubt how mature and responsible they are in other parts of their life. We don't caution because we don't respect them, we caution because we DO. The younger member is part of our C5 family, and we care about their safety. We want them around to experience some of the wonderful things life can bring. Too much car for the driver can prevent that.

</ End parental lecture>

I agree.. and this is a sad story for sure...

Another reason I hate to see young people in Mustangs and Camaros is the inexperience of handling a high horse power car and driving irresponsible causes the rates to go up for everyone regardless of age. The high accident ratings on the car, the more it cost to insure it. This was one of the killing factors in the last gen of Camaro.. I started to buy a Camaro in the late 90s and got a Corvette instead. The coverage was cheaper on the Corvette because back then the national accident rating was so high on the Camaro.

[SummitWhiteLS]

Originally Posted by mhood

I hate to sound like a fatalist but when your number comes up, it comes up. And few things lie as well as "statistics".

... and sometimes we draw our own "number" by force.

Think about it.

[mhood]

"Sometimes" anything. It's a random old Universe. Think about that...