VW test driver reportedly killed in on-track incident
Tragedy struck Volkswagen when a 42-year-old Brazilian test driver was reportedly killed at the automaker's Ehra-Lessien test track near Wolfsburg, Germany. Manufacturing reports that the driver lost control of the vehicle after a sudden storm dumped rain on the track. The test car came to rest just shy of a crash barrier, but a second car, piloted by an unidentified 27-year-old driver, also spun out and rammed into the first car. The second driver reportedly sustained serious injuries.
The fatal accident comes just five months after a Porsche test driver was killed on the Autobahn, further proof that the glorified job of test driver is a lot more dangerous than most of us think.
[Source: Manufacturing]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
hhkim.blog 9:17AM (7/16/2009)
Is this the same test track James May took the Bugatti Veyron past 250 mph?
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Mike7 9:19AM (7/16/2009)
Yes, it is.
Joe K. 9:23AM (7/16/2009)
An awful shame. I wonder what speed they were traveling and how good the tires were if both of the cars spun due to the sudden storm...
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Brent 9:23AM (7/16/2009)
Two deaths in 5 months isn't my definition of a dangerous job.
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audi_arena 10:31AM (7/16/2009)
I agree. We've all got to kick-it at some point. Some of us just die way cooler and more badass than others :-)
Joe K. 12:52PM (7/16/2009)
My work place has had no deaths in the 3 years I've worked here... So danger is relative...
Mike 2:17AM (7/17/2009)
You're not thinking about this in the right mindset to make a comment like that. That many deaths in that short of a time span with that few people in the industry, that's huge.
Roadkill 9:39AM (7/16/2009)
I always wonder how someone can be unidentified, yet they know his age.
Is that printed on his forehead or what ?
*goes to look in the mirror*
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Mike7 9:55AM (7/16/2009)
VW probably just didn't release his name.
I know Ehra-Lessien is quite a large track and storms can brew up quickly, but the "sudden downpour" story doesn't seem quite right. If it was overcast with the obvious chance of a dangerous storm, why did they let them out there to begin with? Even if it was a clear day, can't you see storm clouds building up? It would be interesting to know some more details on the conditions and if there was some means of communication between the driver and anyone else at any of the facilities at the track able to warn him.
pelliot 4:12PM (7/16/2009)
They usually leave off the name unless the family is ok with it.
Kumar 9:56AM (7/16/2009)
Seriously?
If so, then...unidentified can mean one of three things generally, which go by a somewhat general principal of trying not to let families find out from the TV that a loved one died instead of someone in person.
1. They have no idea who it is.
2. There has been no positive identification (by the family), but they're pretty sure who it is.
3. They know who it is, but are withholding the name from the media since the family hasn't been notified yet.
Raz 9:58AM (7/16/2009)
They probably know who he is, just not revealing his identity.
JRM 12:01PM (7/16/2009)
It's obvious they know who it is. How many "unidentified" people have access to the test facility, let alone drive a car in it?
It's possible that the family did not want his name published in the press.
Roadkill 1:09PM (7/16/2009)
*wags finger*
ah ah ah
unidentified means unidentified.
If someone knows his identity he is no longer unidentified ...
laika 1:15PM (8/08/2009)
I assume the majority of the people reading the article are american therefore I think I could help clear out some question marks. In some west-european countries mass media isn't allowed to give the name of people without there own consent. It doesn't matter if he is a criminal, victim or just a random person. The reporting of a unidentified driver is most likely a faulty translation of some PM. Furthermore the entire european continent have had a really horrible summer. It's been constant rain or cloudy thorought the entire continent so if they were suppose to wait for the clouds to leave they would have to wait a lot of time, the entire summer testing season would have gone to waste.
knitevulture 9:41AM (7/16/2009)
The guy was a test driver, he assumed the risk when he took the job as a test driver. Prayers to the families, but i bet he died doing what he loved.
And it is in fact the track James May was on, thats a satellite image of the track ;-) Its a no fly zone.
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montoym 1:58PM (7/16/2009)
Not necessarily. Just because it's a no-fly zone doesn't mean you can't get access.
I occasionally run a camera for the aerial mapping company I work for and we have routinely gained access to restricted areas and no-fly zones. Often, it's mandatory in order to get the job done. You just have to know who to talk to and have a valid reason for being there.
Basically, you set up a schedule with them of when you want to fly over and they hide whatever they don't want being seen while you are in their airspace. I doubt their restriction is any more strict than the many Gov't restricted areas around.
CB 9:43AM (7/16/2009)
It is a shame. I pray for his family.
I'd still trade my desk job.
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Jeff 10:56AM (7/16/2009)
Agreed! He died young but I'll bet he had a hell of a life! God speed man, enjoy the great test track in the sky.
Shamdiddly 9:53AM (7/16/2009)
Not to sound disrespectful, but this isn't any different than one of the many auto-related fatalities in the world each day.
And autoblog doesn't report each of them...why is this newsworthy? Having worked in the auto industry for 15 years, test drivers have one of the safest jobs ever. You are required to have a license for type of testing you're doing, have to know the layout of the test track and property by heart and expected to follow strick guidelines and rules to prevent testing fatalities.
What is more disturbing is the teenage girl that blew a red light while texting on her phone - and broadsided my friend's father on his motorcycle.
Bah.
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