Autoblog

It wouldn't be correct to say that all Ferrari drivers can't drive. What we can say is that a lot of Ferrari drivers are probably not short of ego, and also probably have little idea of what their cars can do when pressed. Combine a robust confidence with a watching crowd, add a high-powered and sometimes testy car, thrown in a little bit of ignorance... and a pole.. and what you get is the image above.

A man in Australia pulled out of a garage in his Ferrari 360 Spyder, took his chance to impress some gathered folks at cafes lining the street, and floored it. The car, as they say in the business, got away from him. The pole in the median did not. We're never happy to see (another) wrecked Ferrari, or to see a man carted away from his toy by the police, so to you kids with Ferraris, please learn from this and stop the madness.

Our favorite part of this picture is that, having made his boo-boo and probably realizing what he's in for, the driver is still just sitting in the car, although the guy in the blue shirt flexing in the background also gets a special mention... Thanks for the tip, Sam!

[Source: EHOWA]

Somewhere, a father in Melbourne weeps. There were 16 Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradales imported to Australia and New Zealand. There are now 15. A proud dad gave his son the keys to his so-rare-it's-almost-extinct Ferrari, and his son got a little too frisky with the audacious redhead. She didn't appreciate his advances, he lost control of the situation, and that little redhead introduced him to a pole... at a high rate of speed by the looks of it.

And as if that didn't beat all, the kid had to call home. While news crews watched. And filmed. Only to have newspapers and blogs spread the story around the world. No word on what his father said, but it probably rhymed with "Why I oughta @#%$*&%!"

Police say the driver was speeding, which means he must not have seen these commercials. But now, at least, he has a theme song, so sing along: "To you other kids all across the land, take it from me, parents just don't understand..." Thanks for the tip, Patrick!

[Source: Sydney Morning Herald]

Dave Chappelle did a bit about going for a ride with a friend of his in New York City. His friend driving, Chip, started racing down a Manhattan street. When he was pulled over by NYPD, Chip told the officer, "I didn't know I couldn't do that" -- and after a scolding, the officer let him go with "Now go on, get out of here!"

We aren't sure if a 29-year-old man in Washington had the same thing in mind when one evening, after driving in the opposing lane for less than a block, he totaled his car on a light pole. His one-word answer to the police, when he was asked what happened, was this: "pterodactyl." And it appears to have worked: the man was treated at a local hospital and released.

The man's alcohol level was "minimal." We don't know what he was drinking, but it must have been powerful. So on this New Year's be careful out there. And watch out for flying, Mesozoic-era reptiles.

Thanks for the tip, Gary!

[Source: Herald]

Cell phones help us communicate with others at all times, but for the millions of motorists who like to gab on the phone while driving, these devices can become the kind of distraction that causes plenty of harm. In Russia, using a cell phone while driving is against the rules, so the viral marketing exercise above was created to remind citizens of the inherent danger in talking or texting while driving.

After seeing how the above RAZR caused irreparable damage to an otherwise perfect Mercedes, we think the Russian government drove home the point. It's crystal clear Kremlin, thanks! The only thing more amazing than the cataclysmic damage caused by this phone is that in this day and age there are still phones that big. Uh, Zack Morris called Vlad, he wants his brick back.

Check out more pics of the danger RAZR here.

[Source: English Russia via Engadget]

Few people think about car crashes before they happen, and immediately after one occurs isn't the time to start. Therefore, putting a few minutes into post-crash preparation makes sense before finding yourself staring into a deflated airbag with a dazed look. Doug Flint from The Car Connection has some great tips - he refers to them as "rules" and has good reasons to do so - and we'd recommend giving his list a thorough read.

From our collective crash experience, encompassing everything from parking-lot fender-benders to leaving the road at 105 mph, we can indeed assure everyone that it's tough to keep your wits about you after unintended physics intervenes with driving. Make some plans now for who you'll call for a tow and how you'll pay, and don't leave the scene until things are sorted out with the authorities, medical personnel, and someone who can give a level-headed assessment of your car's drivability. A good roadside assistance plan that covers all the drivers in your family is a great idea (going through your insurance company will probably yield a discount).

Include every driver in your family in on this planning; even if you've got nerves of steel and aren't rattled by bent sheetmetal... odds are good that there's a less experienced crasher in your household.

[Source: The Car Connection]

 

According to Tacoma, Washington station KOMO 4, a man was driving his 1993 GMC "Astrovan" the wrong way around Pacific Raceways near Auburn, Washington when he collided with a guard rail on a straightaway, violently distributing his wanna-be racecar around the track in several pieces. For the record, we're not exactly sure what an "Astrovan" is, but our guess is they were referring to the Safari, GMC's rebadged version the Chevrolet Astro. Regardless, the man's dog riding shotgun was thankfully thrown free of the crash and emerged uninjured. His owner, thought to be an electrician working at the site earlier in the day, however, is seriously injured.

As entertaining as one might think it'd be to drive an ill-suited vehicle around a track, here's yet another reason why racing takes so much training!

[Source: Komotv.com]