Threaded Mode | Linear Mode

Della · 29-02-2008, 06:14 PM

I was horrified to hear that a driver had killed a biker. She was doing 45mph in a 30mph limit and she didn't see him! Why not? Because she was texting (yes, texting!) on her mobile phone.

For ending the life of a 19 year old, she has been sentenced to only 4 years in prison. She will probably be out in half that time. The biker has lost his whole life and she gets hers back in a couple of years.

If I ever want to kill anyone, I think I'll use a car as the murder weapon. It seems you virtually get away with it. Wink

Picking up the phone when you know it is against the law for a reason is pre-meditation just as much as using a knife or a gun in my opinion.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hamps...270751.stm

29-02-2008, 06:34 PM

Perhaps if he had not gone through the red light she would not have hit him?

This is a case of two wrongs, both no better than the other.

Pic · (This post was last modified: 29-02-2008 06:51 PM by Pic.)

Della Wrote:If I ever want to kill anyone, I think I'll use a car as the murder weapon.

Theres one you don't get in cluedo. Tongue

non-stick · 29-02-2008, 06:56 PM

Last time I checked jumping a red light wasn't a capital offence. Not condoning that as we only get one life so taking risks with it is stupid. Speeding motorists often cite the scenario of someone jaywalking or running into the road as a defence that it's not their fault if they run them over and kill them.

Roads are blooming dangerous places and too many take liberties which endanger themselves and others. Any eejit caught on a mobile phone whilst driving should get hammered, as should inappropriate speed, driving under the influence, etc. Trouble the only policing is via camera which only target speeding.

Also dont they usually get charged for causing death by careless driving as proving dangerous driving is nigh on impossible

29-02-2008, 07:26 PM

non-stick Wrote:Last time I checked jumping a red light wasn't a capital offence

I don't think I suggested that.

Let me run this past you.
1) If she was NOT on the phone and went through a red light killing him, would that have been OK?
2) If he had been driving a lorry through that red light and wiped her out, would that have been OK?

Yes, she should not have been texting on her phone. Yes, he should also have been following the rules of the road. He made a mistake, he paid a price. She made a mistake, she pays a price. A heavy one at that. A drink driver who killed a cyclist in Hampshire who had NOT gone through a red light only got 12 months.

keepontriking · 29-02-2008, 09:18 PM

daniel Wrote:Perhaps if he had not gone through the red light she would not have hit him?

May be, maybe not, but had she been driving safely she would have checked before going through the junction that it was clear and safe to do so.
She didn't - she was a serial speeder in charge of a potentially lethal machine who showed no regard for other road users - and an innocent teenager is dead. She went through a light without checking it was safe to do so, above the speed limit and on a phone. She killed.
Driving the way she did is no different to waving a loaded gun around in a busy shopping centre and hoping it won't go off.

01-03-2008, 06:17 AM

keepontriking Wrote:Driving the way she did is no different to waving a loaded gun around in a busy shopping centre and hoping it won't go off.

Rubbish. Riding the way he did he was an accident waiting to happen.

Brian · 01-03-2008, 07:33 AM

Disobeying the highway code seems is becoming a common habit in all areas so maybe this could be a lesson to all cyclists: jumping red lights can seriously affect your health!

To motorists: using your mobile phone for any reason could lead to you running over and killing a cyclist which means you'll go to prison for a while.

Now I wonder who's going to take the most notice of these lessons?

01-03-2008, 08:14 AM

Brian Wrote:Now I wonder who's going to take the most notice of these lessons?

Nobody. People are two faced. They take the moral high-ground whilst doing just the same thing.

Yes, this woman made a mistake - a bad one. So did the cyclist. He made the choice to jump the red light just as she made the choice to text.

What got her the length of sentence was denying that she was speeding and texting. What she did, therefore, was not punished - more the 'not guilty' plea. This probably shows very little remorse or indicates a love of gambling against overwhelming odds. She was probably hoping for causing death by careless rather than dangerous driving.

I do agree with Brian's early point of view that most people on mobiles whilst driving are either commercial/company drivers or young women. If you work in the street you see it all the time.

Being a cyclist you need to take responsibility for your own safety. A helmet, obeying the rules of the road & rights of way. Those that don't, well, they are just riding round the organ doners waiting room.

Chutzpah · 01-03-2008, 09:22 AM

Two wrongs here, and it shows a shocking lack of judgement from the cyclist.

I'm not condoning her actions but at the same time when you're a vulnerable road user you need to take responsibility for your own safety as no-one else will.

It's slightly annoying that the cyclist's family are preaching on the back of this sentence when they should also be pleading for other cyclists to wear helmets and not jump red lights.