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> I'm not sure why you would really want to press criminal charges against somebody who, following a difficult situation on the road, ended up unfortunately dam

by maratd 15y ago

> I'm not sure why you would really want to press criminal charges against somebody who, following a difficult situation on the road, ended up unfortunately damaging someone. I've been driving in New York City since I was 16. I'm 31 now. I've been in many difficult situations, even a major collision, but I've never found the need to plow into the sidewalk. There are people out there who are cowards. By that, I mean they would rather risk harm to others than to themselves. When you are about to collide with another vehicle on the road, you do not swerve into the sidewalk. No. You take your chances with the collision. People who endanger others for the sake of their own skin are trash and should be prosecuted. You use your driving expertise to stay on the road and if you do not have the skill-set to do that, you shouldn't be driving.

ArtB 15y ago
> You use your driving expertise to stay on the road and if you do not have the skill-set to do that, you shouldn't be driving. Unfortunately, in most many places in North America you cannot function in society without a vehicle thus even if you know you shouldn't be drive the penalty is so great that almost all keep on driving. If there were reasonable alternatives like mass transportation then we could reasonably expect thus unqualified to use them, but in suburbia mass transit does not work. To me this is as rediculous campaigns against drunk driving that don't push for local busses to operate until at least an hour after bars close. tl;dr: one cannot reasonably expect people to behave responsibly without there being reasonable alternatives
- malandrew 15y ago
  Actually there is a reasonable alternative: Don't live in cities that fail to provide a reasonable alternative. A car is only a reasonable alternative in rural areas and as a mode of inter-city transport.
  - ArtB 15y ago
    I think in Canada that describes only 3 cities, and even then a lot of the tech companies are on the outskirts since the offices are cheaper.
- westicle 15y ago
  What about personal responsibility? The answer to "society hasn't provided me with a convenient way to get around without a significant risk of killing someone" is not "oh wells! bad luck pedestrians!" Where it comes to a situation where they might kill someone, I do expect people to behave responsibly.
  - ArtB 15y ago
    So but it is more like "I can't get a job, or live where I can afford because I'm too easily distracted to be a good driver and I might kill someone, but it's that too likely since there are lots of shitty drivers and not that many people die and I don't really have alternatives." I bus to work, but I wouldn't work minimum wage if all the good jobs required commuting; I'd just be another shitty driver. It's not selfish either, it's selfish of you to expect me to give up anything resembling a normal life to make you a little safer.

by maratd 15y ago

ArtB 15y ago

> You use your driving expertise to stay on the road and if you do not have the skill-set to do that, you shouldn't be driving. Unfortunately, in most many places in North America you cannot function in society without a vehicle thus even if you know you shouldn't be drive the penalty is so great that almost all keep on driving. If there were reasonable alternatives like mass transportation then we could reasonably expect thus unqualified to use them, but in suburbia mass transit does not work. To me this is as rediculous campaigns against drunk driving that don't push for local busses to operate until at least an hour after bars close. tl;dr: one cannot reasonably expect people to behave responsibly without there being reasonable alternatives

malandrew 15y ago
Actually there is a reasonable alternative: Don't live in cities that fail to provide a reasonable alternative. A car is only a reasonable alternative in rural areas and as a mode of inter-city transport.
- ArtB 15y ago
  I think in Canada that describes only 3 cities, and even then a lot of the tech companies are on the outskirts since the offices are cheaper.
westicle 15y ago
What about personal responsibility? The answer to "society hasn't provided me with a convenient way to get around without a significant risk of killing someone" is not "oh wells! bad luck pedestrians!" Where it comes to a situation where they might kill someone, I do expect people to behave responsibly.
- ArtB 15y ago
  So but it is more like "I can't get a job, or live where I can afford because I'm too easily distracted to be a good driver and I might kill someone, but it's that too likely since there are lots of shitty drivers and not that many people die and I don't really have alternatives." I bus to work, but I wouldn't work minimum wage if all the good jobs required commuting; I'd just be another shitty driver. It's not selfish either, it's selfish of you to expect me to give up anything resembling a normal life to make you a little safer.