Was Richard 'Hampster' Hammond selfish?

Question

He has a family. If he dies then where will they get money to buy food with?

I'm asking if he was reckless if you consider he has a family and driving a car over 300mph is somewhat dangerous

Answer 1

LOL for LL Comfy Jumper.

Richard is well loved by a lot of people and has great support in his effort to get well.

It was not selfish. it was his job.
Miners never get accused of being selfish, but plenty died. Construction workers never get accused either, but again lots die (look at the stats for the Panama Canal!!!)

The BBC take health and safety very seriously, he was not in any apparent danger other than an accident, and thats what happend.

You could live a boring life and work in a Library for safety but a bookcase falls on you and you end up in Hospital. Would you then say working in a Library is dangerous? and selfish? NO you wouldn't, coz if you did, you would not leave the safety of your padded cell!!!!

Good luck Hammond, get well soon!

Answer 2

I wondered if this might pop up. Two family men have made it in the news recently (Steve Irwin also) are taking risks.

It's tricky! If someone enjoys something risky and becomes a parent then should they stop? I'm a Mum and I would in a heartbeat as my children are so precious.

There's two different rules for men and women that take risks. Steve Irwin has been largely praised as a hero, dying doing what he loved. The Mum who died while mountain climbing recently was criticised heavily for doing such a dangerous thing when having kids. Why the double standards?

Richard Hammond drives cars for a living and it's hard to tell someone to stop doing something that they enjoy. He could have given all that up then had a terrible accident doing DIY.

I'm afraid I don't think I'm able to give a definate answer!

Answer 3

We all do things in our lives because we 'WANT' to do them, because we enjoy them & it enriches our life. Some of these experiences are inherently dangerous but we are still driven to do them.
Now if Mrs Hammond had said, "No Richard you are not going to drive that jet powered car", he probably wouldn't have but, he would have resented the lost opportunity to do something he really wanted to do.
The point is - You could say he was selfish for doing it but Mrs Hammond would have been selfish to stop him. So whose wishes take precedence?
We all take risks daily just by stepping outside our front door, even just getting out of bed and yes, we do have to weigh up the consequences of those risks but we can't live our lives encased in cotton wool. The risks involved in this particular incident would have been assessed to the nth degree so there would never be a better opportunity to try but obviously risk couldn't be eliminated.

Don't worry about how the Hammond's will survive, they'll be well catered for if the worst happens.

Good luck Richard & get well soon!

Answer 4

No i don't think he was selfish Moto gp and formula 1 drivers have a highly dangerous job yet they earn a fortune for the danger!!
He could have been walking down the street and got run over. What about steve Irwin is he selfish too?? His daughter doesnt seem to think so and im sure it's the case for the hammond family! Fingers crossed he will get better!

Answer 5

Yes i think he was selfish, and so is his wife.
I think if his wife had demanded that he must not try this stunt, he would not be in this predicament.
He should keep to what he knows best, talking about the latest motor cars, not trying to beat the world land speed record, leave that sort of thing to people who know what they are doing.
Its a good question, i cannot believe some of the comments against your question.
Now Mr Hammond's children might not have a daddy because of his stupidity.

Answer 6

That's just harsh, but if you really want an answer to your question they'd get it off his insurance, Top Gear is the most expensive program the BBC makes due to its high insurance.

As for blaming the Hamster, you should blame the television watching public. As Quentin Wilson said, the public were once happy with a driver doing the stunts and a presenter interviewing them afterwards, however now the public want an all-in-one presenter/driver.

It wasn't his fault at all, so don't be so hasty to judge.

Answer 7

There's a difference between scuba diving and driving a jet-powered car at over 300Mph. The latter is obviously reckless and is intentionally putting one's life at risk purely for the ability to say you've done it. Of course, it's totally his decision, but I think it was definitely reckless.

Answer 8

I suspect that money will be the last of their concerns - he is. after all a TV presenter and probably well insured to boot.

Mrs Hammond could also be working as well.

RH possibly was selfish, not in a major way. He was definately having fun though.

Answer 9

You can be kiiled doing the most simple or sports and activities.

What a boring life we would all live if we never did anything where there was at least some risk.

I've been Paragliding, Scuba diving, Aerobatic flying in a plane, Bungee, i could go on.

The nearest i got to losing my life was 2 years ago when i got cancer through a tumour and had my kidney removed.

You only have one life, but you need to live it to the full or you might as well be dead.

Answer 10

He didn't crash the car on purpose you bloody idiot. Do you think he would drive it if he knew he would crash. Show some compassion for his family. Next you'll be saying Steve Erwin was selfish for getting killed by the ray while filming. Accidents happen and there's nothing we can do about it. Get a life.