Should Porsche Be Held Accountable For The Death Of Paul Walker?

Paul Walker died in a car accident on 30 November 2013. He was the passenger in a Porsche Carrera GT that was being driven at an “unsafe speed for the roadway conditions“ by his racing driver friend Roger Rodas. When Rodas lost control of the car which smashed into a lamp post and a tree, they were travelling at between 80mph and 93mph on Michelin tyres that were thought to be nine years old.

Since Walker and Rodas’ death, tears have been shed and emotional tributes have been paid. But as with some high profile cases in the past, law suits have also been made. And that’s happened no fewer than three times against Porsche at the hands of Rodas’ widow, Walker’s daughter and now, Walker’s father.

Being brutally honest, I’m sick of hearing about yet more legal action that’s being taken against Porsche because the car “didn’t have safety features which might have prevented his death.” If this is grounds to be suing Porsche, then why not go after Michelin, the lamp post and the tree that destroyed the car and took the mens’ lives? Hell, if I ever crash and lose a limb does that mean that I can call up Mazda and tell them that I’ll be suing them because my 20-year-old MX-5 didn’t have proper crumple zones? I don’t think so…

In my eyes, this new lawsuit does nothing but cast a dirty cloud over the tragedy. Poorly maintained cars get fragile, tyres perish, and people drive like idiots every single day. Bearing in mind that all of these factors were present on that fateful day, I don’t think that Porsche should be held accountable for their deaths.

What’s your view on this?