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| Princess Di's death |
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| Date: 1997/08/31 Message-Id: <34091beb.4147@rvhs.sch.edu.sg> Newsgroups: soc.culture.british I couldn't believe my ears when I heard news of Princess Di's death over the local radio. This is indeed a senseless tragedy. Why did it happen this way? The world has lost one of the kindest and charitable woman around. Will the paparazzi regret their actions? How many times must they be told to leave her alone? Are they happy now that Princess Diana is gone forever? My heart goes out to her 2 young sons, William and Harry. May they be strong and finish what has been left unfinished by their mother. Rest in peace, Princess Diana. The media can never hurt you again. Farewell. Date: 1997/08/31 Just what is wrong with the press/ What kind of blood are they looking for? Well, they got their Royal Blood and more... It's sad to see Princess Di go but it's a bitter irony that she was literally hounded to death by the press. My condolences to the Royal Family especially to her two young sons. Date: 31 Aug 1997 08:14:36 GMT
It was a Mercedes S-class limousine, I assume SEL as well as armoured, belonging to the Ritz hotel (driver also Ritz employee....somehow I would wanted to have a personal driver, but that could still be the case of course). I wonder whether the passengers (in the rear I assume....was there a bodyguard as well?) carried seat belts, and also whether the armoured construction has a relation to the severity of the crash.
Night, she died at 04:00 local time, after 2 hours surgery. Bye, Date: 31 Aug 1997 15:45:25 GMT
One could wonder, and one would have no way of knowing. Still I wonder what planet you're coming from to so confuse apples and oranges. Road *RAGE*, implies a loss of emotional control, leading to angry, aggressive behavior. That rage is directed against some target, be it a person, a vehicle or traffic in general. What you have in this case would be something different - it could be a simple accident/driving error at speed, without causal emotional component, it could have involved a loss of judgement along the thrill-of-the-chase lines. Neither of these can be classified as road rage, and it is grevious error to try to subsume every driving tradedy under one heading, be it speeding, drunken-driving or road rage. Why not look for facts, rather than trying to suggest plausible, but entirely imaginary scenarios that *might* justify a classification that you otherwise have no basis for asserting. Date: Sun, 31 Aug 1997 23:12:39 +0100
The accepted term for a driver losing control because he is focussing on a goal (escaping the photographers) and does so at the expense of safety is "red mist" (see Roadcraft). To try and extend the term "road rage" to this incident is to make a erfectly good term ambiguous. Have you changed the stats on your web site yet or do you still have the ludicrously high (.5 million?) figure for peoople in the UK being driven off the road by roadrage each year? Until your figures actually start to add up I find it hard to trust the authenticity and accuracy of your work, however well intentioned. All the best, Date: 1 Sep 1997 00:47:33 GMT
My dear Doctor -- and should I assume that degree is honorary? Or at least self-awarded? -- it seems to me that, based on your specifications, that the episode in Dealy Plaza approximately 34 years ago would also have to be attributed to "road rage." After all, the driver SLOWED, after the first shot, then sped off after chunks of JFK's head splattered his windshield. He then drove at high speed to Parkland hospital. And what happened? Kennedy died. Clearly a case of road rage. To the rest of the crew: Vote time: Who looks dumber? Dr. Driving trying to pin this on his crusade, or our Deutchphile friend demonstrating how superior German cars are, since only three of four occupants were killed in a Mercedes accident -- and the trunk of the car remained recognizable! E-mail me the votes, and I'll post a summary. Date: 1 Sep 1997 02:03:59 +0300
Of course it kills, they'd be still alive had the speed limit been 30km/h instead of 50km/h... Date: 1 Sep 1997 02:02:32 +0300
What surprised me the most is that a driver who doesn't know the limits of the car he's driving - and more importantly the limits of his driving skills - is hired by a man like Dodi Al Fayed, to drive a car. Stupid stunt that cost three lives, incompetence kills. Date: 1 Sep 1997 01:34:39 GMT
There are a lot of inaccuracies that could be reported as the story develops. For example, because the roof looked crushed in, it was speculated that the car flipped. Nobody accounted for the rescue workers cutting out the roof as the most efficient way of removing the injured. Another reporter stated that one of the chasing Papparazi, upon reaching the smashed car, got off his scooter and began casually taking photos. Probably a rumour intended to make these guys seem more callous and insensitive. Another reporter, kind of a bone-head, suggested that the car looked like it might have hit one of the Papparazi's bikes. Get Real! Many modern cars have engines that are designed to drop in the event of a frontal collision and the firewall is reinforced heavily. As you can see from the photos, the dash is intact, eventhough the steering wheel is bent upward (unbelted driver?) After many accidents the clean-up crews simply throw the parts that fell off the car, back into the car before it is towed away. This possibly accounts for all those parts found in the car. The media has shown quite a few shots of Dodi and Dianna getting into and out of cars, and it looks like they never used their seatbelts. I guess when you're being chauffeured in limousines all the time, it becomes habit never to use one. Date: Mon, 01 Sep 1997 00:53:06 GMT
If they really were running at 100MPH plus, as reported, it's possible that they might have gone airborne off the top of the underpass ramp, making it impossible to control the car. It's too mad they didn't land of top of the pack of photovultures, killing them too. Date: 1 Sep 1997 04:38:59 GMT
While I'm an advocate of seatbelts I have to wonder whether a vehicle like the 600SEL (armored too) would come into the class of 'limo' where few people ever buckle up. Date: 1 Sep 1997 04:06:46 GMT
Yet another "all the world 's a rage" and the joy of science is found in re-defining and finding rage in every nook?
"must"? -- sort of rash just yet to say emotion was a factor at all; and if so, this ride (prior to its tragic end) may have been a "fun" challenge for its driver. It's not clear where/why some of these undocumented driver must have been "rabid and foaming-at-the-mouth" scenarios originate.
no problem with wondering, but wonder lots of other stuff too and hope we aren't presented just yet with a theory based on same....
Well, as long as we're doing university research and presenting as science a rash judgment based on initial media accounts, I'd say we'd have to debunk the method at arriving at some of these conclusions. Hmmmm... is there a dictionary in Hawaii? Do universities require/promote critical thinking; does Congress? Does the end of scientific inquiry justify the means? MO Date: 31 Aug 1997 22:59:30 -0500
Ah yes, a true breath of fresh air. I thank you Dr. Pipkin, for a very rationale approach to this incident, that is, one from a professional such as yourself. We here in rec.autos.driving have been under the watchful eye of one self-proclaimed "Dr. Driving" for a period starting sometime within the last year, and I have yet to read _anything_ he has written that I would consider feasible with regard to driving. The man has a earnest, heartfelt style that is somewhat void of real world applications. It's good to hear from you. From leon@hawaii.edu Sun Aug 31 20:43:28 1997 Date: Sun, 31 Aug 1997 17:45:22 -1000
From: Leon James
Depends if you look at all the relevant details. As you put it, "a driver losing control because he is focusing on a goal (escaping the photographers)" -- it's worded carefully in the neutral -- as if the goal was normal or rational. You cannot define road rage accurately if you ignore the purpose or motive of the action of the aggressive driver. In this case we're discussing the idea that the driver made a HUGE mistake in having the goal of escaping the photographers! And then of doing so by speeding so dangerously that he killed everyone in a crash!! This error of judgment must be acknowledged. Then, after you acknowledged it, you can consider what the driver's motives may have been, and whether he was not driving in a rage against the photographers. Don't you agree? Leon James (aka Dr. Driving) Date: 31 Aug 1997 22:38:33 -0500
Woad Wage? HOHOHOHOHOHO
And how, pray tell, is this a matter of road rage? Could you explain how this tragedy conveniently fits this agenda of yours, Leon? What follows is somewhat inept, although I wouldn't want to see you stray from a familiar path, either.
And? Being chased by photographers wanting a story falls somewhat short of a example of Woad Wage, doesn't it? What has driving inspired anger to do with this?
A death has no more to do with proving this is Woad Wage any more than the fact I like frozen yogurt. You've got a point to prove, get to it.
My, it does seem we are stretching parameters here, doesn't it?
You first need to bring something rational to the table, Sp From leon@hawaii.edu Sun Aug 31 20:44:52 1997
You need to think a little deeper to see this!! Consider these facts: What would make the driver go 80 mph around a curb in/near a tunnel, etc.? They were not fleeing from gunmen, killers, terrorists--only photographers. They were not secretly in that locale--it was known and public. What justifies taking these amazing risks? Nothing rational, predictable, justifiable. The driver obviously had a case of road rage to drive this aggressively to kill the Princess and her companion. How do you explain the chances he took?? Justified to escape the camera flashes???? BTW: nothing in the above implies excusing the photographers who were aggressive, had road rage (chasing a car and causing it to crash!, and will need to account for their actions (they were arrested by French police. Leon James (aka Dr. Driving) |
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