post updated on October 20, 2008 @ 07:01AM

There’s a lot of debate whether the other people didn’t do anything because of cowardice or the law of physics; only the drivers had enough protection from the flames,¹ and just being near flames is no joke as well.

Here’s what I think:

Yes, Mr. Purley was able to do everything he did because of his protection, and any other normal person (Marshalls, etc.) would most probably get injured trying to save the person. And that’s the answer right there:

Injuries < Saving a life

So yes, they are cowards. It takes about 3 seconds for human flesh to burn, even if it took 10 seconds to flip that car over by unprotected people, I still think the injuries they’ll sustain would be more than worth it - if it meant saving that man’s… or any human’s life for that matter.

The only people I’ll let off the hook are the other racers. Judging the technology that day, they probably didn’t have any way of knowing how serious that accident was. Especially if you’re passing by at hundreds of miles per hour and are trying to win a race. The Marshalls should’ve stopped the race.

post updated on October 20, 2008 @ 07:01AM