Are Motorsport Too Dangerous Or Is It Part Of The Allure?

Justin Wilson's death shook the Verizon IndyCar Series to the core, and with the advent of social media, drivers like Justin who regularly engaged fans become like family to a network of international followers.

The artifice of closeness created by social media—of being along for the ride inside the life of a Justin Wilson, or the late Jules Bianchi—has made their losses especially hard to process for many people. Yet for veterans like my colleague Robin Miller who grew up in the sport during the 1960s and 1970s when fatalities were common, history and experience have shaped a very different reaction to death at the speedway.

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TheSteve - 9/3/2015 1:30:29 PM

+2 Boost

If you can get your hands on the following TV episodes, get them:
- The Unrideables
- Dakar: Madness in the Desert
- Grand Prix: The Killer Years
- Rallying: The Killer Years
(All available on the iTunes store)

Did you know that it used to be common in Grand Prix to have deaths in a race? Yeah, that's plural. Even spectators used to die. It was just part of the spectacle. Put into that context, you can see how far we've come, and what our society deems to be "socially acceptable." Y'know, one death in a car race is a tragedy. 40,000 civilians dead -- "collateral damage" in some far-away country -- that's just a statistic.

Another consideration: Consider a world in which everything was 100% safe. No chance of injury or death. No bicycles or rollerblades. No surfing. No private transit unless its autonomous. Highly controlled. Very safe. No surprises. It's not a world I would choose to live in. The boredom would kill me :-/