Tiger Woods in Serious Car Crash

[travelover]

Update on crash.

LOS ANGELES — Tiger Woods was driving nearly 90 mph — twice the posted speed limit — on a downhill stretch of road when he lost control of an SUV outside Los Angeles and crashed in a wreck that left the golf superstar seriously injured, authorities said Wednesday.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva blamed the Feb. 23 crash solely on excessive speed and Woods’ loss of control behind the wheel. The athlete will not face any citations for his third high-profile collision in 11 years.

https://www.columbian.com/news/2021...eriff-will-reveal-cause-of-tiger-woods-crash/

 

[Markola]

Is that a Mercedes SUV? I’m disappointed it wasn’t a Pontiac Aztec.

 

[aaronc879]

Is that a Mercedes SUV? I’m disappointed it wasn’t a Pontiac Aztec.

It was a Genesis GV80. Genesis is Hyundia's luxury division like Lexus is to Toyota. It was a loaner from the sponsor of the golf event he was at.

 

[aaronc879]

I don't know how the laws work but it seems he could get some kind of reckless driving ticket for that. Maybe the police have to witness and record the speeding. I guess info from the black box after the fact isn't enough to warrant a ticket. At least not if you are rich.

 

[Sunnymar]

I don't understand him not getting cited.

I used to live in that area, 90 is fast for that road.

 

[ivinsfan]

Well, from TW's and his team's point of view, this is a good thing. Drug and booze issues would have negated all the progress he's made in that area.

 

[braumeister]

I don't understand him not getting cited.

From the article I read:

However, Tiger Woods receives no citations for driving too fast and has no criminal charges. There were also no signs of intoxication or impairment. He had his seatbelt on. The lack of citations is because under California law a witness must be present for charges to be given for excessive speed.

The lack of charges has nothing to do with “special treatment.”

 

[Dawg52]

I would love to know his rationale for going 90 mph.

 

[Aerides]

If you read the article...

"Woods was driving 84 to 87 mph in an area that had a speed limit of 45 mph, Villanueva said...investigators believe Woods inadvertently stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal."

 

[aaronc879]

I would love to know his rationale for going 90 mph.

He was late for an event with Drew Brees, I think.

 

[Calico]

I would love to know his rationale for going 90 mph.

"Rules for thee but not for me."

 

[Music Lover]

"Rules for thee but not for me."

Since the beginning of time.

 

[Calico]

Since the beginning of time.

Here's hoping he doesn't take out innocent bystanders next time.

 

[pb4uski]

If you read the article...

"Woods was driving 84 to 87 mph in an area that had a speed limit of 45 mph, Villanueva said...investigators believe Woods inadvertently stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal."

Stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal? Sounds like BS to me.

Why didn't the electronic stability control engage and apply braking when he was close to losing control? Shouldn't that have happened?

 

[easysurfer]

He's just lucky to be alive. Was traveling at 75mph when hit the tree.

 

[skyking1]

Stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal? Sounds like BS to me.

Why didn't the electronic stability control engage and apply braking when he was close to losing control? Shouldn't that have happened?

Those systems aren't miracle workers
My wife's new car automatic braking system makes no claims for avoiding collisions. Instead it says it will take action to minimize the impact. She triggered it once and it yelled at her before It put the brakes on.

 

[stephenson]

Not the best of marketing plans for a new car ...

 

[pb4uski]

I realize that ESC is not a miracle worker and I've had a situation where I was close to out of control that the system didn't engage when I thought it might, but I was on the road and the tires weren't squealing (much). I would think in an accident like Tiger had that it would have engaged at some point... and perhaps it did but too late.

I'll have to admit to wondering two things... 1. What the hell was he thinking gong so fast? and 2. Why is someone in his position and history driving himself rather than being driven?

 

[Koolau]

I don't understand him not getting cited.

I used to live in that area, 90 is fast for that road.

The report I saw (sorry - can't post it here) suggested he may have accidentally hit the gas (99% according to black box). I could see that since I have big feet and apparently, this was a "strange" car to Tiger.

I'm guessing the authorities don't go out of their way to cite folks who are in single car accidents - especially with no deaths and no collateral damage to other occupants (and also where the "victim" - though perhaps at fault - is the only casualty - and serious at that.) I have no official source on this. I've just noticed over the years that it seems to be true most of the time. YMMV

 

[Koolau]

Not the best of marketing plans for a new car ...

Hey, he survived a horrendous crash in that car - so there's that.

 

[Calico]

I realize that ESC is not a miracle worker and I've had a situation where I was close to out of control that the system didn't engage when I thought it might, but I was on the road and the tires weren't squealing (much). I would think in an accident like Tiger had that it would have engaged at some point... and perhaps it did but too late.

I'll have to admit to wondering two things... 1. What the hell was he thinking gong so fast? and 2. Why is someone in his position and history driving himself rather than being driven?

We can't be sure he was thinking at all.

He says he has no memory of driving the car, and from what I've read they did zero toxicology tests on him.

 

[jazz4cash]

Why didn't the electronic stability control engage and apply braking when he was close to losing control? Shouldn't that have happened?

I don’t think we know enough details. Maybe ESC did activate and prevented a rollover.

 

[Amethyst]

This happens often enough to Old people.

When I first read that Woods couldn't recall anything about the accident (flying through the air, flipping over, crushing his legs, etc.) I figured he was lying until he could talk to his lawyer. Now I am thinking he may have had a mini-stroke or seizure. His driving foot very well could have mashed the gas pedal, without his willing it to.

If you read the article...

"Woods was driving 84 to 87 mph in an area that had a speed limit of 45 mph, Villanueva said...investigators believe Woods inadvertently stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal."

 

[NW-Bound]

I'll have to admit to wondering two things... 1. What the hell was he thinking gong so fast? and 2. Why is someone in his position and history driving himself rather than being driven?

Many people simply like to drive fast, because they think it is fun. They want to push it to the limit, to feel the rush of adrenaline.

I am not saying it happened in this case, but there's a lot of dangerous or stupid things people do, just because... People are not as rational as they should be.

PS. I did the above, i.e. driving fast, in my 20s. I am a lot older and more mellow now.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I find it fairly credible that it was a brake/accelerator mistake. Fom the CNN article

He likely mistook the gas pedal for the brakes, as no braking was detected, Capt. James Powers said.
"There is zero braking on that data recorder," but "there is 99% acceleration on the pedal," Powers said.

Even if you were speeding, when you started to lose control you would have that "Oh, $#!t" moment and pin the brakes.