Speeding Prius Guy

Last week, someone faked an incident with their toyota prius. They drove down the road and had their car supposedly accelerate out of control. They claimed to have stepped on the brakes.

To his credit, the brakes, pads and rotors were extremely worn - but if they had any metal on them at all - they would have stopped the car. Also. A prius has an on/off button. He could've just shut it off.

What is really interesting about Speeding Prius Guy isn't so much that a Toyota could have a factory defect. Alot of the models that came out from 2005 on, had issues - and Toyota tried to hide it. Since we're in America, and lobbyists have control over the institutions of government - they got a free pass for five years while people died.

But this guy was a fake. That was clear from the start. I didn't see the footage but I gathered as much that in the event of a stuck accelerator you could always just cut the fucking engine.

Which he didn't do.

So he's not that interesting. What is , however, interesting - is how the 24 hour news cycle is now eating itself in order to keep itself going. TV ratings are dropping through the floor in many demographics and although America is in a deep recession (possibly even a depression) - and the American appetite remains unabated for entertainment - broadcast television is in serious decline. TV News Media Entertainment now keeps mandatory tickers and crawls at the bottom of their screen as a means of captivating viewer attention and their focus towards the constant broadcast of almost any content that could be considered newsworthy has become an anachronism of the 20th century.

The broadcast news-media-entertainment companies ate up the footage of the Toyota Prius Guy. Just like Balloon Boy, he planned it out in advance. A car that suddenly and radically accelerates can and will leave a mechanical trace that engineers can decipher + analyze - such events leave a log that can be tracked back. If Prius guy has his car looked over by an independent shop - they will find nothing wrong.

I am largely disconnected from the 24 hour cycle. I occasionally get the odd call from a relative regarding the next weather disaster or other event of impending doom. But then again, she really does need to get out more.

What would be nice is if our country could sort of shake off the concept that news can be entertainment - and replace the 24 hour news cycle with tailored feeds that actually pay people to watch them. Micropayment will make this possible.