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Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't that what governments do every day? They take choices for the well being of the country, without consulting me. Oh the irony.
That is kind of non-sequitur
There are so many ways this could have gone wrong... For example, the guy was passed out - the initial impact could have knocked the other driver's foot off the gas, or cause it to press harder, further worsening the situation. Also, if the bumpers didn't match, or if the angle of impact was not totally flat, you could easily end up in a "jackknife" style situation where the rear car pushes the front car at an angle…
There is nothing wrong with this comment. The objections he raises are perfectly valid. Yes, it could have gone dreadfully wrong. In this instance, it didn't, and it is a credit to the engineer's skill that it worked. For many other people however, it would definitely be a bad idea to try. Yes, it's great that he did it, and that he took fast action to save a life. It really is; it's a great story! But a down-to-eart…
He manages the F22 fighter jet program at Boeing. That means that he's in charge of building gigantic killing machines that are only built so that they can be used to kill or threaten to kill human beings.
This man did an incredible thing on the road and I'm not trying to diminish that. But he's not a 100% good person: he works with weapons fully knowing that his work has probably resulted in many deaths of innocent people.
Edit: Hey downvoters, I'm being totally serious here. Please reply to me and we can have a discussion; downvoting my opinions silently (because you disagree? or you think I'm trolling? or you don't like what I'm saying?) is rude and not good for the community.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, indeed. Next time you should be very hesitant. Hesitate so much that the out of control car plows into a busy intersection. So many things could go right. It could just barely miss that SUV with 4 kids in the back, and I'm sure it would only scare the elderly couple crossing the street. C'mon, seriously? The article is an up-beat account of how things can go right . How under pressure someone made a necessarily…
If my math is right, the kinentic energy of 2 ton vehicle going 40 MPH is roughly equivalent to 70kg of TNT. That's the kind of fire this guy was playing with, for his life, the life of his family, the life of the other driver and all the bystanders. Not to understate his heroism, but had this gone horribly wrong he'd probably be a Darwin award candidate.
It's not heroic if the stakes aren't high.
There are so many ways this could have gone wrong... For example, the guy was passed out - the initial impact could have knocked the other driver's foot off the gas, or cause it to press harder, further worsening the situation. Also, if the bumpers didn't match, or if the angle of impact was not totally flat, you could easily end up in a "jackknife" style situation where the rear car pushes the front car at an angle…
not to mention "Without consulting the passengers in his minivan — "there was no time to take a vote" — Innes kicked into engineer mode." more like "Innes kicked into irresponsible mode risking other people's lives to try something he probably saw on a movie"
1. Drive infront
2. Match the speed
3. Slowly reduce speed so that the car behind knocks
into your back bumper at a relative speed of like
1 mph. Maybe you feel a tiny bump.
4. Apply brakes
This is an incredible story. But I think it's important for everyone to remember the context of who this hero is. He manages the F22 fighter jet program at Boeing. That means that he's in charge of building gigantic killing machines that are only built so that they can be used to kill or threaten to kill human beings. This man did an incredible thing on the road and I'm not trying to diminish that. But he's not a 100…
Also, please (re-)read the HN guidelines.
This is an incredible story. But I think it's important for everyone to remember the context of who this hero is. He manages the F22 fighter jet program at Boeing. That means that he's in charge of building gigantic killing machines that are only built so that they can be used to kill or threaten to kill human beings. This man did an incredible thing on the road and I'm not trying to diminish that. But he's not a 100…
So don't point your finger at this guy, if you have a problem with fighter jets then you need to change the country itself. That is through politics and the military. To me he is just an aerospace engineer that works on the F-22, I see no problem with that.
Especially considering the F-22 is barely used and is mostly a weapon to deal with other jets that don't even exist yet. If you are working on biological, nuclear, or chemical weaopns than I'd have problems with it, but something like a missile or a rifle or a tank isn't that ethically bad because we already have plenty of weapons just like them. The advances in technology just allows the military to do things more precisely. If you have a choice between a guided missile to hit a house, or an artillery barrage to level a block, which would you rather have? Engineers enabled the former.
Several comments mention the upcoming intersection as if crossing traffic were likely. It is actually a classic cloverleaf. Search google maps for Renton Washington and look for highway 167, where the incident occurred, and its intersection with I-405. I haven't been over there for several months, so I'm not sure how up-to-date the satellite view is, but it looks right to me.