A certain drawbridge has brought out the adventurist from a couple of drivers in Florida. Before you go off thinking about dirt bikes and rally cars, the latest vehicle was actually a humble Hyundai Santa Fe according to the videos published by the local PD. Ever wondered why whenever there is a long-drawn-out chase it is almost always an old Ford Aspire or a clapped-out Grand Caravan if not an obviously tuned Challenger.
The same rules perhaps apply here; straight out of a “Fast and Furious” movie, the driver thought it would be fun to jump across a drawbridge just as its ramps were being raised. However, before you go out and try the same with your 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe, you should know that you could get into trouble legally and your car mechanically, there is a conversation to be had.
Yes, admittedly there are a few adventures more enticing than smashing through a barrier arm and running through to the opposite side of the bridge. However, what many people don’t get, (or realize when it is too late) that a majority of the normal road drivers do not have the impulse control and equally importantly the skills like the people who regularly and oftentimes professionally jumps RAM TRXs on the dunes.
However, in this case, the Florida man took to the saying “you jump the bridge with the car you have, not the car you want” personally and did it, in this case, a second-gen crossover; not even the 2021 Hyundai Santa Fe which is much more adept at handling such business but the one which has been selling in the States since 2007.
The whole deed was captured on a security camera on the sidewalk on the Main Street bridge in Daytona Beach, Florida; a grey SUV is clearly shown jumping across the drawbridge rather impatiently and speeding its way to the other side of the river.
Many might say this particular bridge might be the root of all problems, as it is not every day you get access to a ramp. As you might have guessed, the grey SUV was not the first one attempting this stunt. A lot of wannabe Jakes and Elwoods have been prying upon and trying their luck on the stunt, in the previous month a motorcyclist tried the same during Bike Week, surprisingly with a passenger who perhaps was not expecting the turn of events.
The Santa Fe driver attempted the same thing, smashed through a traffic arm as they were heading east. They executed the jump cleanly caught air with all the four wheels as it sailed cleanly over the Halifax River and made its way to the other side tearing off another traffic arm; these were the statements from the Daytona Beach Police Department said.
When the second-gen Santa Fe was reviewed, critics pointed out that “the soft-riding suspension absorbs bumps well,”, the Florida driver seemed to have taken full advantage of that. As far as the identity of the driver goes, Messod Bendayan, a spokesman for the Police Department said that they have identified the driver. No arrests have been made as of yet, meanwhile, on the bridge, both the traffic arms have been replaced.
Main Street Bridge is a double-leaf bascule bridge that spans the Halifax River, near about 20 feet below. So, this is not your everyday ramp, and would not want to mess up, especially with a river below. From the video clip, it seems that the driver had a heavy foot on the throttle all the way to the jump since the heavy crossover caught air even when the bridge had raised just a bit.
Brake lights appear just after touchdown, the bridge goes up and we cease to see anything. Judging by the way the first traffic arm was broken, it is logical to suspect that the second traffic arm got the same treatment albeit the windshield was cracked the first time around itself. It is still unclear to the police whether the jump was made more for the desire of an adventure or rather the impatience to get to the other side without waiting.
One can truly only speculate the desire behind performing such a stunt, as mere patience does not seem sufficient enough to try this out. People on social media and the internet even had a theory that maybe the driver’s brother was not convinced with.
The theory concluded the crossover he had picked him up in so in order to show off the prowess of the 242-hp 3.3-liter V6 which can run 0 to 60 in 8.0 seconds, the jump was attempted. After that ordeal, one might surely admit the pickup the crossover has got but it was probably not worth a destroyed windshield.
The Florida Safety Council made it clear that these types of stunts are not just illegal but dangerous too. “You’re not just risking yourself, you’re risking all those other people that are also up on that bridge,” says Ms. Bonnie Frank, a spokesperson for the Council.
Chief Jakari Young of the Daytona Beach Police Department shared the video of the motorcyclist who attempted the jump and quote, “Folks, please be safe and be smarter than this guy!”. Coming back to Mr. Bendayan from the PD, given the number is only 2 within two months, he does not see a pattern of bridge-jump attempts.