Sign of the times

[Scott H.]

I knew times were getting rough for some people, but I just realized how STUPID people are getting!

I was woke up at around midnight by a sound of a car speeding by the house and sliding around the corner I live on, followed by some loud pops and a horn blaring. I walked outside and started taking a look around to see what was going on. What I found was a car down in the court of the TINY subdivision I live in that looked like it was ON FIRE!!!

911 got a call immediately and I am totally appreciative that the Fire Department was on their toes and in less than 10 minutes they were on the scene, putting the car out!

I went down to make sure that it wasn't a wreck and no one was trapped in there, only to find it was totally engulfed in flames. At that point I stuck around to make sure no one was going to try and put it out themselves and getting hurt or even worse. Waking up dead in the morning would NOT be a good thing!!!

Once the fire dept. and the cops got there they both said it looks like it was ANOTHER drop & burn since it was a 2007 SUV, the key wasn't broken out, the rims were still on it, and the stereo system wasn't removed. They also said that they had been getting quite a few of these lately.

Now I'm SEVERELY upset and can't get back to sleep! Where they dropped it off to torch it there was a house less than 100 feet away, 2 houses less than 200 feet away on both sides of the road that have SMALL CHILDREN living in them, and less than 400 feet away there is a house with a couple that are BOTH over 60 AND one of their parents is living with them too! If the gas tank had blown up and caught the houses on fire, there is a good chance that those people would have been seriously hurt!!!

I'm also upset that because it seems that some people have decided to go out and purchase things they COULDN'T AFFORD the first place and MY insurance is going up because they are torching the cars they bought and now can't pay for!!!

Sorry for the rant, but it's just amazing to me how people can be SO STUPID and CARELESS of other people's property and lives!!!

-Scott H.

Edited December 14, 2008 by Scott H. AKA Cpt. Bondo

[Tony T]

Thank God that no one was hurt! You stepping up may have helped prevent a disaster.

There just isn't enough a deterrent for people these days.

I hope you can settle down and get some sleep, Scott!! I'm up late as I got home from work a little while ago.

Cheers!

[Abell82]

Ya know:

I watched a story in the news a few days ago, and a lady in a BMW SUV was getting food from a food pantry. The *^%$ actually had the gall to talk to the news crew, and she said that she had as much right as anyone to get free food. As times are hard on everyone. Seems to me if someone is driving around in a BMW SUV, THEY really don't have a money issue. THEY could trade it off for a Ford or Chevy, and have money to feed themselves for several months!! And if they can't or won't, then who's fault is that? Now that is something to be pi$$ed off about. To think that the charity and good will, that so many people donate, in these times of need goes to greedy ^@#$%& like that.... Well it's enough to make me want to set someones SUV on fire! (And it's NOT my own, as I don't own an SUV.)

[Eshaver]

Scott, this isn't as new as you may think it is . Years ago when I was working in Phoenix Arizona, I saw this stuff going on fairly regularly.Kids would regularly dispose of a car by driving out to the edge of the city and just setting fire to it . Meanwhile in Houston, seems that cars were driven out to the Bayou and disposed of . Yeah, it's a pain in the ass least for me as I was the one that had to haul the mess to an Impound lot and babysit it for thirty days too. Yep, life of a wrecker driver .................. Ed Shaver

[Scott H.]

Ya know:

I watched a story in the news a few days ago, and a lady in a BMW SUV was getting food from a food pantry.

Oh I can understand, TRUST ME!!!

Back when I was helping a friend with his A/C business, I had to drive into a Welfair housing complex. I honestly thought I had gone into the wrong place when I saw the 3 BRAND NEW Cadillacs in there with PAPER dealer tags, several Lincolns, and 2 totally tricked out show cars. 1 of them had the Chameleon Flip-Flop paint that had JUST hit the market and was totally chromed out. The other had a bowling ball paint job and EVERY piece that could be 24 carat GOLD plated was!!!

Both of the cars had about as much stereo equipment in them to stock a small shop! Seriously, I had to go over to them to get the music turned down so we could hear if the A/C unit that we were working on was making any funny noises.

Here I am working 2 jobs at the time (my 9-5 normal job and then helping my friend when I was off work) to make ends meet and people are sitting on their butts collecting a check from MY taxes and driving nicer cars than I am!

The lady that we had to go to her house because her A/C was not working right had a Diamond Ring on her finger with a rock bigger than my CIGARETTE butt, and was constantly trying to rush us because she had to get to her CATERED party that she was throwing for her daughter's 9th birthday!!!

Oh, the problem with the A/C??? She was either too lazy or felt that it was beneath her to change the filter...

Well, I think I can FINALLY get some sleep now so I'm going to try to catch an hour or two.

-Scott H.

Edited December 14, 2008 by Scott H. AKA Cpt. Bondo

[Scott H.]

Scott, this isn't as new as you may think it is . Years ago when I was working in Phoenix Arizona, I saw this stuff going on fairly regularly.Kids would regularly dispose of a car by driving out to the edge of the city and just setting fire to it . Meanwhile in Houston, seems that cars were driven out to the Bayou and disposed of . Yeah, it's a pain in the ass least for me as I was the one that had to haul the mess to an Impound lot and babysit it for thirty days too. Yep, life of a wrecker driver .................. Ed Shaver

Oh I know it happens, but what got me so fired up was that the people did it THAT CLOSE to a house! I have seen / heard of people doing stuff like that in unpopulated areas, but that was just plain stupidity!

Well, I'm going to try and get some sleep before I get riled up again...

-Scott H.

[FloridaBoy]

Some people are doing something about it. In my former neighborhood, the development was bordered by a 4 lane feeder street which was built by imbeciles, because they started at points 3 miles apart, and missed meeting straight on and came up with a little jog, which I named "Dead Man's Curve", and for awhile at least once per month, drunk drivers would smash in to medians, trees, each other, have drag races and bail at the curve, with the drainage lake fences, and homes, mine included to the tune of $50,000 damage in 1998. When I named it "Dead Man's Curve" on a TV interview, I had already lost 3 people trying to save their drunk lives. I got a call from Palm Beach County telling me to shut up, which I didn't. We finally elected out the idiots, (two included the ones who counted the Presidential ballots in the 2000 election) and finally got a guard rail, but drunk drivers, being what they are - stupid, inconsiderate and insensitive - continued to crash into the guard rail and jump it on occasion. Every house has been hit along this section of road.

Finally, a group of homeowners, formed a protective group, or should I say vigilante group, within 3 developments. I could not include myself, although I wanted to, because I worked for the government. If a drunk driver smashed into our neighborhood, and tried to get away, he was physically subdued until the weak police arrived, and no one knew any better.

These days lawyers, perpetrators, teen gang members are running the show from a law enforcement perspective. And we always say to call the police, and they come and do nothing, and even if they catch someone, they do nothing, and he is out free laughing at them and gunning for us. When are we going to learn.

I remember the recession of 1972 when citizens had enough, maybe this one will restore the Yankee American Spirit again.

Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

[LVZ2881]

I work for an auto insurance company, and see cars torched by people that cant afford them every day!!

problem is, we have to be able to prove in court that they did it on purpose, and that only happens 1 in 10 times.

[Danno]

so the idea of setting it all on fire and hoping the insurance covers it seems like a pretty good idea.

I'm sure you didn't mean that, Dave. Because regardless of what motivates someone to do that, it's still Arson (a Felony), Insurance Fraud (another Felony), Defrauding a Secured Creditor (still another Felony), and False Reporting (usually a Misdemeanor). It contributes a large percentage to the approximately $350-400 per year EACH insurance consumer (that's YOU and me) has to pay in premiums just to cover the costs of insurance fraud. It contributes to the expense to taxpayers who pay the costs of law enforcement and fire service personnel and equipment. And, as Capt. Bondo said in his initial post, it sometimes endangers innocent people, if not the firefighters who respond.

And it's not such a bright idea. More than 85% of the cars that are dumped and burned are insured for theft. (Are common car thieves really THAT good at picking out only insured cars?) Most vehicles with comprehensive (theft, fire) insurance are new enough to be financed. Most new vehicles have serious factory-installed anti-theft systems, transponder immobilizer systems. Many owners go further and install aftermaket immobilizer systems or tracking systems (LoJack!). Auto theft investigators can determine if a vehicle has been legitimately stolen or not, and even burning the vehicle usually does not destroy much of the critical evidence.

Even if police can't develop enough evidence to file criminal charges, the insurance company can often find enough evidence to deny the claim. If the claim is denied (for owner-involved arson, fraud, or misrepresentation), the owner's insurance can be cancelled, too. Just try to get insurance again after you've had a claim denied for arson or fraud and your policy cancelled for fraud. And, if the primary claim is denied, GAP insurance does not have to pay. But the bank's not going to forget about the loan just because the vehicle's been destroyed.

So, the clever person is stuck with a burned-out hulk (many insurers deliver them back to the "owner") that he still has to make payments on (unless the bank calls the loan since the collateral has been destroyed, then it'll be one BIG payment NOW), and the prospect of not having insurance or being able to get insurance, even if he's not prosecuted by the police.

Those who decide it's a pretty good idea to get out from under their self-imposed financial stresses by dumping and burning their vehicles often prove themselves to be dumb and dumber.

[Joe Handley]

Oh I know it happens, but what got me so fired up was that the people did it THAT CLOSE to a house! I have seen / heard of people doing stuff like that in unpopulated areas, but that was just plain stupidity!

Well, I'm going to try and get some sleep before I get riled up again...

-Scott H.

Don't mean to rile you back up Scott, but it's probably a "not my neighborhood, so it's not my problem" deal.

[Scott H.]

Don't mean to rile you back up Scott, but it's probably a "not my neighborhood, so it's not my problem" deal.

I'm over being mad about it, and seriously doubt I get upset over it again (unless it happens again that is!).

I agree with your statement. It seems more and more that people just don't have consideration of others anymore!

I'm just glad that I have such a good bunch of people on here that I can talk to, sit back and read the things going on in the model world, and look at some of the best builds I have seen while I'm relaxing.

-Scott H.

Edited December 15, 2008 by Scott H. AKA Cpt. Bondo