[2i30s]

Lewis Hamilton got caught doing a burnout in a Mercedes Benz and its now impounded for 30 days.            
 none of the penalties he will get from the Australian police will bother him,the car he had impounded for 30 days belongs to Mercedes Australia,he wont loose his licence as hes not an Australian citizen,he may cop a $500 fine but its nothing compared to his million dollars a year pay check,and i doubt he will even be in court to face the charges. as for myself and other normal drivers,if we where caught doing this its a weeks wages lost in fines,4 demerit points lost on my licence,30 days the car will be impounded for and $500 to get it out of the impound yard at the end of the 30 days, and not having a car for 30 days may cost your average Joe his or her job.   the second time your caught doing this you loose your licence and the police seize your car and sell it.   Lewis,you got off very light considering you got caught doing this once before.   i think hes setting a bad example for our young drivers that are dying on our roads.maybee a good punishment for him could have been puting him on a plane and sending him home. that would cost him big time. 

[GURKHA17]

[2i30s]

and hides behind his minders. 

Ok, here's an alternative thought. What I'm about to say is relative to Australia but probably has relevance to like minded municipalities.

I don't think he probably did anything that the average 25 year old reading this might not have done (and also bear in mind that those older were once themselves 25). AFAIK he just "chirped" the tyres a bit, or maybe a lot, but wasn't doing donuts in Albert Rd or where ever it was.

The problem I have generally with the easy jump on this sort of thing is that we (now) make laws that are far too restrictive and don't allow even reasonable misbehaviour. Youth (and older folk too) needs to be given some freedom of expression. Sometimes I feel like society has imprisoned me compared to my younger days when life's rules were, well... more sensible.

Speeding and drinking laws also fall into this category. The limits we impose are somewhat arbitrary but generally aimed low.  I know... we are protecting the innocent from the drunks and hoons that are out to get us.

However, the ones really causing mayhem are those that drive with BAC at 0.1++ and not those nearer 0.05 - in other words those that really are drunk, along with the hoons that drive at streetside drags and burn-outs where hundreds of "spectators" gather, not those that break the tyres a little (or a lot) loose on take-off to impress a few bystanders whom are probably not impressed anyway!

Folk's, some just like you (all), that get hit for "speeding" at a few k's over the limit when you weren't concentrating are not causing any serious problem, it's those knowingly and irresponsibly driving 10's of k's over the limit in circumstances that demand otherwise.

I have a friend that works at TAC (the local road safety authority) and he tells me (not that we can't work it out) that when alcohol is involved in fatal accidents the BAC is more likely to be well over 0.15 and not near 0.05 where we place the limit.

I think we should allow what is reasonable by rescinding some draconian laws or lifting the silly limits but, and a big but, at the same time really hit those that overstep the more liberal laws very, very hard.

I actually believe that giving individuals responsibility for their actions will be reflected in more responsible behaviour.  However to repeat, we should simultaneously be prepared to belt those that fail to appreciate the significance of the freedom given.

In my dreams... 

[bumpkin]

Interesting reading Pip, I agree with you in the main and of course you are perfectly correct in that we have all done something in our motoring pasts which were "wreckless", "exuberant" or even (whisper it) "illegal", however in most cases we were fortunate enough to not get caught at the time.  We then as you say get caught "speeding" in some cases at just a few mph over the "limit" and wonder how that can possibly be worse than what we got away with in our youth.  Sometimes the exuberance of our police foces contribute to the feeling of being hard done by as they continue their endless pursuit of brownie points for catching minor offences.

It is only this year that the three points I had on my licence for a "TP60" (crossing a solid white line) were removed.  I was behind a truck on the main Inverness to Aberdeen route which is interspersed with crawler lanes which allow the faster traffic to get past trucks before the road goes back to single carriageway.  I knew I was approaching the lane and put the old Scooby down to 3rd to pass the truck on the way up the hill.  I went a bit early and had two options brake and try to pull in behind the slow moving vehicle in the wet or continue the move which I had already assessed to be safe, I took the second option and was stopped by the local police 6 miles up the road.  They asked if I knew why I had been pulled over and I explained that yes and having weighed up the options I would continue the move.  Now in my younger motoring days they would have given you a bit of credit for recognising that you had done something wrong (which I do not dispute) but also that you had made a considered decision at 50mph which you had committed to and in the interests of safety completed.  You would have been warned via the knuckle rap technique and sent on your way, but these days that does not meet "targets", therefore 3 points and £60 ensued.

In the meantime we have laws in this country about seatbelts which I see being broken daily (there must be a lot more disabled people who are seat-belt exempt than there used to be), laws about mobile phones are also disobeyed and I see that daily also, all in the 6 mile round trip from home to work!!

In my mind these are much more dangerous than crossing a white line on a major route which is widening into dual carriageway anyway but they are ignored by plod just as regularly as you see them occurring.

HOWEVER

Having said that, we know the laws which are made "on our behalf" and if you choose to "disobey" them to ANY extent, then you are putting yourself at risk of being caught.  In order to rescind these laws or put a level of credence on their importance in daily life, requires one or more of "us" to stand for government at local or national level and start the debate somewhere it would be listened to, in the meantime we have to live with it.

[Lorian]

Having read this thread I am really disappointed.


....Really disappointed the video doesn't show the burnout 



I think the team messed up the next day when they accidentally overheard Martin Whitmarsh telling the rental company that the tyres on hamilton's car needed replacing  

[bumpkin]

 

It is only this year that the three points I had on my licence for a "TP60" (crossing a solid white line) were removed. 

To let you know where I come from, I've had no infringements for over 30 years and I don't break any laws I'm aware of. I will eventually, and when I do it will be by the lapse of concentration I aluded to. Will I think it fair? No.

HOWEVER

Having said that, we know the laws which are made "on our behalf" and if you choose to "disobey" them to ANY extent, then you are putting yourself at risk of being caught.  In order to rescind these laws or put a level of credence on their importance in daily life, requires one or more of "us" to stand for government at local or national level and start the debate somewhere it would be listened to, in the meantime we have to live with it.

Yeah right 

Although I'm not sure if politicions by themselves should determine the direction society takes, I would hope they reflect society's wishes.

I'm also am of the (quite silly) belief that we ought obey the laws because they reflect a sensible way of life. To obey only for fear of getting into trouble sounds like a police state.

Those who feel they are above the law (whether they be drivers or murderers) won't obey them even if they are liberal. It's these people that are driving the laws to their silly depths in the rediculous hope that the tighter we make the rules the more likely the outlaws will obey them. Yeah right!

Won't happen. Tried to carry a bottle of suncream or anything sharp onto an aeroplane lately?

It's the good guys that get caught up in the laws designed to catch the crooks. The crooks are smart enough to get around them anyway.

In the meantime the laws get tougher, the police get tougher and we all live in fear.

Sorry, bad night!

[Dazzler]

Almost invariably I have been caught doing minor offences when slightly distracted or under time pressure for work... and yet (when younger) I did some terribly reckless stuff and the cops never got a look in..Go figure  

[2i30s]

you all have very valid ideas/theories on my post about the burnout.i never intended on getting on my high horse and/or being a goody two shoes.Ive been done for doing burnouts and lost my licence for it when i was in my teens.Ive even been caught doing 180kph in a 100kmh zone on the freeway at 4 in the morning.I'm  going to be classed as a hypocrite for my views but Ive lost 5 mates to car accidents in the last 15 years,my 17 year old son has lost 3 mates in 2 accidents in only 6 months,and he was in one of those cars,he survived. as a teen when i got my licence our hooning was done in industrial estates in the wee hours of the morning and rarely on main roads or backstreets.my sons are allmost brainwashed by me and my close Friends not to drive irresponsibly or drink drive. Ive shown my sons and my mates children a class photo[age 15] of myself and 28 other young men,out of the class pic there is only 9 alive that i know of.by the sounds of what you guys have told me,your as lucky as myself and those 9 guys i mentioned above,my crazy driving now is done on track days and closed road events.  parents shouldn't be burring their kids,its supposed to be the opposite way around.   

[Dazzler]

Very well said steve.. I am trying hard to strongly discourage my daughter from texting while driving (including some shock tactics) hopefully it has worked... 8)

[2i30s]

hopefuly m8. 

[eye30]

Don't you all think that this has sent out the right message to all drivers no matter their age.

Given who he is, the Police could have just asked for his autograph, sold him 2 tickets to the Policemans Ball and sent him on his way.

Given that he has been booked etc etc just send out the right message that no one gets away with it.

[2i30s]

true.