Geek and Gadgets Set Cross-US Speed Record

Brikus writes "And you thought your car had gadgets. In this story from Wired magazine, we hear about Alex Roy and his quest to break the record time for a cross-USA road trip. One of the biggest roadblocks to breaking the record: highway patrol officers, about 31,000 along the way. So Roy decked out his E39 BMW M5 with a thermal camera, radar/laser detectors, GPS devices, police scanners, and other high-tech gadgets and toys."

Re:Team Polizei

[Divebus]

Stealth at its best.

How to remain inconspicuous...

[Anonymous Coward]

...deck out your car in sponsor logos. I imagine every cop who sees this thing will follow them for quite some time.

Red shift

[donscarletti]

The article forgot to mention that he needed to install blue tail lights so they appeared red to those behind him after Doppler shift.

It's 106 miles to Chicago...

[weak*]

...we've got a full tank of octane, a half-charged PDA, it's dark(wolf the dragonmaster) and we're wearing pocket protectors.

Commence acceleration.

An obvious point...

[Merovign]

Roy took extraordinary measures to avoid law enforcement.

Except for the part where he stickered up his car like a boy-racer with OCD, making him STAND OUT to people looking for things that stand out - like police.

I mean, even not counting the reckless endangerment charge he'll hopefully be facing in at least a dozen states following his loverly confession.

Or not, who knows the vagaries of local law enforcement. It sounds like at least one officer picked him up on radar and pursued him, so the confession will be accompanied by at least one officer's sworn testimony.

Don't get me wrong, I love fast cars and fast driving - but not in traffic. That's just stupid.

Re:This doesn't make sense

[mrjb]

32h07m divided by 31,000 highway cops means driving past one patrol officer on average every 3.7 seconds. How can the gadgets help under such circumstances? Go-go gadget donut-thrower!

Re:How to remain inconspicuous...

[Opportunist]

Hey! Good idea, great way to get a free escort for a trip when you're not sure whether your old crate will make it once across Nevada.

Re:Irresponsible

[Opportunist]

Could work well for parking violations too! Remember?

You have 10 minutes to move your car.

Your car has been impounded.

Your car has been crushed into a cube.

You have 10 minutes to move your cube.

Re:Team Polizei

[somersault]

You can drive fine without legs. Anyone who wants to shoot another human being in the kneecaps should be shot in the kneecaps so that they can see what a prick they are o_0

Re:What a bastard.

[dave420]

I just brained 3 nuns with a notebook that's running Ubuntu. Lowest power usage I've seen in a nun-beater yet.

Re:It's 106 miles to Chicago...

[Opportunist]

Commence acceleration.

Hand in your geek license. That's "engage".

Re:How to remain inconspicuous...

[Big Nothing]

"Geek and Gadgets Set Cross-US Speed Record"

Is this guy really a geek? Sure, he likes Star Trek and gadgets, but is that really the definition of a geek? I think not. This guy has lots of money, drives fast, cool cars and did at some point have a girlfriend. That's no geek.

Re:Irresponsible

[Anonymous Coward]

What speed limits?

Greetings from Germany :o)

Re:How about non-traffic violations?

[sYkSh0n3]

And in other news Jack Thompson has filed suit against Microsoft Game Studios, creator of Forza Motorsport, and Eurasia Investments, the production company behind Cannonball Run. Mr. Thompson was quoted as saying "These driving games can not be allowed to reach our children. And movies about breaking the law and driving fast are endangering the lives of our loved ones. We can not let this continue. Ole Roy can claim he was inspired by Rendez-vous, but we all know no one ever learns anything from those frogs, except maybe how to surrender."

French Prime Minister François Fillon is quoted as saying "Mr. Thompson also says you can train to shoot from the game "Doom". You don't even aim up and down. Vous n'avez pas viser haut et le bas!"

Re:How about non-traffic violations?

[spun]

I've just lost respect for Will Wright. Thanks.