Another entry for the Darwin Awards ?

Warrigal

Warrigal

SF VIP
Location
Sydney, Australia
Every accidental death is a cause for sorrow but somehow I can't quite empathise with this one.
Perhaps I'm forgetting how silly I could be when I was young but I never played silly buggers with road safety.

Man killed during 80km/h shopping trolley ride in Randwick

Date November 10, 2015

Shopping trolley death in Randwick

Police estimate that two men riding a shopping trolley down a steep hill in Sydney's east overnight reached speeds of up to 80km/h before they crashed into a vehicle, killing one of the men and critically injuring the other. One of the men was riding in the metal shopping trolley while the other was standing on the back of the trolley as they travelled down Coogee Bay Road in Randwick about 12.20am on Tuesday.

Chief Inspector Chris Stiles said the men, both aged 28 and originally from Sweden, were believed to have crossed to the incorrect side of the road near Coogee Bay Road's intersection with Judge Street.

They crashed at high speed into a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction. Both men were thrown from the trolley onto the road and suffered critical injuries.

"The estimate is that the men were travelling about 80km/h in the trolley, so they had certainly gathered some speed," Chief Inspector Stiles said.
The driver of the vehicle and a passing cyclist provided first aid to the injured men before police and paramedics arrived.

One of the men died at the scene, while paramedics treated the second man before taking him to Prince of Wales Hospital, where he remained on Tuesday morning.The 45-year-old male driver of the vehicle was not injured, and was taken to hospital for mandatory testing.

Chief Inspector Stiles said one of the Swedish men had been living and studying in Australia for the past two years, and his friend had arrived about a week ago to visit him. The men were believed to have been walking home early on Tuesday morning when they found the trolley by the side of the road and began riding it down Coogee Bay Road.

"It sounds like they might have had a bit of fun together, resulting in this terrible incident," he said.
Chief Inspector Stiles said it was not clear what the pair had been doing in the hours before deciding to ride the trolley down the steep road, and police would investigate whether alcohol was involved.

He said it was a terrible and traumatic situation for the two men and the driver of the vehicle, who had given a statement to police about what happened.

The trolley remained near the intersection on Tuesday morning, its front left side badly damaged from the impact.
Police are continuing to investigate the crash.
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Risky behaviour of this kind seems to be much more prevalent in young men than women or older men. Why is this so? Why are young men so careless of their safety and don't they realise that serious injury or death is possible, even likely, in situations like this? After all, 28 years old is hardly the brainless teenager phase.
 

People mature at different rates. It is not uncommon for twenty one year olds to exhibit the emotional immaturity of seventeen. Also, men often lag behind women in growing up. For some, twenty eight is still a transitional stage between

adolescence and maturity. As for risky behaviours, although males seem more prone than females to engage in dangerous stunts, factor in immaturity and a belief in their own immortality, the silly bugger behaviour is not that rare among either sex. Believe it or not, a percentage of the population does not fully embrace adulthood until pushing forty.
 
The Spousal Equivalent likes to tell the story about how he noticed one day that the side of his car was scratched. Of course, neither of his sons HAD.ANY.IDEA how it could have happened. A few weeks passed and he picked up his video camera one day and wondered what was on the tape. He played it back and found a video of his sons and a bunch of their friends playing some sort of game in the parking lot of a supermarket late at night. One would get into a shopping cart and someone in a car would hold onto it, the car would accelerate and then the person would let go of the cart, sending it flying across the lot and letting it smash into another cart. Which, of course, explained the scratches on the side of the car.

Heads rolled over that little stunt.

Teenage boys = brains made out of cheese. Videotape the misbehavior and then forget to take it out of the camera.
 

28? Give me a break.

Yeah, men-folk mature at different rates but c'mon - 28?!?

Definite nomination for the Darwin. :rolleyes:

P.S. - I'd bet that alcohol was involved.
 
Shalimar said:
People mature at different rates. It is not uncommon for twenty one year olds to exhibit the emotional immaturity of seventeen. Also, men often lag behind women in growing up. For some, twenty eight is still a transitional stage between

adolescence and maturity. As for risky behaviours, although males seem more prone than females to engage in dangerous stunts, factor in immaturity and a belief in their own immortality, the silly bugger behaviour is not that rare among either sex. Believe it or not, a percentage of the population does not fully embrace adulthood until pushing forty.
Click to expand...

I've encountered a number of people who are well past 60 and still acting like children.
 
SifuPhil said:
28? Give me a break.

Yeah, men-folk mature at different rates but c'mon - 28?!?

Definite nomination for the Darwin. :rolleyes:

P.S. - I'd bet that alcohol was involved.
Click to expand...

I'm sure alcohol would have been involved. They were returning home early in the morning which implies a night on the tiles.

At 28 both my husband and I were parents of two children, married with a mortgage and holding down serious jobs.
We did party pretty hard when we got the chance.
It was before the introduction of random breath tests and seatbelts and there were times when we could have been dangerous on the road but when we did drink and drive, we did it ever so cautiously. We must have been the recipients of some of that blind luck Shalimar was talking about.
 
Linda said:
I've encountered a number of people who are well past 60 and still acting like children.
Sure Mitchezz, out there somewhere, but not on THIS forum, right? :playful:
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Oh no, of course not! We are all very mature and never act like teenagers! :rolleyes:
 
I got married when I was 28 and instantly, with a loud WOOOSH, most of the bars, strip joints, liquor stores and restaurants went empty. Pot dealers around the state were begging for food and the local sports-car dealers switched to selling mini-vans.

... and that was just my FIRST year of married life ...
 
Shalimar said:
People mature at different rates. It is not uncommon for twenty one year olds to exhibit the emotional immaturity of seventeen. Also, men often lag behind women in growing up. For some, twenty eight is still a transitional stage between

adolescence and maturity. As for risky behaviours, although males seem more prone than females to engage in dangerous stunts, factor in immaturity and a belief in their own immortality, the silly bugger behaviour is not that rare among either sex. Believe it or not, a percentage of the population does not fully embrace adulthood until pushing forty.
Click to expand...

I barely made the 40 cut off date.

I never had a urge to fling myself out of of a airplane till I reached 36 but I felt I wanted to and I did.......I knew there was no reason to discuss it beforehand so it was without spousal approval or knowledge.

Mama thought I had gone to work as normal that day but I actually drove to Tulsa that morning and jumped......by the time she got home from work the deed was done and I was already back home.

I showed her my 'first jump certificate' and a couple of pictures and she was HOT but after a couple days she finally calmed down a little........I'm not sure how many types of 'idiot' there are but I was called every one of them. :)
 
I didn't start thinking with my big head until after age 50. If they ever came up with a cure for stupid, I'd have to be first in line.
 
If it weren't for people like those described (above) we'd have no successful military personnel.

If you're in the military, you HAVE to take chances when called upon to do so.
 

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