Replying to you after I said I wouldn’t earlier in the week because I was too busy with other things to do isn’t a breach of the rules, though.
What’s this ‘junior moderator’ thing you keep going on about?
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Axa, I value your judgement on this forum a lot more than “But cyclists go through red lights…” brigade:
This thread is about measures to curtail speeding, namely speed cameras (although one could argue that in some places where safety isn’t such an issue, they are more like revenue generators).
In your opinion, in the post today, do you think it was more likely that the young male BMW driver was speeding and lost control on the corner, or do you think it was more likely (at his tender age), a stroke, or a heart attack, or a slippery road.
Things to consider before making your judgement:
- The Police report did not mention oil on the road.
- Normally, when a medical emergency is suspected, it is mentioned in the Police report.
- The driver’s licence was immediately confiscated.
Let’s play the guessing game, but it’s only speculation.
First thing, usually 26 YO guys cannot afford a 100+k car. And if they can afford a 100+k car, it’s not a family wagon FFS! So, it’s probably the car from the parents. That fits the narrative of inexperienced and careless young driver with 510 HP car.
Then, meteorological conditions. We’re arund 10°C now, and early hours of morning temp may have been lower. A bit of rain for wet asphalt. And there’s more, look at the wheels. Those are probably the summer ones. I am idiot who buys M wheels for winter, but very few people achieve that level of idiocy. Summarizing, a night below 10°C, summer tires, wet asphalt, 510 HP, you don’t attempt funny driving in these conditions. So, lack of experience.
Final speculation, the car has very localized damage. This was not a high speed crash with multiple impacts with bollards, houses, trees, barriers. If I had to bet a 24 pack of beers…that was junior trying to do a burnout. Hey, the front-left wheel hit cement/concrete (white stain) and it doesn’t look broken. This must have been a comically low speed crash while trying to do a full throttle 0 to 50 in a village street. Probably a 50 kmh zone. I wouldn’t do this because the noise would put the police on my tail faster than the 0 to 50.
How does this relate to speed cameras?. I think speed cameras work with drivers that have a base level of awareness of consequences. This guy was probably doing a burnout in the middle of the village in the early hours of the morning. If wet asphalt, cold tires and waking up the village did not deter him, how can a camera be a real incentive? This guy was not someone that can be nudged by incentives. Maybe after crashing the parent’s car and having the permit withheld for some months he will be nudged by incentives.
Even if I search for the location of cameras in cantonal websites, burnouts in the village are a whole other level. There’s a place for that on the other side of the Gotthard tunnel and people will cheer you 
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Thanks for that. I forgot about ‘burnouts’.
Not sure about the ‘localized’ damage though - the car was a write-off.
I guess that was a journalist stepping into fiction writing. It was not a roll over ,or the car split in two, missing 3 wheels, fire or something like that. There’s impact on the driver’s door but the windshield is not cracked, thus monocoque is not deformed.
Come on. This is Switzerland. Do you believe an insurance person made a damage assessment before sunrise? I’d expect the car being sent to garage, mechanic makes a list of pieces + working hours and then insurance decides about the write-off.
It was a Police report.
Here’s the relevant bit, translated:
The 26-year-old man was uninjured. The practically new car was a total write-off. The damage to the building and the fence is also significant
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Doesn’t take a whole lotta speed for frame damage…slamming it (even slowly) sideways into something immovable could easily total it, and the monocoque stays intact to a foot behind the door pillar, and the frame is bent. Windscreen stays unbroken. If this were high-speed, the screen would have been in bits.
Anyway, do speed cameras prevent events like this?
Not if it was what you described but the new laws bought in a few years ago may act as a deterrent - namely that your car insurance company can claim back any payouts from you personally after such an ‘accident’.
In this case, the car, the fence and the significant building damage is going to make a dent in his wallet.
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Below is where the accident happened (check the buildings in the background). The car came from the right so must have run into the raised sidewalk first, then (after 180° rotation) the low concrete wall with the fence, rotated another 90° to hit and get stopped by the cardealer building on the left. Note that part of the fencewall got removed, probably by the driverside chassis. So, bent front axle and distorted chassis?
My guess would be that he accelerated coming out of the curve, but overdid it and turned the car into a spinning wheel. At least he doesn’t have far to the next car shop.
Insurances offer non-clawback option (for a fee of course). Perhaps not all, but it seems common.
In this one you can see the skid marks:
Ah yes, makes sense. I was more interested in the damage to the building though and overlooked them.
Really fascinating stuff. You should do a reality TV show. “Traffic Detectives”.
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Here’s the wall:
Is that crease in the car door caused by the metal fence post?
Could there be major damage to the rear of the car from hitting the building - which we cannot see?
Going too fast around corner, lost control, over-compensated, spun and hit wall and then building?
(and not a burnout?)
That corner in Villmergen is quite the place for accidents with high-powered Germans cars.
Here’s a Mercedes on the same corner in 2022.
What’s “burnouts”? Illegal car racing?
It looks like the 2ndlast pole got torn out. Perhaps the driver door hit the secondlast pole, and the rear wheels (or so) took out the corner block, stopping the rotation but the car kept its momentum (“your” skid marks are straight). There’s what looks like a heap of dust from the ledge next to the car, so yes, probably damage to the rear of the car as well.
Letting the wheels spin with excess power and no traction.
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Thanks, I didn’t know it’s called “burnouts”. Btw apparently there are illegal car races or whatever they call them here so I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them end up very badly…