Acts of rare stupidity
Discussion
This thread is intended to showcase incidents of gross stupidity. Those moments when caution has been cast to the wind. When an individual submits to an action that is so ill-considered, reckless or idiotic that it almost defies explanation. These acts don’t have to involve vehicles necessarily, any outrageously dopey example will do. I’ll lead off!
It’s the late 70’s and imagine if you will, a stretch of dual carriageway that is being extended.
The new section is functionally complete but not yet open to traffic. The old section has on and off ramps at the transition point and has been in use for many years. To delineate the two sections, the road workers have arranged lines of 44 Gallon drums at the transition point to discourage the public from venturing onto the extended part.
Enter our man, let’s call him Gaz, on his Kawasaki Z1000. Gaz is heading towards the new section with his girlfriend on the pillion and today, instead of taking the ramp, Gaz has an idea to prank his girl. Instead of swinging up the ramp, he’s going to go straight ahead onto the new section of road! How she will scream! Having given her a fright, he’ll turn around and take the ramp as usual. There’s a more than adequate gap for the bike between the drums so that’s fine.
So just as Gaz and his unwitting GF are approaching the line of barrels, Gaz has another brilliant idea, as he passes through the line of drums, he’ll kick one over, thus adding to the drama and increasing the shock and surprise factor. The drums are approaching fast, so Gaz cocks his right leg out to topple the nearest one as he goes past. Unbeknownst to our man, the road crew has filled all the drums to the top with concrete to prevent them blowing over in the wind. Just for reference, an empty 44 gallon drum would weigh around 10Kg where one filled with concrete would weigh around 500Kg.
On contact with the drum, travelling around 60Kmh, Gaz’s lower leg is instantly turned to pulp, the upper leg breaks at the same time. Unsurprisingly, Gaz loses control of the bike and his girlfriend is spat off onto the road. Shock and surprise achieved! As the dust clears, Gaz is on the ground, unable to move and in incredible pain, his GF is metres away and the bike is a smoking wreck. Passers by summon an ambulance and Gaz and girl are carted off to hospital. Gaz’s leg can’t be saved and has to be amputated above the knee. Apart from cuts and abrasions, the girlfriend is uninjured. All things considered, an unforgettable day out.
It’s the late 70’s and imagine if you will, a stretch of dual carriageway that is being extended.
The new section is functionally complete but not yet open to traffic. The old section has on and off ramps at the transition point and has been in use for many years. To delineate the two sections, the road workers have arranged lines of 44 Gallon drums at the transition point to discourage the public from venturing onto the extended part.
Enter our man, let’s call him Gaz, on his Kawasaki Z1000. Gaz is heading towards the new section with his girlfriend on the pillion and today, instead of taking the ramp, Gaz has an idea to prank his girl. Instead of swinging up the ramp, he’s going to go straight ahead onto the new section of road! How she will scream! Having given her a fright, he’ll turn around and take the ramp as usual. There’s a more than adequate gap for the bike between the drums so that’s fine.
So just as Gaz and his unwitting GF are approaching the line of barrels, Gaz has another brilliant idea, as he passes through the line of drums, he’ll kick one over, thus adding to the drama and increasing the shock and surprise factor. The drums are approaching fast, so Gaz cocks his right leg out to topple the nearest one as he goes past. Unbeknownst to our man, the road crew has filled all the drums to the top with concrete to prevent them blowing over in the wind. Just for reference, an empty 44 gallon drum would weigh around 10Kg where one filled with concrete would weigh around 500Kg.
On contact with the drum, travelling around 60Kmh, Gaz’s lower leg is instantly turned to pulp, the upper leg breaks at the same time. Unsurprisingly, Gaz loses control of the bike and his girlfriend is spat off onto the road. Shock and surprise achieved! As the dust clears, Gaz is on the ground, unable to move and in incredible pain, his GF is metres away and the bike is a smoking wreck. Passers by summon an ambulance and Gaz and girl are carted off to hospital. Gaz’s leg can’t be saved and has to be amputated above the knee. Apart from cuts and abrasions, the girlfriend is uninjured. All things considered, an unforgettable day out.
Edited by J.F Winstead on Thursday 9th March 19:28
Not as dramatic as 'Gaz' but...
Back in South Africa - I had been at a customers farm and being 5pm I was eager to get home.
A new road was being built, surfaced and almost ready to open but still closed off either end.
Aforementioned customer advised that I would be able to get home via the new road, and it would knock at least 25 - 30 minutes off my journey time, so I set off, driving into the sunset.
After a few miles, in the distance I spotted two white 44 gallon drums with some wood barriers to either side of the road.
Travelling at some speed (no risk of speed traps) as I approached the drums I backed off slightly to ensure I could get through the gap.
I was almost right on top of the drums when I realised there was a night watchman standing there, holding a wire gate open for me to pass through.
I shudder to think what might have been had that chap not been there to open the gate. Needless to say, following that I took it a bit slower..!
EDIT: I was in a car.
Back in South Africa - I had been at a customers farm and being 5pm I was eager to get home.
A new road was being built, surfaced and almost ready to open but still closed off either end.
Aforementioned customer advised that I would be able to get home via the new road, and it would knock at least 25 - 30 minutes off my journey time, so I set off, driving into the sunset.
After a few miles, in the distance I spotted two white 44 gallon drums with some wood barriers to either side of the road.
Travelling at some speed (no risk of speed traps) as I approached the drums I backed off slightly to ensure I could get through the gap.
I was almost right on top of the drums when I realised there was a night watchman standing there, holding a wire gate open for me to pass through.
I shudder to think what might have been had that chap not been there to open the gate. Needless to say, following that I took it a bit slower..!
EDIT: I was in a car.
Edited by TonyRPH on Thursday 9th March 20:57
When I was a kid a mate of mine was good at climbing trees and one day we spotted a massive (and I mean massive) wasps nest about 6-7m up a huge tree.
He decided he was going to climb up and get it.... of course the moment he touched it the thing disintegrated and out came about 5000 wasps. He tried to climb down but after about a dozen stings in a few seconds he said he was going to jump for it.
The snapping sound still rings clear in my head!! He broke his arm quite badly and ended up with about 50 wasp stings. It was one of those moments as a kid where you start to realise that you are in fact not indestructible.
He decided he was going to climb up and get it.... of course the moment he touched it the thing disintegrated and out came about 5000 wasps. He tried to climb down but after about a dozen stings in a few seconds he said he was going to jump for it.
The snapping sound still rings clear in my head!! He broke his arm quite badly and ended up with about 50 wasp stings. It was one of those moments as a kid where you start to realise that you are in fact not indestructible.
Driving on Anglesey, somewhere a little north of Beaumaris I spotted a rock face about 100 ft high in a field. My climbing boots are in the car, the sun is shining and I love climbing free solo.
I was 60 foot up holding a small flake with one hand, both feet flat on the wall, held in place with friction as I leaned well back, reached up to the next hold and then the flake fell off, and me with it.
I'd dropped about ten feet before catching hold of a decent handhold as I fell passed it. Wrenched the shoulder a little doing so but that was far better than dropping another fifty feet down into a cow field that was probably rarely visited by humans.
I was 60 foot up holding a small flake with one hand, both feet flat on the wall, held in place with friction as I leaned well back, reached up to the next hold and then the flake fell off, and me with it.
I'd dropped about ten feet before catching hold of a decent handhold as I fell passed it. Wrenched the shoulder a little doing so but that was far better than dropping another fifty feet down into a cow field that was probably rarely visited by humans.
A person of my acquaintance had a little engineering company. As OxyAcetylene cylinders are expensive he had been purloining them from the local steelworks. Now instead of being a sensible chap and returning the empties, he came up with the cracking idea of cutting them up and weighing them in.
Cutting the first acetylene bottle did not go well, as he was not aware that the cylinders are filled with acetone and a porous mass, so that made a great deal of mess. No more acetylene bottles were harmed.
Cutting the oxygen cylinders went better, and soon the pile was diminishing, and a pile of thick walled tube was ready for the scrap run. Upon cutting what was to be the final bottle, our hero discovered rather rapidly that this bottle was not quite as empty as the others had been.
Other than some permanent ear damage, some very painful fingers, and a week long concussion, he is fine. The roof of his workshop was less fortunate and had to be entirely replaced.
Cutting the first acetylene bottle did not go well, as he was not aware that the cylinders are filled with acetone and a porous mass, so that made a great deal of mess. No more acetylene bottles were harmed.
Cutting the oxygen cylinders went better, and soon the pile was diminishing, and a pile of thick walled tube was ready for the scrap run. Upon cutting what was to be the final bottle, our hero discovered rather rapidly that this bottle was not quite as empty as the others had been.
Other than some permanent ear damage, some very painful fingers, and a week long concussion, he is fine. The roof of his workshop was less fortunate and had to be entirely replaced.
J.F Winstead said:
This thread is intended to showcase incidents of gross stupidity. Those moments when caution has been cast to the wind. When an individual submits to an action that is so ill-considered, reckless or idiotic that it almost defies explanation. These acts don’t have to involve vehicles necessarily, any outrageously dopey example will do. I’ll lead off!
It’s the late 70’s and imagine if you will, a stretch of dual carriageway that is being extended.
The new section is functionally complete but not yet open to traffic. The old section has on and off ramps at the transition point and has been in use for many years. To delineate the two sections, the road workers have arranged lines of 44 Gallon drums at the transition point to discourage the public from venturing onto the extended part.
Enter our man, let’s call him Gaz, on his Kawasaki Z1000. Gaz is heading towards the new section with his girlfriend on the pillion and today, instead of taking the ramp, Gaz has an idea to prank his girl. Instead of swinging up the ramp, he’s going to go straight ahead onto the new section of road! How she will scream! Having given her a fright, he’ll turn around and take the ramp as usual. There’s a more than adequate gap for the bike between the drums so that’s fine.
So just as Gaz and his unwitting GF are approaching the line of barrels, Gaz has another brilliant idea, as he passes through the line of drums, he’ll kick one over, thus adding to the drama and increasing the shock and surprise factor. The drums are approaching fast, so Gaz cocks his right leg out to topple the nearest one as he goes past. Unbeknownst to our man, the road crew has filled all the drums to the top with concrete to prevent them blowing over in the wind. Just for reference, an empty 44 gallon drum would weigh around 10Kg where one filled with concrete would weigh around 500Kg.
On contact with the drum, travelling around 60Kmh, Gaz’s lower leg is instantly turned to pulp, the upper leg breaks at the same time. Unsurprisingly, Gaz loses control of the bike and his girlfriend is spat off onto the road. Shock and surprise achieved! As the dust clears, Gaz is on the ground, unable to move and in incredible pain, his GF is metres away and the bike is a smoking wreck. Passers by summon an ambulance and Gaz and girl are carted off to hospital. Gaz’s leg can’t be saved and has to be amputated above the knee. Apart from cuts and abrasions, the girlfriend is uninjured. All things considered, an unforgettable day out.
Is she still your girlfriend?It’s the late 70’s and imagine if you will, a stretch of dual carriageway that is being extended.
The new section is functionally complete but not yet open to traffic. The old section has on and off ramps at the transition point and has been in use for many years. To delineate the two sections, the road workers have arranged lines of 44 Gallon drums at the transition point to discourage the public from venturing onto the extended part.
Enter our man, let’s call him Gaz, on his Kawasaki Z1000. Gaz is heading towards the new section with his girlfriend on the pillion and today, instead of taking the ramp, Gaz has an idea to prank his girl. Instead of swinging up the ramp, he’s going to go straight ahead onto the new section of road! How she will scream! Having given her a fright, he’ll turn around and take the ramp as usual. There’s a more than adequate gap for the bike between the drums so that’s fine.
So just as Gaz and his unwitting GF are approaching the line of barrels, Gaz has another brilliant idea, as he passes through the line of drums, he’ll kick one over, thus adding to the drama and increasing the shock and surprise factor. The drums are approaching fast, so Gaz cocks his right leg out to topple the nearest one as he goes past. Unbeknownst to our man, the road crew has filled all the drums to the top with concrete to prevent them blowing over in the wind. Just for reference, an empty 44 gallon drum would weigh around 10Kg where one filled with concrete would weigh around 500Kg.
On contact with the drum, travelling around 60Kmh, Gaz’s lower leg is instantly turned to pulp, the upper leg breaks at the same time. Unsurprisingly, Gaz loses control of the bike and his girlfriend is spat off onto the road. Shock and surprise achieved! As the dust clears, Gaz is on the ground, unable to move and in incredible pain, his GF is metres away and the bike is a smoking wreck. Passers by summon an ambulance and Gaz and girl are carted off to hospital. Gaz’s leg can’t be saved and has to be amputated above the knee. Apart from cuts and abrasions, the girlfriend is uninjured. All things considered, an unforgettable day out.
Edited by J.F Winstead on Thursday 9th March 19:28
Is she still your girlfriend?
I still have both my legs :-)
However, many years ago I was commuting home on my GPz550 and there was a traffic cone lying on the road. I was travelling at 50-60Kph and being tired my thinking was a bit fuzzy. Like Gaz I had the idea to kick it off the road as I passed it, good citizen and all. The impact was something radically bigger than I expected, my foot was flung backwards violently and I performed a lurid wobble. I managed to keep going but on returning home I removed my boot (carefully) and my throbbing foot was bruised, toes quite badly. In addition to that I had no idea if I actually achieved what I set out to do!
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