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User Content => Road Trips => Topic started by: SP Cook on April 10, 2020, 01:14:52 PM

Title: New Cannonball Record
Post by: SP Cook on April 10, 2020, 01:14:52 PM

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a32092440/26-hour-38-minute-cannonball-record-coronavirus/ (https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a32092440/26-hour-38-minute-cannonball-record-coronavirus/)

Taking advantage of the low traffic volumes and traffic cops being diverted to actual work, team of 4 sets a new safe-and-fast record of 26 hours and 38 minutes for the historic NY to LA run.  Congratulations.

Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: JREwing78 on April 12, 2020, 09:09:24 PM
VINwiki posted a video of the recreation of the infamous Transcon Medivac that ran the 1979 Cannonball Run, then got featured in the Cannonball Run movie a couple years later. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usfahgUOTZ0
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: TheHighwayMan3561 on April 12, 2020, 09:42:25 PM
I know they usually employ spotters to monitor for cops on-route, but I'm surprised embarrassed state police departments don't go to greater lengths to try to track these people down retroactively.
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: edwaleni on April 12, 2020, 10:48:26 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on April 12, 2020, 09:42:25 PM
I know they usually employ spotters to monitor for cops on-route, but I'm surprised embarrassed state police departments don't go to greater lengths to try to track these people down retroactively.

Some do. That is why some of the participants don't acknowledge themselves until sometime after.

Some participants go so far as to make sure the cars/plates have alternate registrations to throw them off.

The more unique the car however, the more likely they can track you down if they are so motivated.

Most of them try to find them on highway cameras.

The car used in this case (an Audi A8 L) is not a large seller in the US as well as being white. Would make for an easy search in a national database.

I think Audi only imports 1200 a year.
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: hbelkins on April 13, 2020, 10:40:37 AM
Wouldn't the police actually have to see any violations in person in order to write tickets, if no speed cameras are involved?
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: edwaleni on April 13, 2020, 12:00:07 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on April 13, 2020, 10:40:37 AM
Wouldn't the police actually have to see any violations in person in order to write tickets, if no speed cameras are involved?

If someone had called 911 or the non-emergency number that someone in "a white car" was driving with excessive speed or thought that they may be drunk for swerving through traffic is all the peace officer needs to initiate an investigation.

A citation for dangerous driving can be issued based on a eye witness account.
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: nexus73 on April 13, 2020, 12:40:41 PM
Making the Cannonball legal and government-sanctioned: Have every participant pay $1 million (or somesuch big number).  Winner gets the whole pot.  Start the race in NYC and end it in SF.  Have rolling freeway closures of 30 minute duration from beginning to end.  See who can drive across the country the fastest!

Sell the TV rights to cover the costs of administering the race.  Let the drivers get sponsors to finance their vehicles and entry fees.  This could be the biggest race event in the world!

Rick
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: texaskdog on April 13, 2020, 12:43:13 PM
while it sounds intrusive they close roads all the time for marathons, or filming movies
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: oscar on April 13, 2020, 12:58:57 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on April 13, 2020, 12:40:41 PM
Making the Cannonball legal and government-sanctioned: Have every participant pay $1 million (or somesuch big number).  Winner gets the whole pot.  Start the race in NYC and end it in SF.  Have tolling freeway closures of 30 minute duration from beginning to end.  See who can drive across the country the fastest!

Sell the TV rights to cover the costs of administering the race.  Let the drivers get sponsors to finance their vehicles and entry fees.  This could be the biggest race event in the world!

Nevada DOT does something like that, on a smaller scale, with part of NV 318.
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: jeffandnicole on April 13, 2020, 01:25:13 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on April 13, 2020, 12:40:41 PM
Making the Cannonball legal and government-sanctioned: Have every participant pay $1 million (or somesuch big number).  Winner gets the whole pot.  Start the race in NYC and end it in SF.  Have tolling freeway closures of 30 minute duration from beginning to end.  See who can drive across the country the fastest!

Sell the TV rights to cover the costs of administering the race.  Let the drivers get sponsors to finance their vehicles and entry fees.  This could be the biggest race event in the world!

Rick

Sounds like numerous lawsuits in the making.  The speed limits are set (in theory) based on engineering data.  To encourage speeding at well above the limit is unsafe not only for those on the road, but off the road as well.  What if someone missing an overpass and slams into the roadway below?  What if someone flies off the roadway and hits a nearby house or business?  What if a car hits a structural component of the roadway, causing millions in damage, along with continued delays and closures well beyond the racing day?

When there's temporary racing courses installed, there's huge insurance policies taken out for such an event, along with numerous safety features installed to limit damage and increase safety.
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: 1995hoo on April 13, 2020, 01:44:50 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on April 13, 2020, 12:40:41 PM
Making the Cannonball legal and government-sanctioned: Have every participant pay $1 million (or somesuch big number).  Winner gets the whole pot.  Start the race in NYC and end it in SF.  Have tolling freeway closures of 30 minute duration from beginning to end.  See who can drive across the country the fastest!

Sell the TV rights to cover the costs of administering the race.  Let the drivers get sponsors to finance their vehicles and entry fees.  This could be the biggest race event in the world!

Rick

That's somewhat antithetical to the spirit of the original event. It had one rule: "All competitors will drive any vehicle of their choosing, over any route, at any speed they judge practical, between the starting point and destination. The competitor finishing with the lowest elapsed time is the winner."  Back in 1971 when the first one took place, plenty of Interstates were not yet finished, so that factored into routing considerations, and there was talk of trying a northern route via Wyoming and Utah to Nevada in order to try to take advantage of the latter state not having speed limits back then (downside: added distance and the risk of bad weather in the mountains).
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: nexus73 on April 13, 2020, 06:14:46 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on April 13, 2020, 01:25:13 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on April 13, 2020, 12:40:41 PM
Making the Cannonball legal and government-sanctioned: Have every participant pay $1 million (or somesuch big number).  Winner gets the whole pot.  Start the race in NYC and end it in SF.  Have tolling freeway closures of 30 minute duration from beginning to end.  See who can drive across the country the fastest!

Sell the TV rights to cover the costs of administering the race.  Let the drivers get sponsors to finance their vehicles and entry fees.  This could be the biggest race event in the world!

Rick

Sounds like numerous lawsuits in the making.  The speed limits are set (in theory) based on engineering data.  To encourage speeding at well above the limit is unsafe not only for those on the road, but off the road as well.  What if someone missing an overpass and slams into the roadway below?  What if someone flies off the roadway and hits a nearby house or business?  What if a car hits a structural component of the roadway, causing millions in damage, along with continued delays and closures well beyond the racing day?

When there's temporary racing courses installed, there's huge insurance policies taken out for such an event, along with numerous safety features installed to limit damage and increase safety.

Eliminate the lawsuits.  Voila, the race is on!  You play the game, you take your chances...

Rick
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: jeffandnicole on April 13, 2020, 06:25:03 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on April 13, 2020, 06:14:46 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on April 13, 2020, 01:25:13 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on April 13, 2020, 12:40:41 PM
Making the Cannonball legal and government-sanctioned: Have every participant pay $1 million (or somesuch big number).  Winner gets the whole pot.  Start the race in NYC and end it in SF.  Have tolling freeway closures of 30 minute duration from beginning to end.  See who can drive across the country the fastest!

Sell the TV rights to cover the costs of administering the race.  Let the drivers get sponsors to finance their vehicles and entry fees.  This could be the biggest race event in the world!

Rick

Sounds like numerous lawsuits in the making.  The speed limits are set (in theory) based on engineering data.  To encourage speeding at well above the limit is unsafe not only for those on the road, but off the road as well.  What if someone missing an overpass and slams into the roadway below?  What if someone flies off the roadway and hits a nearby house or business?  What if a car hits a structural component of the roadway, causing millions in damage, along with continued delays and closures well beyond the racing day?

When there's temporary racing courses installed, there's huge insurance policies taken out for such an event, along with numerous safety features installed to limit damage and increase safety.

Eliminate the lawsuits.  Voila, the race is on!  You play the game, you take your chances...

Rick

The kids playing in their backyard, or the family driving on the parallel roadway weren't playing the game.
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: TravelingBethelite on April 13, 2020, 06:45:15 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on April 13, 2020, 06:25:03 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on April 13, 2020, 06:14:46 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on April 13, 2020, 01:25:13 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on April 13, 2020, 12:40:41 PM
Making the Cannonball legal and government-sanctioned: Have every participant pay $1 million (or somesuch big number).  Winner gets the whole pot.  Start the race in NYC and end it in SF.  Have tolling freeway closures of 30 minute duration from beginning to end.  See who can drive across the country the fastest!

Sell the TV rights to cover the costs of administering the race.  Let the drivers get sponsors to finance their vehicles and entry fees.  This could be the biggest race event in the world!

Rick

Sounds like numerous lawsuits in the making.  The speed limits are set (in theory) based on engineering data.  To encourage speeding at well above the limit is unsafe not only for those on the road, but off the road as well.  What if someone missing an overpass and slams into the roadway below?  What if someone flies off the roadway and hits a nearby house or business?  What if a car hits a structural component of the roadway, causing millions in damage, along with continued delays and closures well beyond the racing day?

When there's temporary racing courses installed, there's huge insurance policies taken out for such an event, along with numerous safety features installed to limit damage and increase safety.

Eliminate the lawsuits.  Voila, the race is on!  You play the game, you take your chances...

Rick

[...]the family driving on the parallel roadway weren't playing the game.

I can't speak for the family in the backyard, but shutting down the entire freeway for the race would be an essential safety precaution taken from the start (IMO).
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: hotdogPi on April 13, 2020, 06:48:15 PM
Quote from: TravelingBethelite on April 13, 2020, 06:45:15 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on April 13, 2020, 06:25:03 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on April 13, 2020, 06:14:46 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on April 13, 2020, 01:25:13 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on April 13, 2020, 12:40:41 PM
Making the Cannonball legal and government-sanctioned: Have every participant pay $1 million (or somesuch big number).  Winner gets the whole pot.  Start the race in NYC and end it in SF.  Have tolling freeway closures of 30 minute duration from beginning to end.  See who can drive across the country the fastest!

Sell the TV rights to cover the costs of administering the race.  Let the drivers get sponsors to finance their vehicles and entry fees.  This could be the biggest race event in the world!

Rick

Sounds like numerous lawsuits in the making.  The speed limits are set (in theory) based on engineering data.  To encourage speeding at well above the limit is unsafe not only for those on the road, but off the road as well.  What if someone missing an overpass and slams into the roadway below?  What if someone flies off the roadway and hits a nearby house or business?  What if a car hits a structural component of the roadway, causing millions in damage, along with continued delays and closures well beyond the racing day?

When there's temporary racing courses installed, there's huge insurance policies taken out for such an event, along with numerous safety features installed to limit damage and increase safety.

Eliminate the lawsuits.  Voila, the race is on!  You play the game, you take your chances...

Rick

[...]the family driving on the parallel roadway weren't playing the game.

I can't speak for the family in the backyard, but shutting down the entire freeway for the race would be an essential safety precaution taken from the start (IMO).

You can take any route from start to finish. How will they know which freeways to close?
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: ErmineNotyours on April 13, 2020, 09:48:52 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on April 13, 2020, 12:40:41 PM
Making the Cannonball legal and government-sanctioned: Have every participant pay $1 million (or somesuch big number).  Winner gets the whole pot.  Start the race in NYC and end it in SF.  Have rolling freeway closures of 30 minute duration from beginning to end.  See who can drive across the country the fastest!

Sell the TV rights to cover the costs of administering the race.  Let the drivers get sponsors to finance their vehicles and entry fees.  This could be the biggest race event in the world!

Rick

The participants try to time it so that it starts and ends in the middle of the night to avoid traffic congestion.  That may improve logistics if it is made official, but it puts the best parts of the race outside of television prime time.
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: Max Rockatansky on April 13, 2020, 09:58:15 PM
Anyone getting a Death Race 2000 vibe with the recent Cannonball Run and all these virus restrictions?  Kind of sounds like the backstory for the 1975 movie, especially the economy crashing. 
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: Rothman on April 14, 2020, 12:11:04 AM
GUMBALL
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: Duke87 on April 14, 2020, 01:39:37 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on April 13, 2020, 10:40:37 AM
Wouldn't the police actually have to see any violations in person in order to write tickets, if no speed cameras are involved?

No - they can't use the word of a random citizen as the basis for citing someone, but they absolutely can use hard evidence such as CCTV footage.

As an example of this, the guy who did the time trial lap around Manhattan several years back and then posted the video of it on YouTube was subsequently arrested and charged with reckless driving by NYPD. Since the guy mentioned both the date he did it and the type of car he did it in, all they had to do was review CCTV footage from that night looking for a vehicle matching the description in order to get his plate number. Once they had that, they were able to get a warrant and come knocking on his door.

The real restriction on the power of the authorities with things like this comes from statutes of limitation, which on reckless driving/speeding are usually a year. It is for this reason that at least one past Cannonball record setting team deliberately waited until over a year after their run to publicly even admit they did it.
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: TheHighwayMan3561 on April 14, 2020, 01:59:50 AM
Quote from: Duke87 on April 14, 2020, 01:39:37 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on April 13, 2020, 10:40:37 AM
Wouldn't the police actually have to see any violations in person in order to write tickets, if no speed cameras are involved?

No - they can't use the word of a random citizen as the basis for citing someone, but they absolutely can use hard evidence such as CCTV footage.

As an example of this, the guy who did the time trial lap around Manhattan several years back and then posted the video of it on YouTube was subsequently arrested and charged with reckless driving by NYPD. Since the guy mentioned both the date he did it and the type of car he did it in, all they had to do was review CCTV footage from that night looking for a vehicle matching the description in order to get his plate number. Once they had that, they were able to get a warrant and come knocking on his door.

The real restriction on the power of the authorities with things like this comes from statutes of limitation, which on reckless driving/speeding are usually a year. It is for this reason that at least one past Cannonball record setting team deliberately waited until over a year after their run to publicly even admit they did it.

This is what I was thinking of when I came to this thread. As I recall NYPD made no secret that they were going to track him down at any cost, probably to make an example of him for making fools of the NYPD.
Title: Re: New Cannonball Record
Post by: Duke87 on April 15, 2020, 12:46:28 AM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on April 14, 2020, 01:59:50 AM
This is what I was thinking of when I came to this thread. As I recall NYPD made no secret that they were going to track him down at any cost, probably to make an example of him for making fools of the NYPD.

Indeed, though this was a lot easier to do for the Manhattan time trial because it took place entirely within one jurisdiction and it was done solo.

Cannonballing, in comparison, takes place across multiple jurisdictions, and is done by multiple drivers switching off. It's thus much more difficult for the authorities in a given jurisdiction to prove that any specific individual was driving recklessly within said jurisdiction. Any state they passed through could potentially get their plate number from CCTV/ALPR and find the owner of the vehicle, but without a clear view of the inside showing people's faces they can't prove the owner was driving at any point within that state - which is critical because only the individual driving is guilty of any crime.

Manhattan dude also handed the police some damning evidence on a platter by posting a dashcam video of his run on YouTube. Without that, authorities would have to come up with another way to prove the vehicle was speeding in their jurisdiction - which is certainly possible, but makes the case that much harder to build.