Natural Selection Slips Up

Originally posted by Stuart Robinson
something does not ring true about that video - perhaps it is just me ...

I've seen it on a couple of cable networks I believe... They interviewed the driver, who said that the water just looked like the surface of the road. Pretty neat that the producer/reporter tried to help him out.
 
I wonder if there's an awkward silence when folks fly back in the US Coast Guard helicopters after being rescued on their rooftops in the mandatory evacuation locations... I know there are legitimate reasons why some folks could not leave the area (finances, etc) but there should have been little if any reason not to at least at least go to a shelter.

I think the gov't should fine folks who have to be rescued in this fashion. It probably costs a ton of money to fly helicopters around saving people who should have left in the first place. Why are we paying (tax money) for folks who refused to at least go to a shelter?
 
I think the gov't should fine folks who have to be rescued in this fashion.

I think some jurisdictions do with flash flood rescues. In principle it sounds quite fair and might save a few more lives. On the other hand, there are some people who are poor/disabled and can't even get transportation to a shelter... I think this was touched on on some of the blogs.

Tim
 
why do I get the feeling...

...that if the producer wouldn't have been there to help...that guy would be one of the fatalities? He didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry to get out of his car. My ass would have been out of the very quickly!
 
They interviewed the driver, who said that the water just looked like the surface of the road.

Sure it did :roll:

Did he not notice the fog lines and lane stripes just disappear, or the fact the median wall went from 4 feet high to non-existant? The big clue should have been that overpass 200 feet in front of him was about 6 feet off the "road" surface. That would get my attention.

He was moving at a good clip, and never hit the brakes.

What a clueless SOB.
 
This is from me...forgot to sign in.


They interviewed the driver, who said that the water just looked like the surface of the road.

Sure it did :roll:

Did he not notice the fog lines and lane stripes just disappear, or the fact the median wall went from 4 feet high to non-existant? The big clue should have been that overpass 200 feet in front of him was about 6 feet off the "road" surface. That would get my attention.

He was moving at a good clip, and never hit the brakes.

What a clueless SOB.
 
Ya I agree I would have been out of the car MUCH faster than he seemed to be. Its amazing that somebody acutally did something like that. Even more amazing that they got it on video.
 
I saw that clip on news media too, and came away with the impression that the guy was on the old side. That might explain the difficulty with which he appeared to climb out of the car, as well as the fact that he didn't see the water in front of him.

To his credit, in the interview with him that they aired, he said flat out, "It was a stupid thing to do, and I did it."
 
I wonder if there's an awkward silence when folks fly back in the US Coast Guard helicopters after being rescued on their rooftops in the mandatory evacuation locations... I know there are legitimate reasons why some folks could not leave the area (finances, etc) but there should have been little if any reason not to at least at least go to a shelter.

I think the gov't should fine folks who have to be rescued in this fashion. It probably costs a ton of money to fly helicopters around saving people who should have left in the first place. Why are we paying (tax money) for folks who refused to at least go to a shelter?

They paid their taxes too and made a mistake they will probably not make again. Now I have heard that some parts of Texas will fine you for driving through flash flood waters and needing a rescue in your car. Studies have shown that who evacuatees is strongly linked to income and it seems silly that after they have just died because they were poor and stayed behind to turn around and fine them. Im sure they have paid income tax before, sales tax, etc. A lot of people who have riden out previous Hurricanes unscathed are also likely to stay not knowing the difference in wind radai, mb such. This assumes that those people know what they are getting themselves into. That is not always the case. If people get caught in a thunderstorm and get flooded and need a helicopter rescue should they get fined because they were in an SPC high RISK?

You know I agree with the principal that most of these people made a decision to stay. But that decision is motivated by other factors non of which involve 'SUICIDE BY HURRICANE' and not need to punish them further for there mistake. I'd hate to be the person who enforced such a policy, would you fine someone who had just lost a loved one? Your right they should have gone to a shelter and im sure next time they will.
 
If people get caught in a thunderstorm and get flooded and need a helicopter rescue should they get fined because they were in an SPC high RISK?
There is NOT a MANDATORY EVACUATION in place for SPC High Risks. The probability of getting hit by a tornado, even during tornado outbreaks, is minimal. The probability of facing life-threatening conditions during a high-end hurricane and MANDATORY evacuation is SIGNIFICANT. Such a parallel between a High Risk and a mandatory evacuation (including the incredible anticipation of complete destruction) is non-existant IMO.

Scott, I realize that folks folks cannot AFFORD to gas up their vehicle, drive 400 miles, and stay at a hotel for days on end (not to mention food, etc). That is why I explicitly stated that folks should have at least gone to a shelter. If you can't afford the gas, hotel, etc, that's understandable. But at least drive the 10-30 miles to a shelter. Most shelters are designated as such because they have been deemed to be sufficiently-built to withstand the winds/floods expected during a particular event. IMO, there's little excuse to not at least go to a nearby shelter.
 
If people get caught in a thunderstorm and get flooded and need a helicopter rescue should they get fined because they were in an SPC high RISK?
There is NOT a MANDATORY EVACUATION in place for SPC High Risks. The probability of getting hit by a tornado, even during tornado outbreaks, is minimal. The probability of facing life-threatening conditions during a high-end hurricane and MANDATORY evacuation is SIGNIFICANT. Such a parallel between a High Risk and a mandatory evacuation (including the incredible anticipation of complete destruction) is non-existant IMO.

Scott, I realize that folks folks cannot AFFORD to gas up their vehicle, drive 400 miles, and stay at a hotel for days on end (not to mention food, etc). That is why I explicitly stated that folks should have at least gone to a shelter. If you can't afford the gas, hotel, etc, that's understandable. But at least drive the 10-30 miles to a shelter. Most shelters are designated as such because they have been deemed to be sufficiently-built to withstand the winds/floods expected during a particular event. IMO, there's little excuse to not at least go to a nearby shelter.

Your not just talking about people who know better, there are thousands of people who are elderly and disabled. Others have ridden out Hurricanes before and may have little sense of how each Hurricane and event is different. I don't know why you want to punish someone who has almost drowned. I know it is against all logic not to goto a shelter but in a city of hundreds of thousands there are many many unique cases.

Don't get me wrong Jeff I agree with you for the most part but not on giving out fines.
 
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