Big Scandal In F1. Renault´s Fake Accident

I have never seen a bigger scandal in auto racing than the one caused by the Renault team last year in Singapore. Piquet was the driver of the Renault car, and he crashed his vehicle on purpose against a wall at the Singapore circuit last year. He did all of this under orders given by the team director Flavio Briatore who was expelled by the team´s owner last week when the scandal appeared. The crash benefited Fernando Alonzo (Piquet´s teammate) who was already in pits when the accident happened, and when the safety car came out all car went to pits and Fernando Alonzo came out first to win the race. This is no way to win a race, and this is not good sportsmanship. There will always be the doubt if Fernando Alonzo new about Briatore´s orders, I hope not because he is a good driver. Piquet was offered immunity by the Fia because he exposed the scandal; But he shouldn't have accepted those orders in the first place, and he only revealed the scandal when he was expelled from the Renault team.

It looks like the Renault team was under a lot of pressure to earn money, and perhaps by wining more races they could get more sponsorships, but this is not the way to do it. Watch the scandal in this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZrCVbU6pWQ


Picture courtesy of http://www.timesonline.co.uk/

Video Of Irresponsible Maneuver From Truck Driver

I was driving in the Panamerican highway near Casma, north of Lima, Peru. Suddenly there were two trucks in front of me, one was passing the other and was invading my line. I made signals with my lights, and used the horn to alert the truck in front of me. The Truck driver completed his passing maneuver like nothing happened and acted like if it was a normal maneuver despite his mistake of passing in a no passing zone. I got the maneuver on video. check it out.

Everybody should drive defensively, and should be alert for other drivers mistakes and risky or stupid maneuvers. Expect the unexpected like this crazy truck driver's maneuver. Don't drive like this truck driver, He made a very irresponsible maneuver and created a very risky situation that was totally unnecessary.

Remember to obey all traffic laws, and always drive safely.

A Cinderella Story. Brawn-Mercedes

Once upon a time there was a F1 team that was on sale because its owner was very affected by the financial crisis. This team was the Honda Racing team, and it was sold by Honda to Ross Brawn (the team's director.) Everything was uncertain. Mr. Brawn had to find the money for the team, The Honda car was not that good in the last years. It has been struggling in the races. Last year alone, most of the time the cars finished in the fifteenth place. The pilots could not do more and they were frustrated in most of the races; and the team spirit was low. As you can see this year's season was a big question mark.

Well, so far this F1 season is incredible for the new Brawn-Mercedes team. The team has won 6 of the 8 races. All of these races were won by Jenson Button who is an excellent driver, but until now did not have a competitive car. Before this year he has only won a few races in his entire F1 career. Rubens Barrichello, the other team driver, has been second in most of this year's races, and is second to Jenson in the F1 Drivers Championship. Ross Brawn is showing that he is a F1 genius because of all of his correct decisions in this year's races, and how he prepared the car for this season. F1 experts say that now in order to win a F1 race you have to have a good car (80%), and a good Driver (20%). As you can see the car is a very important factor.

This team was practically broke, for sale, and without an owner at the beginning of the year, and now It is the dominant team in F1 beating Ferrari and McLaren. It is very close to become this year's champion in the team and driver category and it is only half the season. Where is the trick?. I don't really know, but I guess it is a mixture of the experience of Ross Brawn, The driving abilities of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello (who is also a very experienced driver), the know how of the previous Honda team, knowing the correct people, and finally a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck. This is a real Cinderella story.

Image is a courtesy of www.brawngp.com

F1 Red Bull Team Showcar Run

I had the opportunity to see this showcar run in Lima Peru, and it was very impressing. You could hear the noise of the Red Bull car's engine and it was pretty loud. David Coulthard reached a speed of 280 Km/h., and also used the car to spin a lot. You could smell the burning of the tires and watch the smoke coming from them while he was spinning with the F1 car. It was a great show. 50 thousand people showed to see the spectacle, and most of them were yelling at Coulthard's maneuvers. It is more impressive to watch these F1 cars live than on TV. because of the noise that those engines make. If you have the chance try to watch them live. Here you can watch a video.

Statistics Of Car Accidents

These statistics show you the big picture in traffic accidents. They will help everybody to understand why we should consider that car safety, pedestrian safety, and traffic safety are very important. We should follow all the experts advices, and be more careful when we are on the streets.




Fatalities In Car Accidents Per Country

----------Year---U.S.---Peru---Total Cars U.S.---Total Cars Peru----------

• 1,998--41,501--3,323--- 215,496,003----------N/A
• 1,999--41,717--3,214---220,461,056----------1,114,191
• 2,000--41,945--3,118---225,821,241----------N/A
• 2,001--42,196--3,208---235,331,382----------1,209,006
• 2,002--43,005--2,929---234,624,135----------N/A
• 2,003--42,884--2,856---236,760,033----------1,290,471
• 2,004--42,836--3,166---243,010,549----------N/A

-------Year---Cars Per Fatality U.S.---Cars Per Fatality Peru-------

• 1,998----5,193--------------------N/A
• 1,999----5,285--------------------347
• 2,000----5,384--------------------N/A
• 2,001----5,577--------------------377
• 2,002----5,456--------------------N/A
• 2,003----5,521--------------------452
• 2,004----5,673--------------------N/A

As you can see, despite the bigger number of fatalities in the U.S. It is doing better in traffic safety than Peru, because the number of cars per fatality is much higher than in Peru. Approximately, there is one fatality every 5,500 cars in the U.S. And in Peru there is one fatality every 390 cars. Anyway, 42,000 fatalities in car accidents per year in the U.S. is a lot. Remember, always drive safely, and be a good pedestrian.

Statistics provided by The Bureau Of Transportation Statistics, www.Car-Accidents.com, Statistics Office Of The Peruvian National Police, Statistics Office Of The Health Sector In Peru.

Common Sense For Night Driving

This picture was taken in a main avenue in Lima, Peru. You can see a big truck with no back lights and without proper signs. The truck is also overloaded; It is carrying too much stuff. The driver of this vehicle is putting himself and the drivers around him in danger because of the lack of back lights and proper signs such as reflective tapes. The truck can cause an accident specially at night because of lack of visibility. Remember to always have your car or truck in good condition for night driving. Always check your lights.

Common Sense

This Picture was taken in the Pan American Highway in Lima, Peru; As you can see there is a crossing bridge for people to use, and it is very close to the two persons in the picture. There are also guardrails that are there to prevent people from crossing the highway without using the crossing bridge. These two persons in the picture look that They don't care about all the infrastructure the was built for safety reasons, the car drivers, and their own lives. They are not using their common sense. To avoid situations like this you have to give more education to the people, and teach them the basics of road safety. You can also give stronger penalties, like bigger tickets, or make them do community work.