Image Credit: @michaeljames1_There's pretending you're playing Mario Kart, and then there's actually doing it. In the case of this TikTok video, one man's go-kart ride ended about as badly as one can. This parking lot racer lost control, shot across the pavement, and crashed head-on into a palm tree. The impact threw him out of the seat, which made him hit the pavement. And with a bruised ego, he met his friends who ran over to make sure he was okay. Lesson learned? Probably not.It all starts calmly enough in the clip of how it all went down. The kart racer pulls away from a storefront as another person watches. Then the little green go-kart picks up speed and heads out across the lot, away from the building. And you think, for just a second, that this guy really knows what he's doing. Except he doesn't.From there it goes sideways fast. Within a few seconds, the driver seems unable to make the turn he needs. The kart keeps going dead straight, toward a landscaped median in the middle of the lot. It smashes right into a palm tree, and the go-kart ends up wedged against the trunk.AdvertisementAdvertisementYou really can't make these things up: A guy, a go-kart, an empty lot, and one very unlucky palm tree. Still, a crash like this can hurt. But how does a go-kart get away from you like this? It's not tapping the button to rev your engine ahead of the starting line, we can tell you that.Why Go-Karts Are Easy to Lose Control OfGo-karts look tame, but they can get squirrelly in a hurry. They're light and low to the ground. The steering is quick and sensitive, reacting to the smallest input, and the throttle is often just as touchy. A little too much gas sends the kart lunging forward faster than a first-timer expects. Suddenly a machine that seemed harmless is moving quicker than the driver can handle.Then there's the human part. When a new driver panics, the instinct is often to freeze, or to hit the gas instead of the brake. That only makes things worse, and it's likely why the kart went straight instead of turning. Go-karts also skip the safety features drivers take for granted in a car. There are no crumple zones, and on many karts, nothing much holds you in the seat during a hard hit. So when one meets a solid object like a tree, the driver takes the brunt of it.A Parking Lot Is a Rough Place to Open One UpAn empty parking lot looks like the perfect spot to try out a go-kart. It's flat, it's paved, and there's no traffic to worry about. The problem is everything that's still there. Lots are full of hard, fixed hazards, curbs, light poles, cart corrals, parked cars, and landscaped medians with trees. That's exactly what stopped this ride, and there's no run-off room or anything soft to hit.AdvertisementAdvertisementIf you're going to run a go-kart, a wide-open space beats a parking lot every time. You want room to coast to a stop. A helmet is worth wearing even at low speeds, and it helps to know where the brake and the kill switch are before you touch the gas. Easing into the throttle, rather than flooring it off the line, prevents most of these moments. None of that is glamorous. Still, it beats a face-first meeting with a palm tree, and hopefully this driver walked away with nothing worse than a sheepish look on his face. Rainbow Road? We don't think he's ready for it.If you want more stories like this, follow Guessing Headlights on Yahoo so you don't miss what's coming next.