Filed under: SUVs, Etc., Safety, Cadillac
California man tries surfing with Cadillac Escalade
Photo by Mike Erickson, San Clemente Marine Safety
Memorial Day has passed and beach season is upon us. With the long summer days and cool ocean breezes, it may be tempting to take your new SUV out for a spin on the sand. If you are dumping that much money into a vehicle, why not share a special moment with your ride? Perhaps a close up view of the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean is in order. That was exactly the idea shared recently by a man in San Clemente, California. He decided to drive his 2008 Cadillac Escalade out to the ocean's edge to watch dawn break. However, the man must not have been one of California's avid wave riders, as he displayed an extreme lack of tide awareness and little concern for sand consistency. The eager sun watcher apparently ventured too far off of dry shore. Water saturated sand is the recipe for quicksand, so it was no surprise that the massive SUV sunk into the ground, trapping its driver in the raising surf. Even with waves reaching up to the rear view mirrors, the Escalade pilot refused to abandon ship, at least until authorities noted it was highly possible for the vehicle to flip over.
In the end, the Escalade adventurer was cited for driving on the beach, as typically only service vehicles such as those of the police or lifeguards are permitted to roam freely on beaches. There are some places, like Daytona Beach, Florida, that have general automotive admission, however. In that case, sand conditions are closely monitored, but even then it is not uncommon for folks to get stuck. This summer, we suggest beach goers keep all four tires on the pavement. All that sand is hard to clean up anyway, plus saltwater is rather corrosive. Thanks for the tip Keith!
[Source: OC Register]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
ALEXDB9 10:35AM (5/30/2008)
Wow, just wow. Thats got to be one of the dumbest ideas I have ever heard.
Reply
Vintage 10:45AM (5/30/2008)
Only morons drive SUVs, so it all makes sense.
david 3:21PM (5/30/2008)
Vintage,
Only morons make broad assumptions such as yours.
Should I assume that anyone driving a supercar is some prick?
What about people driving a prius? Environuts?
Anyone driving a truck is a redneck, right?
Grow up buddy.
nataku83 11:19AM (5/30/2008)
c'mon david, its fun to make generalizations, and most stereotypes do have some truth behind them. a lot of people who drive suvs are morons (although this is hardly a stereotype since a lot of people are morons), most people who drive supercars probably are pricks, people who drive prii usually think they are doing it for environment (or at least want to seem that way) and people who drive trucks are often rednecks or laborers. There are certainly plenty of exceptions, but its a lot less fun to have to cite the exact percentage of SUV drivers who are morons. Have a sense of humor!
remo 11:28AM (5/30/2008)
and old people drive cadillacs.
david 11:38AM (5/30/2008)
nataku83
You're right, perhaps I was a bit too hard on ol' Vintage.
Don't get me wrong, I fully believe in stereotypes, they are not just made up, they come from observations people make. There's nothing wrong with them, the problem is when the stereotypes are turned into broad generalizations. However, not knowing Vintage, it could very easily be that the comment was meant to be sarcastic and being text, it's harder to pick up sarcasm.
This Escalade driver fits the bill of many suv drivers I see day to day, especially those in Escalades. There's an escalading, I mean escalating, problem with common sense in the world today. Blinkers, yield signs, stop signs, and even more scary, stop lights, seem to be ignored more and more.
It's amazing how many people have no clue about driving. Although, I'm preaching to the choir here.
Victor 12:16PM (5/30/2008)
david~
Escalading...haha
Great esoteric reference
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/29/cost-of-vehicle-maintenance-is-escalading/
Very Nice
CarbonBlack 12:35PM (5/30/2008)
I bet we see this car on ebay before to long
jg 1:03PM (5/30/2008)
'There's an escalading, I mean escalating, problem with common sense in the world today. Blinkers, yield signs, stop signs, and even more scary, stop lights, seem to be ignored more and more.
'
I think its more of a courtesy problem rather than common sense. Those issues are caused by people just not caring that there are other people on the road.
Seoultrain 1:44PM (5/30/2008)
Stereotypes serve a purpose: humor. Once you start stating them as truth, you've crossed the line. Vintage's comment was not funny, and thus it's moronic.
Vintage 2:15PM (5/30/2008)
It wasn't meant to be funny, Seoul. It's the truth. I can't tell you how many times I've almost been hit by an SUV being driven by some idiot yapping on their cellphone, who refuses to use turn signals. People who drive SUVs generally are idiots. If you really want to know more, read my research essay on SUVs, with full citations including some from the Big 3's marketing department:
http://fc08.deviantart.com/fs27/f/2008/101/1/d/SUV_Research_Paper_by_cash68.pdf
Seoultrain 6:18PM (5/31/2008)
Vintage, that was a pretty good essay. A little more research, elimination of 2nd person pronouns, and some proofreading would go a long way, but lots of good information. That road rage stat is pretty amazing. Just out of curiosity, how old were you in 2006?
No one here is arguing with the idea that SUV drivers tend to be more inept, but polarizing blanket statements like "SUV driver=moron" get you nowhere. Level of attention to the road and level of intelligence are pretty unrelated. If you want to make a point, explain where you're coming from. I'd stay away from words like "moron" or "idiot" completely.
Kotse 10:37AM (5/30/2008)
ROTFLMAO!
Reply
tina 8:55PM (5/31/2008)
Proof positive that SUV driving Americans are the stupidest creatures on planet Earth.
Seminole 10:41AM (5/30/2008)
Only in California.
Reply
Allan 10:43AM (5/30/2008)
I find that really hard to believe. There are stupid people and sandy beaches outside of California.
cly 11:16AM (5/30/2008)
You can expand that a little more.
Only in the great US of A.
porschedevotee 2:58PM (5/30/2008)
Don't you live in Florida? I wouldn't bash California too much if I were you :P
Seminole 5:05PM (5/30/2008)
porschedevotee,
Touche!
Richard 9:35PM (5/30/2008)
Nah! People do it out here on the Cape (Cod) all the time.