I've been guilty of driving at inappropriate speeds on public roads... I've kissed 150mph before in a LS 460 (speed limiter removed), but it was on a freshly paved, straight, 3 lane freeway, stone sober on a clear afternoon with sight lines in excess of 1 mile and nobody else on the road.
I'll be honest... I was white-knuckled as hell. Even in a car that hunkers down and is very stable at high speeds, it's very clear that one mistake and I was dead.
For folks not accustomed to driving at those speeds, your relative speed to even normal freeway traffic (70mph) is not something easy to anticipate. Versus a stopped vehicle, you're talking about gaining nearly a football field per second, and likely requiring another football field of road to come to a stop.
I can't even begin to fathom the mindset to hit those speeds in ANY sort of populated / trafficked area. Insane.
Perfect description.
I had a ‘68 GTO when I was 17-20. 430 HP, 400 CID with ram air induction. That car had some giddy-up. I would jump on it from time to time, but mostly just punching it to get up to speed, or off the line to throw my friends into the seats with the awesome torque that the 60s muscle cars were known for.
On a clear, dry day, with visibility for days, on a well-paved road far, far from anywhere, and sober as a judge, I got her up to 135 and scared the absolute crap out of myself. She had more to give. I was not Ricky Bobby with a cougar in my car. I was more Ricky Bobby running around in my underpants believing I was on fire.
Not because the car wouldn’t perform, but exactly as you said - one twitch and I would have been a crushed mess of metal and motor oil smeared across a mile of pavement. And at that speed, it becomes extremely apparent.
I couldn’t imagine 21 MPH faster, and in a residential neighborhood. It’s absolutely insane. That he slammed on the brakes and *still* hit her at 127 (or whatever) shows exactly how impossible the reaction time is at those speeds.
And obviously alcohol impairs reaction time first and foremost.
Madness. He was entirely without thought, and a woman and her dog burned alive because of it. The more time passes, the more mad I am at Ruggs for this idiocy. Some y’all have room in your hearts for forgiveness and i envy that grace. It’s gonna take some time for me to find it in mine. Just a senseless tragedy.