My wife brought this to my attention. I don't know how I could have missed it.
http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/2...acher-taxi-dog/

Gotta admire guys who'll risk their families life to pick up a pooch!!!

You think he was risking his families life? I doubt that.

Now lets see, he's in Europe, in town, the taxi driver said he was driving full throttle and passing in unbelievable places...Naaaaah No danger.

People always think "Oh, they were going fast so it MUST be dangerous." Why must it be dangerous? If it were you or I doing it I would agree, but I am certain he wasn't even close to HIS limits. There is a big difference in that.

Inspiring tale.... nice to know the pros are risking the life of others while the kids are looking on... bravo!

Wow you guys sure do congure up some amazing assumptions. Never says he was being wreckless. The cabbie just said he went around corner at full throttle and passed in some unbelievable places. Why does that mean it was dangerous? You guys are lame.

Good point. I guess Indy is a technical road rally then.

Perhaps the context of the article, 1) pointing out that he's a 7 time Indy winner, 2) asking to drive instead of the cabbie, and 3) the cabbie pointing out that he was making unbelieveable moves, leads perhaps the LAME to assume that he was in a hurry, perhaps...

Oh Rob He is the 7 time F1 world champ. NOT INDY And look at it this way. You have a guy that has most likely never driver hard in his life. Sitting in the passenger seat always feels faster and with Michael driving I am sure he was just in awe. I wouldn't say he was in a hurry as he didn't need to make a flight as it was his own jet they were going back to. He was just going for what we call a spirited drive. To assume he was doing something that was threatening the lives of others is lame. Sorry if you disagree. Oh, and it doesn't say he was in the city while doing this.

I did not see that in the story, you must be privy to info we don't have. The quote below however, was in the story.






Well, Yes it does. Quote below from story.


He could have killed himself, his wife, his kids, the taxi driver and what ever poor sucker that tried to occupy the same space at the same time as Mr. in a hurry, over a puppy.
The problem was not his skills, but the lack of skills of most drivers. But he should know better and any accident would have been his fault, no matter what the other driver did.


Your statement is just as lame, how would you know? Oh, thats right, you know it all.

and to top it all off, here's what the german police had to say ...


the german police in the town of coburg is looking into issuing a fine to the taxi driver (!) because it's illegal for him to let someone else drive his taxi.

Andy

PS: you guys need to loosen up a little. i'm pretty sure he wasn't putting his family at risk. a spirited drive doesn't equal a unsafe drive by default ...

Schumi will be in the next Asterix movie ... playing the Ben Hur part

Trailer

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/searc...ux-olympiqu_fun

can't wait for the movie!


always loved the comix, i used to have the whole collection as a kid ...
Andy

Your right Andy, all I am saying is that no matter how great a driver is, all it takes

is one bonehead making a left turn in front of him and "Game over". It happens,

more than I like to think about, and speed is blamed alot.

Click to view attachment

So I'm not sure when I ever claimed to know it all, but if you say so Why is my statement lame? I am trying to point out that everythihng that this taxi driver said could be equal to us going for a spirited drive which is in NO WAY dangerous. I am not making any assumptions that would point to wreckless driving. I understand your point about the boneheads that can pull out in front of you, but in that was the case we should never step foot in our little 914s . That is why I am always aware of my surroundings with the understanding that any minute some jack ass in their SUV is going to run me over because they decided not to do a head check. That being said, I wish people would just enjoy the story and take as the taxi driver got to have the ride of his life with one of his heros.

It happens. This belonged to a member here, though he broke his neck he lived.

Just out for a drive.

Click to view attachment

also remember the taxi most likely was a BMW or Mercedes..

Yup, that is why I posted the pic of the wrecked MB, though it is hard to tell is was a MB.

Here is the article from the Berlin AP.

Note it was a minivan, it was in the headline,..... The taxi driver said he took the corners at full speed but it didn't even feel like it.... It does not say he was late for his flight as he took his own private jet. Again, why do you assume he was doing anything that would put lives in danger? If you feel this strongly why do you own a 914?

BERLIN (AP) - Cab drivers are best known for giving hair-raising rides, not being taken on them.

But when one cabbie in southern Germany apparently wasn't driving fast enough, his customer, former Formula One champion Michael Schumacher, took the wheel himself.
"It was sheer lunacy," cabbie Tuncer Yilmaz told the Muenchener Abendzeitung newspaper. "He took the curves with full speed, but you couldn't even notice it. He just knows how to do it."

Schumacher's spokeswoman, Sabine Kehm, confirmed the story Wednesday. She said Schumacher had flown in from Switzerland on Saturday on his private jet to buy a puppy from a breeder in the town of Gesuelz.

When Yilmaz picked up the seven-time Formula One champion and his family at the Coburg airport, he was star-struck.

"I was so nervous," Yilmaz said. "I was so confused that I almost forgot all traffic rules."

So on the way back to the airport Schumacher, the most successful driver in Formula One history, asked Yilmaz to slide over so he could drive.

Yilmaz said he would never forget the ride.

Nor the tip. On top of the $88.03 fare, Schumacher gave him $146.72.

Yilmaz' only regret is that German photo radar didn't catch Schumacher speeding, which would have produced a ticket with a photo that would have been sent to Yilmaz, as the car's owner.

"I so much would have loved to get a speeding photo of this ride," Yilmaz told the Abendzeitung. "I would have gladly paid a ticket for that."

What a dick.


[b]This has to do with the fact that he did it with his family in the car.I don't drive like that with a family member in the car, I care about my family and I am a realist. If you want to put your family in harms way, you go ahead, I happen to care for mine.

Sounds like he was speeding(from the quote below): And the taxi driver said in this story also that:



And the taxi driver said in this story also that:




Well all that needed to happen was a car in the wrong place at the wrong time and he could have "just knows how to do it.", to him, his wife and children. But I guess you don't care.

I grew up in California traffic and then a lot of time in Wyoming. The traffic patterns are very different. My first trip to New York was very strange. The taxi drivers where using the space between the cars as another lane. I have to think that the same thing happened here. When you are used to a certain pace of life and somebody shows up and drives like they are a New York taxi driver in Wyoming, everbody gets a little tense. I am sure that his driving was spirited, but nothing like the lady driver from BMW. I thought it was funny and I have to agree with the taxi driver. I would gladly pay a speeding ticket to have Schumi drive my car and get a government photo of him behind the wheel. The funniest thing is that Ferrari confirmed it. What publicity when Schumi comes back to Ferrari as the "test" driver and special consultant is priceless.
Have fun everybody and keep it on the track and don't forget the puppy!

Thats right, he could have killed the puppy too.

We americans think we need the world to act and react as we do.

We are not the be all, do all, act all (shznit) that we think we are. I always feel A LOT safer on european roads where licensing is not a joke, and every other car is not being driven by some idiot talking on a cell phone!

Sweet So. Cal is calling me a dick I'm glad we can converse on an open plain

Yeaaaaaaaaa, someone who finally gets what I am trying to say

And your a hypocrite too...

How is that being a hypocrite? You were being an ass. You were attacking a fellow member without understanding. I was simply stating that if you feel the way you have over this thread that you maybe shouldn't be driving a 914. didn't think that was being a dick. Then again I really don't care. You have shown your colors on many of your posts in other threads. i enjoy your banter on many occations. However, on this and the other post I think you were being very close minded and drawing conclusions that were based on your assumptions. Call me what you like. I really don't care

It's argument "ad hominem."

Where the arguer runs out of ground and attacks the messenger instead of the message.

Paul is very good at this.

Unfortunately, it's often offensive. Paul, in this case, even went out of his way to use dialogue from a completely different and unrelated argument to support his attack on Jon's character.

This is typical of small fish swimming in a big pond.

Notice how his ears turn red as he reads this.

Oh, and well I'm here, I'd better toss in a few cents. Driving fast is smooooooooooth. Like Jennifer Aniston's skin. Smooth driving is inherently safer. Why? Think about how that idiot in the honda jerked the wheel when he cut you off the other day... Car has momentum. Wheels turn abruptly, momentum overcomes CF at the wheels for a second before it catches up and the car jolts to the right. As the car jerks, the body rolls to the outside, causing the suspension geometry to go out....

Smooth driving. Minimal movement. Minimal mistakes. Get on a kart track, sometime, Paul. See it for yourself. Schumacher is often regarded as the BEST driver in the world. Not second. Not third. Nobody even comes close. That's why the story was noteworthy in the firstplace.

I don't care how fast he drives. I would feel safer having my family in the car with Schumacher behind the wheel than with myself, driving at whatever you would call "reasonable speeds."

roflmao, just loving the self-righteousness I see being spouted here. Must be really hard living with a stick up your ass,Paul.

We can remove it, we have the technology. Drive with me on the Autobahn, that should do it, cruising at +160mph for a couple of hours in a 997 C4S. This year going to try and break 185mph on the way to Berlin.

Let me know if you wanna go, still got some empty seats, lol.

Must be hard driving with your head up yours Don. So you all think that it would

be 'OK', if while speeding he not only creamed the driver he could have run into,

and the taxi driver, but also his family. When you see someone who is drunk

driving, is that OK. What if he had his family with him, would that bother you. Now

I am not saying he was driving drunk, but he was driving fast. And as I said

before its not his driving I am concerned about, its the other stupid driver that

cuts in front of him because he thinks he "can make it".



Someone put the dog out, I can hear him whining.

First of all he was always in total control of the taxi. He was a formula one driver which means he is one of the best drivers in the world. Second of all taxi drivers that DO NOT know how to drive, drive the same way Schumacher did but they do it all the time. Thirdly Schumacher was just trying to catch Mika Hakkinen.

Did you also know that the company that ownes the taxi has been offerered something like 100,000 dollars because Schumacher drove it.

have you ever driven a car in germany? i only ask because that pretty much NEVER happens over there. people are extremely good at judging the speed of cars coming up from behind.
yes, they actually use their rear view mirrors! and are able to judge the speed of the car behind them ...

i know, that must sound like a fairytale for you CA guys, but it's true. i have seen it with my own eyes!
Andy

Do I need to say it in braille, geeze us, I know he is a great driver, it's not his

driving I have a problem with. It's the fact that he did it with his wife and kids in

the car. If he has his own plane, and was not in a hurry then why drive like that

with his family with him? He is a pro driver, and races with like drivers, and can

trust most of them. Growing up in LA I have seen some of the worst drivers, that

did some really stupid things and took their own lives and the lives of innocents.

To many times I have been stuck on the freeway and had to drive by an accident

where you could not tell the occupants were ever human. Some of these had

woman and kids involved, I could tell by the long hair and the size of the body.

I have no problem with people driving fast, I drive fast, but not with others in the

vehicle. Thats the way I feel.


Andy, I know what you mean, my future Nephew is a German and he is a very

precise, intelligent young man who speaks english better than some homeboys.

I also know, from watching a program on discovery about Germanys autobaun

and the fellas that fly the rescue helos, and that they stay busy. They showed

some really gnarly accidents. So bad I became a little nauseous. Alot of them

were fast cars driving into the back of a slow car, or just loosing it from going to

fast. Now I am sure that some of these drivers were visitors from other countries

but not all of them. No I have not been to Germany, someday I'll go and look up

family, I am sure I will be going to visit my Niece.

I see the reason you are arguing so strongly for this as you are comparing the roads and driving to yuour experiences over here. The problem with that is in all reality driving a car over there is nothing like driving over here. #1 the driver training for each driver is much more strict and comprises of much more training than we receive over here. #2 to aquire a license over there is very expensive. #3 if you loose your license over there you loose it for good, and if you are caught driving without a license you are seriously fuched.

Your argument on the Autobahn is a little misleading. The autobahn's accidents are very nasty when they happen as they are generally very high speed crashes. That being said here is a little clip out of a road evaluation report on the Autobahn.

Accident rates
Despite the prevailing high speeds, the accident, injury and death rates on the Autobahn are remarkably low. The Autobahn carries about a third of all Germany's traffic, but injury accidents on the Autobahn account for only 6% of such accidents nationwide and less than 12% of all traffic fatalities were the result of Autobahn crashes (2004). In fact, the annual fatality rate (3.2 per billion km in 2004) is consistently lower than that of most other superhighway systems, including the US Interstates (5.0 in 2003).

So some cabby who can't remember the rules of the road is qualified to say that MS was taking corners at "full speed"?? I take corners at full speed everyday. If the speed limit is 45, I do 45 if it is 25, I do 25. Maybe there was a little lost in the translation or inflection of the language. I read both articles, and all that was confirmed, unless I miss-read, was that MS drove and that the writer knows how to running things together. What was the cabby going to say, MS drives like a wuss?? If MS had really done something wrong, the police would be looking at him too for a ticket but they are not and MS would be out there bagging the guy. And I guarantee there are plenty of cameras to look at. As for passing in unbelievable places, maybe it was the middle of down town but there were no other cars around. Then, to being late to a plane, we have all been late, and I mean ALL, and put a little more pressure on the loud pedal. Let those that have black boxes that can prove otherwise start tossing, oh wait 914's don't have those. And finally, as for the "other guy", I just called my boss and told him I was not coming to work because of what that guy might do and he called me a wuss!!!(I generally drive about 100 miles a day for work)

Pure and simple, this was MS having a little fun with a cabby who is obviously a big fan. MS did him a favor and got him 15 minutes and got some good publicity for himself at the same time.

Ok, I'll buy that, which means the other 88% happens on the roads. Thanks.





Which part?

"I also know, from watching a program on discovery about Germanys autobaun

and the fellas that fly the rescue helos, and that they stay busy."

That part. You are sensationalizing it. Just like your other remark is. I guess this is really a pointless argument with you as you will not ever understand until you go and drive over there for some time. It is NOTHING like driving over here.... NOTHING.

I also like what Jonathan said about this. I think he put it very well.

The pilot said they stay busy, not I. And duering the program...They did.



You gave me the info, I did the math. Don't get mad because you gave it to me.



So how long were you there?

However long he was there, I bet it was longer than the show you watched on Discovery.

My brother lived there for three years. I have been over there many different times. If you wanted how many days total I would say maybe 45 days, and we were always on the road because I wanted to see cool stuff while I was there.

No doubt Rusty.


I gues 45 days makes you an expert, except the numbers are not that impressive.

Fatal accidents:

Germany - 7,792

USA - 40,676


Population

Germany - 82.5 mil

USA - 301,139,947

We have close to four times as many people.

4 X 7,792=31,169 if population was the same as USA

40,676
31,169
---------
9,507 difference

It's better, but not as sensational as I would be led to believe.

I never claimed to be an expert, but once again you say I am.

Well you sure spew like you are, but after my research, and re-reading your

posts, I see I was wrong. My Bad.

Is it odd that no one is taking your side, and you are continuing to tell everyone they are wrong and you are right?

You say I am wrong on something? Where?

If Jenny were here, she'd post a picture like this!

That's funny.

I thought this was the funniest. There were others.



Once you have been around awhile you will see I don't care who's on my side, I

feel I am right in the fact that he should not drive like that with his family in the

car. And I think you are assuming to much. None of us were there, I am dealing

with the info from an eye witness. He said he was going "full throttle" around

corners and passing in unbelieveable places. In Europe, F1 is like Pro football,

basketball, and baseball is here. I am sure the taxi driver was being truthful and

accurate.

Wow, what a hot topic this is. But what nobody seems to bring up is that there is 95% chance the car he was driving was DIESEL! I dont think driving a diesel van at full speed is quite the same as driving a 914 at full speed. Also the cabbie doesnt exactly have a german name, chances are he is turkish, and hasnt been in the country that long. He probably was driving pretty slow to begin with, and sticking to the letter of the law, and the exact speed limit. When someone like schumacher jumps in and takes over and actually drives a car, with a little experience, I am sure it would impress someone who isnt as experienced. But still, spirited driving in a diesel van isnt all that impressive.