What do you get when you have the world’s greatest driver in a car with the world’s greatest mixologist?
A pretty funny public service video, that is.
As part of a PSA by Bacardi Limited on the perils of drinking and driving, Seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher took Salvatore “The Maestro” Calabrese, widely regarded as the world’s premier bartender, out for a ride on the track in a Maserati to see how Calabrese’s skills as an elite mixer holds up while Schumi loosens the reins on the Maserati.
Of course, the video comes with a few chuckles and curse words from Calabrese but in the end – and despite having his drinks splattered all over his shirt - he somehow manages to whip something up for Formula One’s own ‘Maestro’.
While the video is indeed good for a few laughs, it nevertheless shouldn’t take away from the purpose of the whole PSA – the perils of drinking and driving, and how all of us should avoid it any cost.
American law enforcement takes their speeding regulations quite seriously. After all, these people don’t want American citizens to become just another statistic in the growing number of deadly roadside accidents happening all over the US.
As such, some towns have gone to great lengths to ensure their speed limits are carefully enforced and those wishing to violate them should know the
steep price they’re likely to pay.
The Elm Grove Police Department in Milwaukee, Wisconsin has thought of a new way to remind drivers regarding the perils of haphazard driving. Going against the trend of laying out the punishments for would-be speeders, this department has come up with an ingenious way to keep drivers from pushing the throttle, and what better way is there than to remind them just how much money they’ll spend in hospital bills when they tow the line of the speed limit.
Despite having already garnered a string of publicity for what seems like months now - including a stint as Bumblebee in the summer blockbuster Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro was the subject of some unexpected bad news when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – or NHSTA – gave the Camaro a lower-than-expected four out of five stars rating for its front impact test.
While the Camaro did score a perfect five stars on its side impact test, the four-star rating comes as a bit of a blow for the American sports car, especially when you consider that its two main rivals, the Ford Mustang and the Dodge Challenger, scored five out of five on their tests.
To the uninitiated, this rating system seems to be just a case of one brand having more stars than the other, but to those who care deeply about car safety, it’s a pretty significant discrepancy. According to the NHTSA, a car receives the full five stars means if it has a 10-percent or less chance of serious injury in the event an accident occurs, whereas a four-star rating means that there’s an 11- to 20-percent chance of serious injury in the same situation.
Mercedes Benz has been known for its revolutionary standards of safety. After all, as one of the most luxurious and widely-respected car brands in the world, it has a reputation to protect.
That’s why the German-based automakers have introduced a new safety features on their 2010 E-class luxury-sedan. Called the Attention Assist, this new safety technology is intended to keep tired and weary drivers from dozing off into lala land.
The Attention Assist is capable of detecting abrupt steering corrections – a classic case of drowsy driving – done on the car and responds by emitting a low-frequency beep to alert the driver of his recklessness. If the beep isn’t enough to get the driver’s attention, an espresso cup – don’t ask us why – lights up on the dashboard reminding the driver to get his wits about himself if he wants to get home in one piece.
We’re all proponents for safe driving and understand the ramifications of falling asleep while behind the wheel of a car – it accounts for over 100,000 crashes, 71,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths every year in the US. Hopefully, Mercedes Benz’s new Attention Assist safety feature can cut down on those staggering numbers.
It has been a while since Top Speed has reported anything about the KTM X-Bow, open air sports car with room for two. Unfortunately, the X-Bow that we are talking about today met its match when the driver took a curve too fast, dropping one wheel onto the grass and then subsequently lost control. The X-Bow went end over end three times before coming to rest with the shiny side up, albeit a little dirty.
The KTM X-Bow has a niche carved out for itself amongst speed junkies and lightweight performance driving enthusiasts. Similar to other minimalist sports cars like the Caterham and Ariel Atom, the X-Bow gets its appeal by being a stripped down racer offering an extremely favorable power to weight ratio and a wind in your face, formula type experience.
Now, modern passenger cars are loaded with safety features that rob gas mileage and ruin a vehicle’s nimble nature all in the name of saving lives. So when we look at lightweight roadsters like the KTM X-Bow, we have to wonder just how safe these fun to drive vehicles really are. Thankfully, the pilot who shot his X-Bow off the beaten path and then conducted some aerial acrobatics was able to walk away from the incident, although we can’t say the same about the car.
Airbags are supposed to protect us from accidents, right?
Tell that to one Dr. Ken Thompson.
In a somewhat reversal of fortune, the good doctor ended up injuring his thumb when the airbags of his 2006 BMW 325xi deployed after a minor fender bender with another car.
While the airbags did their job in shielding his body from the minor scrape, his right thumb wasn’t so fortunate.
“I had what they call a partial amputation," Thompson said. “My right thumb is just basically hanging and that was the only injury I sustained.”
New York City officials recently mandated that all taxi cabs must average 25 mpg by 2012. The plan was to lessen the environmental impact of New York City’s 13,000 taxis, as well as 40,000 other for-hire vehicles, but the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission apparently forgot to concern itself with passenger safety.
The fight is over the bulletproof plastic partition, which is mandated by law in NYC and separates the drivers from their fares. The problem with it is the possible effect on airbags and other passive and active safety devices to rear seat passengers. Toyota and Honda have issued outright warnings against using their hybrid vehicles as commercial cabs. While Ford, General Motors and Nissan have refused to certify the crash worthiness of their hybrid taxis, modified with mandatory partitions. It seems that the partitions could somehow block or deflect side airbags, rear airbags and side curtain airbags. There is also the chance of injury from someone being thrown into the partition itself, their seat belt being used or not (and I don’t know anyone that wears a seatbelt in NYC taxis, do they even have them?).
The trouble doesn’t end there though. Automakers are also warning that hybrids were never designed for “heavy commercial use.” Who knows if the hybrids of today can handle the deft driving skills of a NYC taxi driver, as well as the not so great maintenance schedule the cars are on.
The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission has yet to respond to the safety and longevity concerns, but does list several hybrid vehicles on its approved vehicle list for taxi use.<
Volvo knows that are too many distractions when driving. So, after declaring war on auto accidents, the safety-conscious Swedish carmaker is showing off some low speed technology. Watch as your next car may keep you from spilling your latte because you plowed into the back of another car while text messaging.
Russia is working a new symbol so that other drivers can tell when a novice driver is behind the wheel. The sign will be required to be put in windows with drivers who have had less than two yeas driving experience. In the U.S. we have a less uniform, but still effective code to identify novice drivers. Just look for the three-foot high rear spoiler attached to a stock Honda Civic.
Like a McDonald’s cup of coffee, General Motors may have a problem with making its fluid too hot. GM is now recalling 857,735 vehicles because the heated windshield washer fluid system. A short-circuit in the system may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor or cause smoke, increasing the risk of a fire, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its website.
The recall involves the 2007-2008 model year Chevrolet Silverado, Tahoe, Avalanche and Suburban, Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT, GMC Acadia, Sierra, Yukon, Yukon XL and Saturn Outlook; 2006-2008 Hummer H2, Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucerne; and the 2008 Buick Enclave. The fix will be an in-line fuse that will prevent the short circuiting.<
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