> One thing I'm not going to let them do is race karts which
> I've done for several years, but I am thinking of putting
> them in a 1/4 midget car this year.
Jan.
=---
>> > One thing I find when I put kids on my racing simulator - especially
>> > kids who have only played NFS-type games, is that they have no concept
>> > of having to slow down for a turn. They think you can just go full-
>> > throttle all the time. I doubt very many would take this attitude
>> > into real life driving, but some probably would.
>> > I let my 13 year old nephew and 11 year old son try the F430 mod at
>> > Monaco over the weekend. In both cases they actually did a pretty
>> > good job. But it was still difficult to get them to slow down enough
>> > to go through the turns properly.
>> > Pat Dotson
>> It's BS to think that kids-- no matter how stupid-- would actually think
>> that sim driving habits would transfer over to real driving success
>> (i.e.,
>> no accidents, etc.).
>> Sounds to me like someone is making some wild claims in order to get
>> people
>> to read something.
>> Alanb
> But on the reverse side in Winnipeg Man, there's apparently an rash of
> kids stealing cars to go hunting joggers (opening the passenger door
> to hit them as they drive by), one guys' in a coma. Dollars to
> donuts it's somethign they learned from a console game and wanted to
> try it for real.
The better explanation is that some goons thought of it themselves, while
others may have just replicated what they saw on the news, about whacking
joggers with a car door.
All this stuff about how games and other media influence bad acts is
complete BS. There are some bad actors who, no matter the influence, are
going to do bad things. Watching cartoons only makes someone more ***
if that person was *** to begin with, and the same goes with any other
kind of external influence.
Claiming otherwise only sell books and adverti***ts.
Alan
> Showing your age there Uwe. Now everybody knows you grew up before
> they invented the powered motorcar. ;-)
I think you should have a look at this:
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20030102648.html
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Mr. Sylvestre
touche ;-) It would seem that what this age needs is kids on bikes and
pushbikes, not on fuel-burning motorcycles, but I guess that's a matter
of taste and cultural background, too.
Oh yeah, and bare-footed, uphill, both ways, in the blizzard, at night.
Now get off my lawn!!! ;-)
Cheers, uwe
--
GPG Fingerprint: 2E 13 20 22 9A 3F 63 7F 67 6F E9 B1 A8 36 A4 61
>> One thing I'm not going to let them do is race karts which
>> I've done for several years, but I am thinking of putting
>> them in a 1/4 midget car this year.
> May I ask why? -a friend of mine's 11-year old daughter (who,
> incidentally, caught the racing bug at the wheel of a GPL F3 car on my PC)
> is now karting (MiniMax I think it's called) and, from watching a couple
> meetings, it seems pretty safe to me. Of course a closed car on an oval
> will be even safer, I suppose...
> Jan.
Ed
> May I ask why? -a friend of mine's 11-year old daughter (who, incidentally,
Ed mentioned a type of karts called "champ karts" that are raced in
some parts of the US. They have a roll cage and harnesses.
Unfortunately, they haven't caught on in my area. It's all open karts
around here.
Not that 1/4 midgets are perfect. I know of one local kid who broke a
leg in a 1/4 midget crash. But at least they are somewhat protected
in a midget. Plus the 1/4 midget tracks are generally very small
compared to kart ovals, so speeds are relatively low. Not to mention
I'd like to start messing around with suspension settings on those
cars :)
Pat Dotson
>> May I ask why? -a friend of mine's 11-year old daughter (who,
>> incidentally,
> First I'll say, in five years of racing karts I've never seen a kid
> get very seriously hurt. I believe it's fairly safe too. But, I have
> seen some kids in crashes who could have been severely injured. They
> were lucky. I've personally been in some pretty hairy situations
> including a flip at 70 mph - those incidents are usually due to
> incompetent ***s. I'm just not going to put my kids into that
> potential situation. If I put them in a motorized vehicle to compete
> it will be something with a harness and a roll cage.
> Ed mentioned a type of karts called "champ karts" that are raced in
> some parts of the US. They have a roll cage and harnesses.
> Unfortunately, they haven't caught on in my area. It's all open karts
> around here.
> Not that 1/4 midgets are perfect. I know of one local kid who broke a
> leg in a 1/4 midget crash. But at least they are somewhat protected
> in a midget. Plus the 1/4 midget tracks are generally very small
> compared to kart ovals, so speeds are relatively low. Not to mention
> I'd like to start messing around with suspension settings on those
> cars :)
> Pat Dotson
Ed
> The problem is the 150-200 mile
> minimum trip to go race midgets and 1/4s, and even further (Iowa has several
> good venues) for good competition and reputable sactioning bodies.
Unfortunately, road courses of any sort are few and far between here
in Indiana. The closest kart road course is world-class, though -
Mark Dismore's New Castle Motorsports Park. I've done a few laps
there in a TAG kart. Lots of fun! If I ever do any more karting it
will probably be at New Castle.
Pat Dotson
>> The problem is the 150-200 mile
>> minimum trip to go race midgets and 1/4s, and even further (Iowa has
>> several
>> good venues) for good competition and reputable sactioning bodies.
> I'm in a good area for oval racing. I have a kart dirt oval within a
> 20 minute drive, and a paved 1/4 midget club track about 15 minutes
> away. The local 1/4 midget club here has been around for 30 years,
> has a great facility, and even hosts national races. There are
> several other choices for kart ovals within about an hour drive.
> Unfortunately, road courses of any sort are few and far between here
> in Indiana. The closest kart road course is world-class, though -
> Mark Dismore's New Castle Motorsports Park. I've done a few laps
> there in a TAG kart. Lots of fun! If I ever do any more karting it
> will probably be at New Castle.
> Pat Dotson
Ed
I agree, because in real life I suddenly find myself driving on
people's roofs, down subway tunnels,
over boulders, up the stairs of office buildings and so fourth. Damn
Crazy Taxi and Unwheel really screwed
me up. %)
