N.J. gov. crash shows travel practices. (One was clocked at 110 mph!)

[cboy4]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070428/ap_on_re_us/corzine_crash_governor_travel_4


I MADE AN INITIAL MISTAKE SAYING CORZINE'S MOTORCADE WAS TRAVELING 110mph, WHEN IN FACT IT WAS BILL RICHARDSON'S MOTORCADE ONCE CLOCKED AT THAT SPEED.



By ANGELA DELLI SANTI, Associated Press Writer Sat Apr 28, 4:59 PM ET

TRENTON, N.J. - The high-speed automobile accident that critically injured Gov. Jon S. Corzine has focused attention on the practices of governors' official drivers across the nation.


Corzine, who took his first steps Wednesday since his April 12 crash and is expected to leave the hospital in the week ahead, suffered 11 broken ribs, a severe leg fracture and other injuries when the state SUV in which he was a passenger went out control and smashed into a guard rail.

The vehicle, driven by a state trooper, was going 91 mph in a 65 mph zone with its emergency lights flashing.

Corzine, late for a meeting between radio host Don Imus and the Rutgers women's basketball team, was not wearing a seat belt as he rode in the front seat.

**In the article, the Washington Post reported that Bill Richardson's motorcade was once clocked at 110mph! :wow:

Brother, I thought I drove fast.

[seabeyond]

1. 91, impact his passenger door. F*in lucky to be alive... seatbelt or no

[reichstag911]

2. 110 MPG?!?

Well, at least they were being fuel-efficient! ;)

[jobycom]

3. You read that wrong. It was Bill Richardson's motorcade doing 110.

Corzine's was doing 91.

I agree, way too fast, way too arrogant. Reminds me of the Russian nobility riding down the peasants in the muddy streets of St. Petersburg, and all other such stories.

[cboy4]

4. Thank you :) I'll see if I can salvage the thread!

:)

[Eric J in MN]

5. The article says Bill Richardson went 110, not Corzine.

"New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson pledged two years ago to slow his state police-driven vehicle after Albuquerque police briefly chased the unmarked SUV before realizing it was the governor's. In 2003, The Washington Post reported that Richardson's motorcade reached 110 mph on an interstate highway. "

[cboy4]

6. I fixed it. Thank you for letting me know. n/t

[Little Wing]

7. It says 91, why would you write 110?

[cboy4]

9. I made a mistake. Fuckin A. Don't be so nasty.

[SoCalDem]

8. If they're in that big of a hurry, they should use helicopters

and stay the hell off the highways with the rest of us :grr:

[cboy4]

10. I agree. Where do they need to go to justify 110mph.

That kind of speed puts a lot of civilian drivers in danger if you ask me.

[reichstag911]

11. Better yet,...

...save the gas. Why the f--k is a state leader involving himself with this whole sad media circus? Rutgers, while a state school, should have competent administrators; the networks that carried that vile, besotted little weasel Imus; and his personal rep(s), presumably, were all that was necessary, I'm guessing. Just a photo-op that could and should have been avoided.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

12. That is how ALL troopers drive on the

GSP.

No exceptions.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

13. And the Turnpike...

And on 80, 278, 78, 95, 195...

I was driving down 80 one time, at about 65. That stretch between Denville and Wayne. I see cars coming up in the fast lane, very fast. I get over all the way to the right. It is a line of about 9 or 10 NJSP cars, each about a foot off of the others rear bumper. I have no idea how fast they were going, but they passed me like I was parked on the shoulder.

In the NJSP they call driving fast "patrolling aggressively".

Mind you, you don't see it as much since the reforms, since all new hires have to be college graduates. In the past, all they needed was a GED. And a relative on the force. NJSP used to be a monument to nepotism.

[RB TexLa]

14. Did his not wearing a seatbelt hurt anyone but himself?

What's the problem? It's his, (should be at least) choice.

[Eric J in MN]

15. Maybe the doctors treating him would be treating other patients...

...if he had worn a seat belt.

[cboy4]

23. It may not have hurt anyone but himself this time, but the next

time, it could be a deadly pile-up killing a family on the way to the move theater.

The argument is not over seatbelt use. It's over speed.

91 is way, way, way too fast to drive to a meeting.

[Garbo 2004]

26. New Jersey law requires the wearing of seat belts. And as Gov he's not just a

private citizen or above the law.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

29. Taxpayers have to pay for all the extra care

Plus, as a free projectile, he could have hurt others in the vehicle.

[dansolo]

31. Aren't tax dollars being used for his medical care?

And what impact does his injuries have on his ability to do his job effectively? Considering he is the Governor, anything that happens to him does effect other people, namely every person in the state.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

16. Ehhh, I Still Don't Think 91 Is That Extreme, Especially For A Trooper With Lights On.

But Corzine should've ABSOLUTELY been wearing his seatbelt and is damn lucky to be alive.

[seabeyond]

17. i dont think 91 is that extreme either, also think anyone lucky to be alive seatbelt or no

going that fast. impact on his side of the car, who is to say there would be a better outcome with a seatbelt. plenty of people die with a seatbelt on at that speed.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

18. With All Due Respect, It Is A No Brainer That Your Chances Are Far Better With A Seatbelt Then

without one. If you are in a car doing 91 mph then you'd be a reckless idiot to not want to wear a seatbelt in my opinion. Thinking after a horrible accident using hindsight as to whether or not the seatbelt would've helped in that type of accident, is irrelevant as it relates to the point I'm trying to make. After an accident occurs such thinking is useless. It is prior to having any accident that wearing a seatbelt is important.

[seabeyond]

19. with that course of thinking, NOT going 91 is a no brainer, cause an

accident at 91 as opposed to 55 is likely to be fatal. so hindsight means nothing in that situation anymore than the seatbelt, no seatbelt issue and exactly makes the point that i am trying to make.

shit happens. more often than not it doesnt happen. if one doesnt chose to wear a seatbelt they may suffer a greater repercussion, or they may not. going 91 they may suffer greater repercussion or not.

we make our choices. mostly we make it thru our choices. wearing that seatbelt may have caused less injury, or it may not have mattered seeing the speed and where the impact was, so all the harping of the seatbelt alone may be irrelevent.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

20. He Showed INCREDIBLY Bad Judgment By Not Wearing His Seatbelt And It Is ALWAYS A Better Idea To Wear

one than not to. Not even sure why or if you're even arguing against that simple concept. Your odds of surviving a serious accident are EXPONENTIALLY higher through the use of a seatbelt than without one; hence making it a smart choice to use one.

[malaise]

33. Maybe he's just

anti-Nader :hide:

[slampoet]

21. 91 MPH is the fastest i've ever driven

That isn't a resonable speed on a crowded NJ highway.


The only reason to drive that speed is if you won't be given a ticket like the GOV.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

22. Well Yay For You. But I Didn't Say It Was A Reasonable Speed Did I. Nope. I Didn't.

I said it wasn't extreme. I also said mainly when done by a trooper with lights on, which you'll see happen EVERY FUCKING DAY on those NJ highways.

[cboy4]

25. The difference is the troopers driving at the high speeds you're

talking about are presumably en route to an emergency call/urgent situation.

Trying to make a meeting with Don Imus hardly falls under the classification of either.

You drive 91MPH to get the governor to the hospital....not a meeting.

[slampoet]

30. That's the dirty little secret that anyone with a police scanner knows......

...police all over the USA drive in very dangerous ways just to travel from Point A to Point B

The cost in gasoline is phenomenal. The cost in lives is incalculable.


Here in RI I have even seen a state cop turn on his lights and siren to blow through a red light and just so he could pull into a coffee shop parking lot down the block. I followed him in and he ordered a large Iced extra extra and the shopkeeper gave it to him for free.


"You drive 91MPH to get the governor to the hospital....not a meeting."

Great comment. i think this sez it all.

[cboy4]

24. When an infant is killed as a result of a trooper driving 91mph

to a non-emergency....maybe you'll feel different.

I don't think the issue is seatbelts.

I think the issue is driving nearly 100 MPH to a meeting that most likely could have been delayed for a few minutes with just one call from the governor.

[cboy4]

28. The issue is NOT seatbelt usage. The issue is racing to an

unimportant meeting at nearly 100 mph.

Had a trooper crashed responding to a non-emergency situation in a patrol car, it's highly probably he/she would have been reprimanded.

That is the genesis of the article I posted (which you might care to read.)

[slampoet]

32. Actually in Rhode Island Cops kill people in crashes all the time and don't get punished

There was a study of police vs. innocent civilian crashes a few years ago and it was found that no matter how much physical evidence was on the side of the civilian, the police were found not responsible 100% of the time.

Statistically for 60+ incidents nothing happens 100% of the time.

[razzleberry]

27. nobody with a brain goes 91 MPH is a SUV

unsafe speed for that vehicle