Re: Penalty for killing bicyclist inadequate

Causation doesn't transition to culpability/blame very smoothly

Sometimes it just doesn't make the jump




On Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 1:02 PM, Jeffrey Heller <[email protected]> wrote:

> Cyclists breaking rules and acting unpredictably can precipitate car
> accidents.  In NYC, unlit bikes, often ridden by people dressed in dark
> clothes, pop out of nowhere at night.  Drivers instinctively swerve to avoid
> them.  They don't necessarily swerve into an empty space.
>
> There's a reason that if a car rear-ends another, the driver of the rear
> car is considered to be at fault.  We are required to expect the unexpected.
>  The front car stopped suddenly for a kid who jumped into the street?  You
> should have prepared for that possibility by driving more slowly or hanging
> back.  You weren't looking, for whatever reason (fumbling for change to pay
> a toll, turning toward kids fighting in the back seat, etc.)?  That's the
> chance you took when you took your eyes off the road; why should the other
> party, minding her/his own business, pay the price for your inattention?
>
> Most of us make these mistakes at times.  Almost always, we get away with
> it and no harm done.  But if it doesn't work out, the blame is on us.
>
> The captain of the ship is responsible for what happens on the ship, from
> the bilges to the crow's nest.  Ditto for the rulebreaking driver (or rider
> -- bikes kill pedestrians once in a while) who hits someone or something
> that was entitled to be where it was and to be doing what it was doing.
>  It's not "fair," but the buck has to stop somewhere.
>
> Maybe punishing "sympathetic" careless drivers (like the mother who killed
> the cyclist) will get those who hear of it to be more careful.  Even if the
> effect wears off after a day or two, some unknown person may be spared
> because a driver took a little more care for a few minutes after thinking
> about how fast a tragedy can happen.
>
> --Jeffrey (NYC)
>
> On Feb 17, 2011, at 3:56 PM, Allan Desmond wrote:
>
> >
> > still not the right thing to do!
> >
> >
> > Allan D. Desmond
> > 702.363.3368
> > [email protected]
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2011 12:34:00 -0700
> > Subject: Re: Penalty for killing bicyclist inadequate
> > From: [email protected]
> > To: [email protected]
> > CC: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
> >
> >
> > On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 10:46 AM, Allan Desmond <[email protected]>
> wrote:
> >
> >
> >  ...because no driver has ever seen a cyclist run a red light or cross in
> front of a car without signaling..
> >
> >
> >
> > To my knowledge, no one has ever died from a cyclist running a red light
> or crossing in front of a car without signaling...
> > oh, wait, I take that back... I'm sure some have. but in a vast majority,
> if not all cases, it was the cyclist.
> > If a bicyclist does something negligent/illegal, generally no one else
> dies except potentially the cyclist.
> > If an automobile driver does something negligent/illegal, there is a
> decent chance someone else will die.
> > Happens far to frequently on the roads of Montana, where automobile
> "accidents" have to be one of  the the top causes of death.
> >
> > --
> > John Wood
> > Open Road Bicycles
> > Missoula, Montana, USA
> >
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