Another miscarriage of justice

[Burnspot]

https://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/7947951/

Just another example of the justice system failing to stand up for motorcyclists when it come to cars "failing to yield".

 

[Happy Rider]

That’s sad. Right-of-way collisions are interesting. Usually when it involves two cars it’s the person who caused the crash (violated another’s right-off-way) that gets the short end of the stick. Unfortunately when a motorcycle is involved the motorcyclist comes out getting hurt or killed. I don’t like the idea of someone violating my right-of-way, but when the courts look at these cases they look closely at the act that led up to the right-of-way violation. If the person wasn’t doing something completely stupid, and it was an honest mistake, they typically call it vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence and give the guilty driver probation. Then the driver gets to deal with the family of the victim in civil court.

I use to get very angry about this but if you take a step back and realize that we as riders choose to ride vehicles that are much smaller than a car and that makes it much more difficult to see us on the road. I don’t think throwing people in jail will solve or prevent this from happening. I think the solution to preventing theses things from happening would be to make it much more difficult to get a driver’s license and require people to under go comprehensive testing, both physical and skill related. But that will not happen to a level that will make us safer. Too many people believe that driving is a right and not a privilege and would not want that right infringed upon. I wish the family well and please be careful out there.

 

[Geezer]

I don’t think throwing people in jail will solve or prevent this from happening. I think the solution to preventing theses things from happening would be to make it much more difficult to get a driver’s license and require people to under go comprehensive testing, both physical and skill related. But that will not happen to a level that will make us safer. Too many people believe that driving is a right and not a privilege and would not want that right infringed upon. I wish the family well and please be careful out there.

As long as we as a society keep thinking about crashes as 'accidents' and driving errors are treated as minor mistakes rather then serious, potentially deadly acts, then drivers will continue to drive carelessly and not focus on the very serious task of driving. Most crashes could be avoided if all drivers would focus fully on driving, the way we as riders have to do when riding.

 

[SacramentoMike]

". . . Another driver laid down his motorcycle to avoid hitting the vehicle. . ."

Too bad the guy who got killed didn't think of that.

 

[chrisflock]

". . . Another driver laid down his motorcycle to avoid hitting the vehicle. . ."
Too bad the guy who got killed didn't think of that.

Honestly, I think they just use that because they are too lazy to write out, or perhaps even understand, the situation. The reality might be "Another rider attempted to swerve clear of the left-turning vehicle, and in so doing left the roadway/lost control, but had altered his path of travel sufficiently to avoid colliding with the left-turning vehicle". But who want's to put that in the paper?

 

[Crash Cash]

As long as we as a society keep thinking about crashes as 'accidents' and driving errors are treated as minor mistakes rather then serious, potentially deadly acts, then drivers will continue to drive carelessly and not focus on the very serious task of driving. Most crashes could be avoided if all drivers would focus fully on driving, the way we as riders have to do when riding.

+1. Bingo. Exactly. Even the auto insurance commercials treat them as "little oopsies that we'll sweep under the rug for you" and "they're the fault of that nasty OTHER person!"

 

[AsItLies]

I too agree, this is very sad and an injustice. We've all seen it before haven't we? it's not uncommon.

What can one do? honestly I don't think there's anything else but making yourself more obvious? headlight modulators are about the best way imho.

they are controversial, some say they are a hazard, but in my experience, when used judiciously, they are a great help.

Would they have helped here? sadly we'll never know...

RIP.

 

[Silver Penguin]

". . . Another driver laid down his motorcycle to avoid hitting the vehicle. . ."
Too bad the guy who got killed didn't think of that.

Honestly, I think they just use that because they are too lazy to write out, or perhaps even understand, the situation. The reality might be "Another rider attempted to swerve clear of the left-turning vehicle, and in so doing left the roadway/lost control, but had altered his path of travel sufficiently to avoid colliding with the left-turning vehicle". But who want's to put that in the paper?

That's more like what the truth might have been. Or perhaps the other rider was under the misunderstanding that sliding skin will stop faster than sticky rubber tires, with properly applied brakes. Who knows? he/she may have been avoiding that deadly front brake.

Nevertheless, two lives have been lost, for the bargain price of $50 apiece. Not much of a comfort to their families, is it?

 

[James Burleigh]

When I hear about a terrible accident like this, I always want to know the full story. Drivers have a right to expect that other vehicles are moving at reasonable speeds. Sometimes the "left-turner" tragedy is partly or largely the fault of the rider moving at an excessive speed for the roadway and traffic.

My wanting to know is selfish: If I believed that drivers routinely and irrationally pulled out in front of motorcycles going the speed limit, then I might have to give up riding. I need to believe I have some control out there so I can keep getting on the bike every day.

 

[Silver Penguin]

When I hear about a terrible accident like this, I always want to know the full story. Drivers have a right to expect that other vehicles are moving at reasonable speeds. Sometimes the "left-turner" tragedy is partly or largely the fault of the rider moving at an excessive speed for the roadway and traffic.

Quite true. It's not fair to make any judgement until you're in possession of all of the facts. I was reminded of this at work when I asked about a young man with some nasty injuries (mostly to his head). A colleague who knows that I ride, took a gruesome interest in telling me that this kid was on the back of his father's bike when they t-boned a left turning van. Dad was killed at the scene and the boy is in the ICU. Both were wearing helmets. Graphic details don't need to be posted here, but I got the impression that the helmets were neither full face nor DOT/Snell approved.

Hearing the story gave me pause for thought. As we all should periodically do, I evaluated why I ride and what I do to minimize the risks to myself and my bike.

Be careful out there.

 

[Happy Rider]

When I hear about a terrible accident like this, I always want to know the full story. Drivers have a right to expect that other vehicles are moving at reasonable speeds. Sometimes the "left-turner" tragedy is partly or largely the fault of the rider moving at an excessive speed for the roadway and traffic.
My wanting to know is selfish: If I believed that drivers routinely and irrationally pulled out in front of motorcycles going the speed limit, then I might have to give up riding. I need to believe I have some control out there so I can keep getting on the bike every day.

Very good point. At some point as your speed increases above a reasonable level you forfeit your right-of-way. Sometimes it can be very difficult to determine the speed of vehicles, absent a good witness and physical evidence at the scene.

 

[Wee Willy]

Just another example of the justice system failing to stand up for motorcyclists when it come to cars "failing to yield".

And what would you like to see happen to him? Drawn & quartered? Public flogging with a cat-o-nine-tails? 1 hr per day police call in the local park & rec facility for a month? What?

Where do your sensibilities tell you this should have gone?

Curious,

W2

 

[k7lvo]

Just another example of the justice system failing to stand up for motorcyclists when it come to cars "failing to yield".

And what would you like to see happen to him? Drawn & quartered? Public flogging with a cat-o-nine-tails? 1 hr per day police call in the local park & rec facility for a month? What?

Where do your sensibilities tell you this should have gone?

Curious,

W2

I would be satisfied if the driver got the same sentence for killing a motorcyclist as they would if they killed a bicyclist or pedestrian...

 

[Burnspot]

Just another example of the justice system failing to stand up for motorcyclists when it come to cars "failing to yield".

And what would you like to see happen to him? Drawn & quartered? Public flogging with a cat-o-nine-tails? 1 hr per day police call in the local park & rec facility for a month? What?

Where do your sensibilities tell you this should have gone?

Curious,

W2

I would be satisfied if the driver got the same sentence for killing a motorcyclist as they would if they killed a bicyclist or pedestrian...

+1

Willy, $50/per person simply is NOT giving cagers ANY 2nd thoughts about how they drive their vehicle.

In-car distractions appear to be on the rise with more and more cell phones and digital gizmos stealing attention away from what really matters...operating the vehicle. I lose count over the course of a work week the number of examples of "oopsies" displayed by cagers along my route to/from work. In this area, it seems like there's at least one motorcycle-related "failure to yield" accident that makes the news every week unfortunately. Yes, we have our fair share of Pepsi Cola racing team members around here that manage to wreak havoc on motorcycling's image on a regular basis, but the main point is that in the cases where the bike isn't at fault, punishment rarely reaches the levels found with other infractions.

 

[Auburn]

Just another example of the justice system failing to stand up for motorcyclists when it come to cars "failing to yield".

And what would you like to see happen to him? Drawn & quartered? Public flogging with a cat-o-nine-tails? 1 hr per day police call in the local park & rec facility for a month? What?

Where do your sensibilities tell you this should have gone?

Curious,

W2

I would be satisfied if the driver got the same sentence for killing a motorcyclist as they would if they killed a bicyclist or pedestrian...

Or for around here, the same time you get for animal cruelty...