7 ms·

Given the high rate of deaths on the road, the fact that we still don't take wreckless driving very seriously is frustrating. Accidents happen, but deaths due

Given the high rate of deaths on the road, the fact that we still don't take wreckless driving very seriously is frustrating. Accidents happen, but deaths due to aggressive driving should be treated like someone aggressively using a firearm in a populated area.

city41 15y ago
He was charged with Vehicular Homicide[0], which is a felony. I'm curious how many years of jail he gets. Wikipedia states that in Georgia it's 3-15 years of prison, and in Louisiana it's 2-20 years. I agree it'd be nice if this was more consistent state to state though. [0]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicular_homicide#Washington http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicular_homicide#Washington
- VladRussian 15y ago
  the real case right now in GA: - the DUI guy killed 4 year boy - 6months - the mom of the boy who were walking across the road with her 3 children - 3 years http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/mom-convicted-son-jaywalking-death-never-end-151356884.html http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/mom-convicted-son-jaywal...
  - kenjackson 15y ago
    Goodness this is horrible. That man, Jerry Guy, admitted he had been drinking and taking prescribed painkillers the night of the accident, and had been convicted in two earlier hit-and-runs. He served six months in jail for the crime. Additionally, as someone noted in the linked story, the bus stop was nearly a mile away from the crosswalk. They ask people to use public transportation, but make it as inconvenient as possible to do so.
    - dennisgorelik 15y ago
      0.3 miles is not even close to a mile.
      - rhizome 15y ago
        Have you ever tried to walk a quarter-mile with a four year-old?
  - msredmond 15y ago
    Wow, that's just mind-blowingly wrong.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - msie 15y ago
    She hasn't been sentenced yet so hopefully the judge will go easy on her.
    - VladRussian 15y ago
      the fact that she was convicted at all defies logic - how would her and her children being on crosswalk have stopped the drunk driver which had 2 previous hit-and-runs ? (until of course it is a crosswalk above or below the road - not likely seeing the photographs of the road and the neighborhood). Even then, lets suppose instead of the drunk driver there were a gang shooting (or just a drunk shooting cans) and the stray bullet - would she still be convicted of the jaywalking? Dissolution/de-emphasizing of the importance of "mens rea" while increasing the punishment for just being at the wrong place at the wrong time is very worrisome tendency.
      - scarmig 15y ago
        No, it makes perfect sense. She's black, and she faced an all-white jury. This is in suburban Atlanta. This is where "jury of your peers" can be pretty useful. Apparently none of the jurors had ever ridden in a bus before. I really also want to put the city planner up for trial, because the reason she jay walked was that the nearest legal crosswalk was half a mile away from the bus stop. In suburban Atlanta, however, I've never seen any evidence that city planners even exist.
  - shinratdr 15y ago
    > Nelson also said that the jury had "never been in my shoes," because each of them answered that they had never taken public transportation before. That's a "jury of your peers" alright.
nplusone 15y ago
That is exactly what cars are. They are weapons loaded with ammunition and ready to be fired. It baffles me that many people don't seem to be aware of this material reality.
- jrockway 15y ago
  Familiarity. "Hmm, I've spent thousands of hours driving carelessly and haven't killed anyone. Why start being careful now? It'll just make me late to my meeting." (As a cyclist, I think people drive a lot better than they are made out to, however. I can't think of any time anyone's endangered my life.)
  - olefoo 15y ago
    As a longtime bicycle commuter and rider I have several times been on the receiving end of aggressive driving that was clearly intended to intimidate if not outright kill or injure. It is (fortunately) rare, but there are some people who do not seem to understand the responsibilities that come with the privilege of driving a motor vehicle.
  - sliverstorm 15y ago
    You are probably a pretty good cyclist then. As best I can tell, cyclist's opinions of me as a driver tend to be directly correlated to how far into my lane they ride. The ones that ride smack-dab in the middle of the lane on a 2-lane highway can be counted on to shake their fist at you any time you don't use the entire other lane for passing.
    - luchak 15y ago
      As best I can tell, cyclist's opinions of me as a driver tend to be directly correlated to how far into my lane they ride. If there are parked cars, you have to move into the lane or risk getting doored. Near intersections, you have to move into the lane or people will cut you off and turn right in front of you when you're going straight. If the road has no shoulder, you have to move into the lane to dissuade people from running you off the road by trying to pass with insufficient space (and to give yourself some margin in case someone tries). The same holds if the shoulder is full of debris. If you're descending a hill, you have to move into the lane so you can maneuver around turns. Any safe cyclist will spend some time taking a lane of traffic.
speckledjim 15y ago
The number of deaths is around 90 a day in the US. That's down from like 115 a day 10 years ago. Still more to be done, but I don't think it's as high as some think.
- reinhardt 15y ago
  The number of deaths is around 90 a day in the US. (...) I don't think it's as high as some think. Right, it's almost as low as the worst killing spree in Norway. Move along, nothing to see here.
  - speckledjim 15y ago
    OTOH, around 60 people die per hour in the US from cancer.
    - onan_barbarian 15y ago
      Motor vehicle accidents kill the young (rarely); cancer and cardiovascular disease kill the old (frequently). Oddly enough, people regard a 4 year old killed by/in a car as a worse outcome than that same 4 year old growing up to be an 89 year old killed by cancer or heart disease.

city41 15y ago

He was charged with Vehicular Homicide[0], which is a felony. I'm curious how many years of jail he gets. Wikipedia states that in Georgia it's 3-15 years of prison, and in Louisiana it's 2-20 years. I agree it'd be nice if this was more consistent state to state though. [0]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicular_homicide#Washington http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicular_homicide#Washington

VladRussian 15y ago
the real case right now in GA: - the DUI guy killed 4 year boy - 6months - the mom of the boy who were walking across the road with her 3 children - 3 years http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/mom-convicted-son-jaywalking-death-never-end-151356884.html http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/mom-convicted-son-jaywal...
- kenjackson 15y ago
  Goodness this is horrible. That man, Jerry Guy, admitted he had been drinking and taking prescribed painkillers the night of the accident, and had been convicted in two earlier hit-and-runs. He served six months in jail for the crime. Additionally, as someone noted in the linked story, the bus stop was nearly a mile away from the crosswalk. They ask people to use public transportation, but make it as inconvenient as possible to do so.
  - dennisgorelik 15y ago
    0.3 miles is not even close to a mile.
    - rhizome 15y ago
      Have you ever tried to walk a quarter-mile with a four year-old?
- msredmond 15y ago
  Wow, that's just mind-blowingly wrong.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- msie 15y ago
  She hasn't been sentenced yet so hopefully the judge will go easy on her.
  - VladRussian 15y ago
    the fact that she was convicted at all defies logic - how would her and her children being on crosswalk have stopped the drunk driver which had 2 previous hit-and-runs ? (until of course it is a crosswalk above or below the road - not likely seeing the photographs of the road and the neighborhood). Even then, lets suppose instead of the drunk driver there were a gang shooting (or just a drunk shooting cans) and the stray bullet - would she still be convicted of the jaywalking? Dissolution/de-emphasizing of the importance of "mens rea" while increasing the punishment for just being at the wrong place at the wrong time is very worrisome tendency.
    - scarmig 15y ago
      No, it makes perfect sense. She's black, and she faced an all-white jury. This is in suburban Atlanta. This is where "jury of your peers" can be pretty useful. Apparently none of the jurors had ever ridden in a bus before. I really also want to put the city planner up for trial, because the reason she jay walked was that the nearest legal crosswalk was half a mile away from the bus stop. In suburban Atlanta, however, I've never seen any evidence that city planners even exist.
- shinratdr 15y ago
  > Nelson also said that the jury had "never been in my shoes," because each of them answered that they had never taken public transportation before. That's a "jury of your peers" alright.

nplusone 15y ago

That is exactly what cars are. They are weapons loaded with ammunition and ready to be fired. It baffles me that many people don't seem to be aware of this material reality.

jrockway 15y ago
Familiarity. "Hmm, I've spent thousands of hours driving carelessly and haven't killed anyone. Why start being careful now? It'll just make me late to my meeting." (As a cyclist, I think people drive a lot better than they are made out to, however. I can't think of any time anyone's endangered my life.)
- olefoo 15y ago
  As a longtime bicycle commuter and rider I have several times been on the receiving end of aggressive driving that was clearly intended to intimidate if not outright kill or injure. It is (fortunately) rare, but there are some people who do not seem to understand the responsibilities that come with the privilege of driving a motor vehicle.
- sliverstorm 15y ago
  You are probably a pretty good cyclist then. As best I can tell, cyclist's opinions of me as a driver tend to be directly correlated to how far into my lane they ride. The ones that ride smack-dab in the middle of the lane on a 2-lane highway can be counted on to shake their fist at you any time you don't use the entire other lane for passing.
  - luchak 15y ago
    As best I can tell, cyclist's opinions of me as a driver tend to be directly correlated to how far into my lane they ride. If there are parked cars, you have to move into the lane or risk getting doored. Near intersections, you have to move into the lane or people will cut you off and turn right in front of you when you're going straight. If the road has no shoulder, you have to move into the lane to dissuade people from running you off the road by trying to pass with insufficient space (and to give yourself some margin in case someone tries). The same holds if the shoulder is full of debris. If you're descending a hill, you have to move into the lane so you can maneuver around turns. Any safe cyclist will spend some time taking a lane of traffic.

speckledjim 15y ago

The number of deaths is around 90 a day in the US. That's down from like 115 a day 10 years ago. Still more to be done, but I don't think it's as high as some think.

reinhardt 15y ago
The number of deaths is around 90 a day in the US. (...) I don't think it's as high as some think. Right, it's almost as low as the worst killing spree in Norway. Move along, nothing to see here.
- speckledjim 15y ago
  OTOH, around 60 people die per hour in the US from cancer.
  - onan_barbarian 15y ago
    Motor vehicle accidents kill the young (rarely); cancer and cardiovascular disease kill the old (frequently). Oddly enough, people regard a 4 year old killed by/in a car as a worse outcome than that same 4 year old growing up to be an 89 year old killed by cancer or heart disease.