A team exploited the coronavirus pandemic to set a new cannonball record | Hacker News Reader

A team exploited the coronavirus pandemic to set a new cannonball record

roadandtrack.com

32 pointsajay-d32 comments

This pandemic is quickly turning into an irrational war on enjoyment.

Criticisms should focus on relative risk compared to other activities.

I see similar judgements about other activities that can be done with little to no risk like hiking and fishing.

Times are hard, but that doesn’t mean that everyone has to be miserable.

I know it is like some people don't realize epidemiological-ly what is important is staying away from other people. Hiking in remote area where there are no other people is not a problem. Driving for 26 something hours, and likely not interacting with anyone is not a problem.

Your essential grocery store trip is a much risk of getting you ill or spreading illness...

However, doesn't cannoning balling involve speeding? I think that's what people should be more worried about. It's not like the roads are a 100% empty.

Let’s say the person was asymptomatic but spreading. How many gas stations did they visit? How many potential exposures?

Probably 1 gas station for the return trip. They had expanded gas tanks to last the whole trip.

Assuming they were infected and shedding but practiced reasonable safety precautions when they stopped, it is easy to have no potential exposures.

Potential exposure is essentially 0 if you correctly wear gloves, a mask, and keep a reasonable distance

I'm not sure it is that irrational. If you haven't been out of your apartment for three weeks then seeing something like this go on is going to make you feel others aren't taking it seriously enough.

Whether they are technically correct or not doesn't really matter.

Isn’t that the definition of irrational? Understandable perhaps, but still not logical

> I see similar judgements about other activities that can be done with little to no risk like hiking and fishing.

Just don't try to use your boat to fish in Michigan:

https://www.toledoblade.com/sports/outdoors/2020/04/13/outdo...

> "If you hit a truck moving medical supplies and people die because of it, that's on you," he said. "People are counting on those trucks moving around right now. It's not funny."

This can’t be a serious argument, there is always something more important happening than whatever record someone is breaking or whatever fun they are having.

It's actually the only argument with merit. The only risk you present to people when you are isolated in your vehicle driving is the risk of harming essential workers via accidents, the low chance of getting someone sick at a gas station, or getting into an accident yourself and needing medical assistance.

How about the gas delivery driver? They need to drive more to support your demand.

How about the food delivery drivers for super markets? They need to drive more than if we all ate rice and beans for every meal. How about the amazon delivery drivers?

I like the debate about whether it’s irresponsible due to covid-19 or not when this latest run had an 106 mph average speed.

Right, if you're going to do it at all, it's safer to do it with less traffic, as long as you drive within your visibility. Which of course, is NOT the same as saying it's safe, just "less dangerous"

What a weird thing to take issue with. "Getting out" isn't a problem if you stay in a car the whole time. You're still socially-distanced. Of all the "runs", this one probably presents the least danger to society.

Arguably people shouldn't be doing dangerous stuff because if they get into an accident, they might end up occupying hospital resources (ICU and/or staff) that could be used to treat someone suffering from the pandemic instead.

Every activity you take outside the house generates waste, wear, demand, consumes energy, and puts more people at risk. This risk is deemed ok for life preserving activities like essential work, getting food, and exercise. Cannonball runs do not count.

but that is all true with or without coronavirus

The societal issue with the epidemic appears to be the capacity of the healthcare system, so being "responsible" means, to many people, taking no "unnecessary" risks. Quotes to indicate that people can define these terms in different ways. But some things kind of stand out as egregious.

And even if you just break down and have to call for assistance, you're requiring other people to take risk as a result of your non-essential activities, which can be viewed as antisocial right now.

My understanding is that aside from ventilators and ICUs In a few specific locations, Hospitals have record low utilization right now and are even furloughing workers

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/49-hospitals-f...

I don't understand your point.

Your link says people who work on elective procedures, which are largely being prohibited, are being furloughed. Common sense says this wouldn't happen if they were interchangeable with people dealing with COVID-19 or non-elective procedures in general.

Quote: "You can't take a pharmacist and put them in radiology. And you can’t take a radiologist and put them in pharmacy"

But if they were furloughed just because the people in authority are complete idiots or engaging in some sort of vast conspiracy or dysfunction, it would still be the case that they're not available to treat auto accident victims.

Either way, there are limited resources as a consequence of the crisis, and it's antisocial to not take reasonable efforts to avoid burdening them right now.

My point was that outside of perhaps NY, hospitals are not overburdened and still able to treat auto accidents.

I am not claiming conspiracy or dysfunction.

I don't think it is any more "antisocial" to do a cannonball run today than it was this time last year.

> generates waste, wear, demand, consumes energy, and puts more people at risk

I... really don't see your reasoning. What essential resources are being wasted and worn down? The driver's expensive car? The gasoline that hasn't been this cheap and abundant in more than a decade? He didn't set an eating-contest record.

Most actions we take outside the house require others to also take actions. Drive car w cheap gas, the delivery man and gas station attendant had to be in public rather than shelter in place. This extends the pandemic.

There were four of them in the car, that isn't social distancing. No doubt they had to stop for fuel and food, that's more social contact. Then there is the risk of ending up in already stretched medical facilities. Or even just breaking down and needing recovery.

Unfortunately, it'll cost you a $500 fine to sit in your car and listen to your church service on the FM radio in Greenville, Mississippi:

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/baptist-church-membe...

Not sure how familiar everyone here is with cannonball runs, but from more than 50% of comments so far being in favor of the driver I get the sense that some commenters may not be. I didn't see speed numbers for this run, but the first previous run that came up in my Google search had a top speed of 193 miles an hour.

Personally I think this cannonball run was a very bad decision and posed increased danger to the drivers and to everyone on the road around them, including the noted issue of possibly hitting a truck carrying medical supplies. I take no issue with them going for a drive, but going for a potentially-near-200mph drive is a very, very different thing.

Exactly. That driver should have stopped at every state line and self-quarantined for the mandatory 14 days.

Any reporting about this should focus on dangers and law-breaking, while completely obscuring times and names of the involved. I realize that this is a website that's likely pro-cannonball that's reporting on this, but my question is: is it legal to do this, or could you potentially be held accountable for this in the US?

Using public roads as a racetrack (going above the speed limit) is illegal.

Websites and hobby-enthusiast sites exist and report on illegal activity all the time. There is a magazine called "High Times" that is sold at Barnes and Noble, and has been since well before states started legalizing it. 2600 submits stories about people pentesting nuclear missle silos.

I'm fine with the publication existing, my question was more related to HOW they report: It is unecessary to state the current records, or the names of the people who achieved this questionable "fame". Doing so will only instigate copy-cats ("oh, so that's the current number to beat, I've got this!"). This seems unprofessional, so I'm wondering if there are rules against such a thing.

The early Cannonballs were run when the interstate speed limit was 55; so, quite a speed differential passing. With a 75 limit in most western states and lots of drivers fudging 5-10 over, the speed differential has come down considerably.

While there seems to be a "we should all don sackcloth and ashes" mentality among many, we may as well do what we enjoy so long as we maintain physical separation.

No one is suggesting sackcloth. We are suggesting movies, weed, and sitting at home for a little while. Stop being so fucking dramatic.

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