This was posted by an 18 year old back on Jan 25th on the M5 Forum.

25th January 2008, 04:57 #1 AmericanM5 vbmenu_register("postmenu_1235349", true);
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Rough shifts-M mode
Alright guys Im new here and I have a question....as I am driving in m mode with the car set in p500 sport and everything set to max, as I shift with the paddle shifters it sounds like the transmission is banging into gear,(like there is a thud that comes from the trunk when I upshift.....) could this be due to the way Im shifting or is this normal....and if so is there any trick to working the shift

Let me say I am beginner when it comes to high performance cars as I am only 18 so take it easy on me.
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This was the outcome on Jan 27th
Video from Police at Accident Scene

 

Tragic. Although it needs to be said: Anyone who hands the keys to a BMW M5 to an 18 year old is an idiot.

 

No one should die that young, no matter how stupid you are. My condolences go out to all of their friends and their families. And let this be a lesson to myself and others who occasionally like to speed.

 

+1 I was reading on that forum and it looks like the kid on the M5 site was one of the ones killed in the crash. Sad stuff.

 

i have read many different threads on this and every time it upsets me. it really makes me look back to things that i have done at that age (never at 140) and potential near death experiences i have had. but never have i done anything that stupid with friends in the car. if i am going to take a life due to irresponsibility, it will only be my own.

 

A buddy of mine on AudiWorld showed me this a few weeks a go...goes to show you what a lethal combo stupid kids and apathetic parents are...Too true.

 

yes, this is a sad story.

but, i donno... do we need to keep popping this accident up at
all the forums? i think the families and friends would like to
move on...(?)

 

Not everyone reads "all the forums". I hadn't heard about it until here... and I doubt the friends and families of the teens read "all the forums" either. I think it's a sobering reminder for everyone. Better that some other wealthy parents of teens might read about it and have second thoughts about doing something just as crazy for their own inexperienced kid.

 

well, hope you learned something from it, kiddo.

 

I'm no kid, and I do not appreciate your condescending tone.

 

+1 That is beyond stupid.

 

+ 1 Sobering indeed.

 

+1

-1
If you're stupid enough to do dumb ***** like that, you get what's coming to you. Sorry if that offends anyone, but that's how I feel.

 

The "kid" was 18. How he reached a point of such poor judgement is up for speculation, but who gave the "kid" (read: legal adult) the car is, in my estimation a far, far lesser issue. Hindsight is 20/20, so of course we can all Monday morning quarterback this one (trying to work as many cliches as possible into my posts) and say; "Yep, dumb kid. Someone that age shouldn't have that car.", but we'd be completely missing the point as well as the tragedy. It's not as if he were 16. 2 years a big difference? Not likely, but it is in the eyes of the law. So until they start regulating car make/model allocations by age, a blanket statement condemning someone for giving/driving a car to/as a legal adult is little more than misplaced frustration.

And one that's hashed over ad infinitum in all car forums, everywhere.

 

The local news story: http://www.ocala.com/article/2008012...glesitemapnews

Sad.

I feel sorry for his and his friend's families.

 

Legal in some ways yes... but still not of legal drinking age. The hypocrisy of the alcohol laws in this country are ridiculous. Although that's a separate discussion.

Part of the issue here, in my opinion, is the lack of a true graduated licensing system in this country.

My family background is from Australia. There, although there are some slight variations by state/territory, they have a graduated licensing system (including clearly visible "L" (Learner) and "P" (Provisional) tags that must be displayed on the car when in operation) that makes a heck of a lot more sense than the system we have here in most states.

In that system, the legal drinking age of 18 is mitigated somewhat by the requirement for all learner & provisional drivers to have a BAC of 0.00% at ALL times when operating a vehicle.

One Australian State, Victoria, even restricts anyone other than fully licensed drivers from operating 'high powered vehicles' (yes, there is a clear definition based upon both power/weight and engine displacement/weight). There, you can't obtain a full license until 21... which means that there, those 18 year olds would not legally have the right to drive a BMW M5.

Here's an interesting Wikipedia article on the Aussie licensing laws. Of course, I recognize this is all "academic" information here and does nothing to reduce the tragedy of the kids in the M5.

 

The fact that the accident happened on private property that they had no business being on and it was after a birthday party for one of the kids in the car (alcohol?) defines stupid behavior.

 

We can just hope that Darwin got to them before they could create more potential idiot drunk drivers for the future.

 

Reading that bimmer board was eerie...
Its a shame, what a unnecessary waste of life

 

reading the bimmer forums did send a chill down my spine, too.