Top Euro Speed Cop Calls For Gumball Ban

drdre

Jus thought i would give you this information.What are your opinions.Should it be banned or not?

The President of TISPOL (the European Traffic Police Network co-funded by the European Commission), Chief Commissioner Eddy Greif, has called for pan-Europe rallies such as the Gumball to be banned.

"The roads of Europe are not a playground for the rich and reckless. These rallies pose a considerable danger to other road users who deserve our protection' said Chief Commissioner Greif. "We have to push further our effort: perform more checks, develop better strategies and equipment and lobby for more adequate sanctions. Or, even more sensible, just convince the proper authorities to ban these kind of events!'' he added.
In a message to TISPOL, Police Chief Ivo Kotevski said the Ministry of Interior in Macedonia "strongly supported' the TISPOL stance. It was a Macedonian couple that died after their VW Golf was struck by a Porsche 997 Turbo that was competing in the Gumball rally earlier this month.
Chief Commissioner Greif also used his address to the TISPOL conference to call for standardised laws on alcohol limits, speed limits and other regulations to be applied across Europe.
Drink drive levels vary widely across Europe, with some countries operating a zero tolerance level and others such as the UK and Ireland having a higher than average limit. Worryingly, CC Greif also highlighted the German autobahns in his drive for European standardisation.
"I do not believe that drinking alcohol and driving is less dangerous in the United Kingdom than in other parts of the European Union. And I am very sceptical that a driver has more chance to survive a high speed crash on a German motorway than on similar well built roads in other member states”.
"It would certainly help drivers to know that traffic regulations applied all over Europe are the same, it is the first condition they must comply with! They would not be able to hide behind ignorance anymore when caught by the police' said CC Greif.

WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS?

Owen

Blah. Every year someone calls for the Gumball to be banned. Long may it, and it's ilk, continue.

drdre

ned78 wrote:

Blah. Every year someone calls for the Gumball to be banned. Long may it, and it's ilk, continue.

Excellent.I would agree with you but i think the focus should be on educating the drivers to drive slow and enjoy the trip.

ned78

ned78 wrote:

Blah. Every year someone calls for the Gumball to be banned. Long may it, and it's ilk, continue.

I love the idea of it, but gumball 3000s over exposure has effectivly killed off the concept.

The cannonball run had virtually all their cars seized in Spain in 2004, the same year gumball 3000 had 2 serious accidents and had 5 supercars written off on morrocan roads.

Even at the start of this years gumball there were cars seized and people hauled off to prison. This was before two people were killed in an accident with a TechArt Porsche. Regardless of who was to blame, already it doesn't look good for the porsche driver, gumball has been held responsible.

If they don't suceed in banning it european police are going to make the race very difficult to run in future.

Impossible to meet checkpoint targets, fatigue, poor driving, all night partying, poor roads and supercars do not mix well. Deaths were enevitable.

drdre

ronoc wrote:

I love the idea of it, but gumball 3000s over exposure has effectivly killed off the concept.

The cannonball run had virtually all their cars seized in Spain in 2004, the same year gumball 3000 had 2 serious accidents and had 5 supercars written off on morrocan roads.

Even at the start of this years gumball there were cars seized and people hauled off to prison. This was before two people were killed in an accident with a TechArt Porsche. Regardless of who was to blame, already it doesn't look good for the porsche driver, gumball has been held responsible.

If they don't suceed in banning it european police are going to make the race very difficult to run in future.

Impossible to meet checkpoint targets, fatigue, poor driving, all night partying, poor roads and supercars do not mix well. Deaths were enevitable.

What cars where seized this year? Any links to that information and why the drivers were arrested.Was it becasue of speeding?

MercMad

If I were the relatives of those who died I would be looking for an explanation as to who let it happen in the first place !

The fact is that this guy is right, the rich and famous are using it as an excuse to show off and drive recklessley ! Look at the guy responsible for the deaths, he fled without any trace of remorse by the sounds of it !

Now I happen to be a fqan of European "tulip" rallies, and these could be banned also under a blanket ban, as the Gumball organisers claim it is not a speed event, we all know that the prize giving does not reflect this.

But why dont they just arrange to take in some track days across various racetracks, and then impose penalties for those who speed. They all have GPS after all

drdre

MercMad wrote:

If I were the relatives of those who died I would be looking for an explanation as to who let it happen in the first place !

The fact is that this guy is right, the rich and famous are using it as an excuse to show off and drive recklessley ! Look at the guy responsible for the deaths, he fled without any trace of remorse by the sounds of it !

Now I happen to be a fqan of European "tulip" rallies, and these could be banned also under a blanket ban, as the Gumball organisers claim it is not a speed event, we all know that the prize giving does not reflect this.

But why dont they just arrange to take in some track days across various racetracks, and then impose penalties for those who speed. They all have GPS after all

The guy that had the accident was given bail,he did try to do a runner but was succesful. He will be charged.

drdre

drdre wrote:

What cars where seized this year? Any links to that information and why the drivers were arrested.Was it becasue of speeding?

http://www.gumball3000blog.com/page/4/
There was loads more in germany but I can't find the article.

Theres loads of gumball 2007 stuff on Jalponik.com if you can find it also.

drdre

ronoc wrote:

http://www.gumball3000blog.com/page/4/
There was loads more in germany but I can't find the article.

Theres loads of gumball 2007 stuff on Jalponik.com if you can find it also.

Thanks but i have to admit theres some AMAZING cars.

Like the Gallardo with the Tiger plate on it

Owen

MercMad wrote:

The fact is that this guy is right, the rich and famous are using it as an excuse to show off and drive recklessley ! Look at the guy responsible for the deaths, he fled without any trace of remorse by the sounds of it !

Jackass did the Gumball in a car worth about 5 grand. Lots of people are entering now in old 840s, etc, with very limited budgets indeed.

drdre

ned78 wrote:

Jackass did the Gumball in a car worth about 5 grand. Lots of people are entering now in old 840s, etc, with very limited budgets indeed.

Yeah its not all about the flash cars, there are some old ones like the vw wagon

Max_Damage

I remember hearing one year someone entered it with a Ford Transit ice cream van!

Slutmonkey57b

What was inevitable was that it would be a wanker porsche driver who ended up killing someone.

Andrewf20

The focus of the original article is a little blurred. Dont stamp down on the Gumball, stamp down on the reckless driving. I wouldnt be suprised if most folks who take part are fairly well behaved.

drdre

Slutmonkey57b wrote:

What was inevitable was that it would be a wanker porsche driver who ended up killing someone.

As far as i know there was another few accidents

jackofalltrades

Dont stamp down on the Gumball, stamp down on the reckless driving.I wouldnt be suprised if most folks who take part are fairly well behaved.

Who are you trying to kid. If you drove at a safe/legal speed, took regular breaks and got a good nights sleep every night that you'd be left behind very quickly.

A crackdown on the Gumball is well over due. There's plenty of Rallies out there for people to compete in that don't seriously endanger the lives of everyday people.

drdre

Max_Damage wrote:

I remember hearing one year someone entered it with a Ford Transit ice cream van!

Yes there was an ice cream van and some really old cars.

Marcus.Aurelius

Ban it. If they want to show off, let them do it at their own personal risk, not everyone elses.

Seth Brundle

maoleary wrote:

Ban it. If they want to show off, let them do it at their own personal risk, not everyone elses.

Agreed - thats what tracks are for!