<OT>Driver dies after losing control of Porsche
07-24-2003, 03:44 PM
#17
Track Day
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If I recall, a fall from the 55 onto the 405 is about 40 foot vertical drop....
Thursday, July 24, 2003
100 mph crash kills 23-year-old
23-year-old mortgage company president dies when his Porsche falls from 55 Freeway to the 405.
By GREG HARDESTY, JOHN McDONALD and
ZAHEERA WAHID The Orange County Register
COSTA MESA – Michael Allen Hanson was cruising at 100 mph in his new Porsche on the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway when a black car zoomed past Tuesday night.
So Hanson, president of his mortgage company, hit the gas.
Hanson darted between slower cars. But at the San Diego (I-405) Freeway interchange, traffic was thick. The silver 2003 Porsche ripped away 30 feet of the guardrail on the right shoulder, sailed through the air and crashed onto the 405, miraculously missing cars but killing Hanson, 23.
The crash was the latest reminder of how the seductive power of speed can turn deadly.
It also was a wake-up call to motorists who saw what was left.
"It's one thing to see this stuff on TV and in the movies," said Adam Swain, 29, who was driving home to Huntington Beach when he saw a Cadillac drive over Hanson's body.
"But when you see something like this, it makes you think differently – that it's not worth it to do these things on the freeway," Swain said. "It's crazy."
The number of drivers cited for going more than 100 mph has skyrocketed over the past decade, suggesting that the public has become increasingly enamored with speed.
"Speed on the freeways has gotten way out of hand," said George Miller, 52, a mortgage banker and longtime commuter who lives in Fountain Valley.
"Pity the poor folks in the car-pool lane," Miller said. "If they're not doing 80 to 85 mph, the person behind them is flashing his lights, wanting them to get out of the way."
Citations for driving over 100 mph have nearly tripled since 1992, to 15,372, according to the California Highway Patrol. In Orange County, the number has increased nearly fivefold, to 853 tickets in 2002, compared with 176 in 1992.
"In the last few years, there's been a real push by auto manufacturers to emphasize their cars going fast," CHP spokeswoman Anne Da Vigo said.
She added that recent movies like "2 Fast, 2 Furious" only fuel the desire to burn rubber. "The whole emphasis lately has been on the glamour of speed," Da Vigo said.
Five years after the speed limit was increased to 65 mph, the CHP virtually stopped writing tickets for anyone driving less than 75 mph, according to an Orange County Register review.
Jack Mallinckrodt, a director of Drivers for Highway Safety, a transportation watchdog group in Orange County, believes drivers have increased their speeds to about 75 to 80 mph on freeways over the past decade.
"The increase in speed is not unwarranted," King said. "Freeways are being built better and are designed for higher speeds, and the cars are easier to handle."
Indeed, drivers feel more comfortable pressing down on their accelerators than they used to.
"There are times when I look up at the speedometer and I'm going 90 mph, and I'm like, 'Slow down, man, you're going too fast,'" Swain said.
Daryl Silva, 25, of Costa Mesa admits sometimes driving his 2001 black Toyota Tacoma up to 100 mph.
"It's the fastest point from A to B," he said, adding that he never drives in such a way that he believes would endanger others. "Going faster makes me more alert."
Authorities are taking steps to discourage the glamorization of speed.
In December, the CHP fired off a letter to advertising house TBWA/Chiat Day, complaining about a proposed ad for a Nissan Web site that featured one of its executives saying, "Yeah, I like to speed," and an actor posing as a CHP officer.
"The CHP must object to any auto maker's marketing plan that uses excessive speed of their vehicles as a selling point," CHP Commander Tom Marshall wrote.
A Porsche salesman said Porsches perform better than most cars at triple-digit speeds. "But the laws of physics don't change," said Carl Tofflemire, sales manager for Pacific Porsche-Audi in Torrance. "If you do stupid (stuff) with your car, you're going to crash."
Meanwhile, the small black car that passed Hanson on the northbound 55, shortly after he entered the freeway at Del Mar Avenue and accelerated to 100 mph, has not been located. The driver faces charges of exhibition of speed, a misdemeanor, authorities said.
DMV records show that Hanson received a speeding ticket Nov. 27 in San Diego County. He failed to appear in court for that ticket and his license was suspended for two months through June 27, according to DMV records.
On Tuesday night, Hanson had finished dinner with his business partner, Justin Schaefer, and the two were heading separately to their new Santa Ana condo when the accident happened.
"He was the most outgoing person that I've ever met in my entire life," said Schaefer, a friend of Hanson's from Minnesota. "There was nothing that was impossible for him. There's nothing ever standing in his way."
The pair had moved to Orange County to open an Anaheim branch of their successful San Diego company, Planet Mortgage Corp. Hanson had bought his Porsche two weeks ago.
When he didn't turn up in Santa Ana, Schaefer figured he drove to their other home in San Diego.
His mother, Mary Hanson, flew to San Diego from Minnesota when she heard about the crash.
"He was always just a great kid," said Hanson tearfully. "He was an overachiever."
Thursday, July 24, 2003
100 mph crash kills 23-year-old
23-year-old mortgage company president dies when his Porsche falls from 55 Freeway to the 405.
By GREG HARDESTY, JOHN McDONALD and
ZAHEERA WAHID The Orange County Register
COSTA MESA – Michael Allen Hanson was cruising at 100 mph in his new Porsche on the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway when a black car zoomed past Tuesday night.
So Hanson, president of his mortgage company, hit the gas.
Hanson darted between slower cars. But at the San Diego (I-405) Freeway interchange, traffic was thick. The silver 2003 Porsche ripped away 30 feet of the guardrail on the right shoulder, sailed through the air and crashed onto the 405, miraculously missing cars but killing Hanson, 23.
The crash was the latest reminder of how the seductive power of speed can turn deadly.
It also was a wake-up call to motorists who saw what was left.
"It's one thing to see this stuff on TV and in the movies," said Adam Swain, 29, who was driving home to Huntington Beach when he saw a Cadillac drive over Hanson's body.
"But when you see something like this, it makes you think differently – that it's not worth it to do these things on the freeway," Swain said. "It's crazy."
The number of drivers cited for going more than 100 mph has skyrocketed over the past decade, suggesting that the public has become increasingly enamored with speed.
"Speed on the freeways has gotten way out of hand," said George Miller, 52, a mortgage banker and longtime commuter who lives in Fountain Valley.
"Pity the poor folks in the car-pool lane," Miller said. "If they're not doing 80 to 85 mph, the person behind them is flashing his lights, wanting them to get out of the way."
Citations for driving over 100 mph have nearly tripled since 1992, to 15,372, according to the California Highway Patrol. In Orange County, the number has increased nearly fivefold, to 853 tickets in 2002, compared with 176 in 1992.
"In the last few years, there's been a real push by auto manufacturers to emphasize their cars going fast," CHP spokeswoman Anne Da Vigo said.
She added that recent movies like "2 Fast, 2 Furious" only fuel the desire to burn rubber. "The whole emphasis lately has been on the glamour of speed," Da Vigo said.
Five years after the speed limit was increased to 65 mph, the CHP virtually stopped writing tickets for anyone driving less than 75 mph, according to an Orange County Register review.
Jack Mallinckrodt, a director of Drivers for Highway Safety, a transportation watchdog group in Orange County, believes drivers have increased their speeds to about 75 to 80 mph on freeways over the past decade.
"The increase in speed is not unwarranted," King said. "Freeways are being built better and are designed for higher speeds, and the cars are easier to handle."
Indeed, drivers feel more comfortable pressing down on their accelerators than they used to.
"There are times when I look up at the speedometer and I'm going 90 mph, and I'm like, 'Slow down, man, you're going too fast,'" Swain said.
Daryl Silva, 25, of Costa Mesa admits sometimes driving his 2001 black Toyota Tacoma up to 100 mph.
"It's the fastest point from A to B," he said, adding that he never drives in such a way that he believes would endanger others. "Going faster makes me more alert."
Authorities are taking steps to discourage the glamorization of speed.
In December, the CHP fired off a letter to advertising house TBWA/Chiat Day, complaining about a proposed ad for a Nissan Web site that featured one of its executives saying, "Yeah, I like to speed," and an actor posing as a CHP officer.
"The CHP must object to any auto maker's marketing plan that uses excessive speed of their vehicles as a selling point," CHP Commander Tom Marshall wrote.
A Porsche salesman said Porsches perform better than most cars at triple-digit speeds. "But the laws of physics don't change," said Carl Tofflemire, sales manager for Pacific Porsche-Audi in Torrance. "If you do stupid (stuff) with your car, you're going to crash."
Meanwhile, the small black car that passed Hanson on the northbound 55, shortly after he entered the freeway at Del Mar Avenue and accelerated to 100 mph, has not been located. The driver faces charges of exhibition of speed, a misdemeanor, authorities said.
DMV records show that Hanson received a speeding ticket Nov. 27 in San Diego County. He failed to appear in court for that ticket and his license was suspended for two months through June 27, according to DMV records.
On Tuesday night, Hanson had finished dinner with his business partner, Justin Schaefer, and the two were heading separately to their new Santa Ana condo when the accident happened.
"He was the most outgoing person that I've ever met in my entire life," said Schaefer, a friend of Hanson's from Minnesota. "There was nothing that was impossible for him. There's nothing ever standing in his way."
The pair had moved to Orange County to open an Anaheim branch of their successful San Diego company, Planet Mortgage Corp. Hanson had bought his Porsche two weeks ago.
When he didn't turn up in Santa Ana, Schaefer figured he drove to their other home in San Diego.
His mother, Mary Hanson, flew to San Diego from Minnesota when she heard about the crash.
"He was always just a great kid," said Hanson tearfully. "He was an overachiever."
07-24-2003, 05:17 PM
#18
Rennlist Member
One of the most enjoyable things with our cars is learning how to drive them properly, and I would strongly advise anyone here to do DE-type events just so they can understand their car better.
In SoCal there are numerous clubs that offer events for our cars -> POC, PCA, Tracquest, Touring Car Club, etc.
In SoCal there are numerous clubs that offer events for our cars -> POC, PCA, Tracquest, Touring Car Club, etc.
07-25-2003, 03:58 PM
#19
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its Really make me feel sad to hear such news.. but from my point of view is that all cars can get you killed. doesnt matter if its a Carrera or a honda civic, it just depend how you use them .
i do have a carrera4 and i know how it feels when you are behind the steering wheel .. you just want to do anything crazy and say WOW look what the porsche can do .. and how it can handle .. but still there are limits.
i do have a carrera4 and i know how it feels when you are behind the steering wheel .. you just want to do anything crazy and say WOW look what the porsche can do .. and how it can handle .. but still there are limits.
