Another cyclist killed with impunity
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To continue this story some, yesterday I was stopped on the bike trail in town by a lady. I was riding my trike, and she stopped me to ask if I knew anywhere she could get an unuseable trike she could make into a ghost trike to place at the scene of the accident. She is a friend of the family and wants to do this.
A little further information on the woman that killed the cyclist. It is pretty well known that she has macular degeneration. So why does she still have a drivers license anyway. Further she was driving a van that has her setting higher with a better view, so she should have a full view ahead and should have seen the trike with its 8 foot high flag.
The family says that the Otoe Co Att has still refused to do ANYTHING. As far as the family knows he hasnt even contacted the drivers license office to have this woman rechecked for her license. Since the Co Att isnt doing his job, the family has started a civil suit against the driver and her insurance company.
A little further information on the woman that killed the cyclist. It is pretty well known that she has macular degeneration. So why does she still have a drivers license anyway. Further she was driving a van that has her setting higher with a better view, so she should have a full view ahead and should have seen the trike with its 8 foot high flag.
The family says that the Otoe Co Att has still refused to do ANYTHING. As far as the family knows he hasnt even contacted the drivers license office to have this woman rechecked for her license. Since the Co Att isnt doing his job, the family has started a civil suit against the driver and her insurance company.
The civil suit against the driver is what the DA wants... however one might wonder why not a civil suit against the DA for not doing his job.
#102
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Or maybe the DA has determined that the accident did not rise to the level of criminality? The reason for the 2 pronged legal system is so that victims can be compensated for losses, and for acts which deviate from a social standard are deemed criminal. This 2 pronged approach is why after a crinianl trial civil trials often occur for the same event and is not considered double jeopardy. Most civil awards do not include a punitive award.
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Or maybe the DA has determined that the accident did not rise to the level of criminality? The reason for the 2 pronged legal system is so that victims can be compensated for losses, and for acts which deviate from a social standard are deemed criminal. This 2 pronged approach is why after a crinianl trial civil trials often occur for the same event and is not considered double jeopardy. Most civil awards do not include a punitive award.
#104
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I personally have no issue with increased traffic code enforcement. In fact I believe that we as a society 9in the US) need to ramp up traffic enforcements by a great deal. But I am not of the belief that anytime a road user is killed or injured that criminal charges should be filed. I really think that in actual practice those who cry out for criminal charges in traffic here on BF would be a bit less vitriolic about needing criminal charges filed if it was them or a close relative who through carelessness, or just a mistake or error in judgement resulted in the death or injury of another road user.
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I personally have no issue with increased traffic code enforcement. In fact I believe that we as a society 9in the US) need to ramp up traffic enforcements by a great deal. But I am not of the belief that anytime a road user is killed or injured that criminal charges should be filed. I really think that in actual practice those who cry out for criminal charges in traffic here on BF would be a bit less vitriolic about needing criminal charges filed if it was them or a close relative who through carelessness, or just a mistake or error in judgement resulted in the death or injury of another road user.
And in fact I want drivers out there being less "casual" about their driving... such that they work to avoid "a mistake or error in judgement."
#106
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Might want to ask Dick Cheney about the charges if you were to accidentally shoot someone in the face while hunting. and revocation of a drivers license is not relates to criminal activity ( me drawing a distinction between criminal activity and traffic violations). And frankly equating cars to weapons is so far out on the fringe of social thought there is no argument from me on this, thankfully most people do not equate an inadvertent driving error with misuse of weapons.
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When I lived in California one of the tricks the voting public heard every election years was how tough DA's were on criminals. Ads would say the DA had a 98.5% conviction rate. Wow that sounds so tough on crime.
Truth was that was the case they prosecuted, plea bargained. They never advertised how many people we charge with felonies, or hard misdamenior, and walked aware free.
Reason was they did not have funds to proscicute a meaninless care, the evedence was not good enought for a 100% slam dunk conviction, the case was not high profile so it was just not pursued for proscicution, or the cops screwed up during the arrest on something like handling of evidence, or violating the suspect rights.
Trust me this is why Cops quit being Cops, they get burned out arresting bad people who do bad thing, only to have the system release these people back into society do do crimes over & over.
Our Border Patrol Agents have the same fustration with illeagles who they have stopped 5 or 6 times crossing into the US illegally. They arrest em, deport them, and fell like a fly fisherman on a catch & release stream in Montana.
Truth was that was the case they prosecuted, plea bargained. They never advertised how many people we charge with felonies, or hard misdamenior, and walked aware free.
Reason was they did not have funds to proscicute a meaninless care, the evedence was not good enought for a 100% slam dunk conviction, the case was not high profile so it was just not pursued for proscicution, or the cops screwed up during the arrest on something like handling of evidence, or violating the suspect rights.
Trust me this is why Cops quit being Cops, they get burned out arresting bad people who do bad thing, only to have the system release these people back into society do do crimes over & over.
Our Border Patrol Agents have the same fustration with illeagles who they have stopped 5 or 6 times crossing into the US illegally. They arrest em, deport them, and fell like a fly fisherman on a catch & release stream in Montana.
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Might want to ask Dick Cheney about the charges if you were to accidentally shoot someone in the face while hunting. and revocation of a drivers license is not relates to criminal activity ( me drawing a distinction between criminal activity and traffic violations). And frankly equating cars to weapons is so far out on the fringe of social thought there is no argument from me on this, thankfully most people do not equate an inadvertent driving error with misuse of weapons.
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its a shame. if you're not driving under the influence then the government doesn't care because theres no money to be made off of you. but if you are clean, then you have a license to kill and you will have no repercussions.
#110
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Take the bike out of the equation and anyone's death is a sad thing, right? Probably more pedestrians, runners -- even motorcyclists -- are run down by automobiles in greater numbers than cyclists and no doubt there probably are far more deaths among other innocent fellow automobile drivers. It's not even certain if an 82 year woman or a 16 year old teen with a cell phone is the greater danger to the rest of us on the roads.
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Any info on ACCIDENTAL deaths by gunshots? I believe that if you subtract the number of intentional killings by gun and car and only count the "accidental" variety, people driving cars would be many, many times more likely to kill accidentally than people holding guns in the USofA.
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The guns and cars comparisons are totally meaningless. First more people own and drive cars than own guns. Then People drive daily whereas guns spend most of the time idle.
In any case, neither cars nor guns kill people. People kill people through carelessness (not counting intentional), and the fact is that people are generally careless with things they consider safe, and more careful with things they consider dangerous (most of us are no different about various bicycle riding situations).
So part (or most) of the challenge is reminding people of the driving dangers. Ironically, so much has improved in terms of the safety of occupants, that it's probably increased the comfort factor and made driving MORE dangerous for those on the outside.
On the bright side, even short of self driving cars, continued progress on and integration of forward and side warning systems should lead to reductions of many classes of collisions.
If I were king, one of the changes I'd make, would be to use the electronic technology to measure the lag between the detection of a problem and the driver's response. Too much lag too often would lead to a warning of being inattentive or too tired to continue and give the driver a short time to find a place and shut it down. Or maybe the info could be sent to insurance companies to let them know they have an inept, or distracted client likelier to be in a collision.
In any case, neither cars nor guns kill people. People kill people through carelessness (not counting intentional), and the fact is that people are generally careless with things they consider safe, and more careful with things they consider dangerous (most of us are no different about various bicycle riding situations).
So part (or most) of the challenge is reminding people of the driving dangers. Ironically, so much has improved in terms of the safety of occupants, that it's probably increased the comfort factor and made driving MORE dangerous for those on the outside.
On the bright side, even short of self driving cars, continued progress on and integration of forward and side warning systems should lead to reductions of many classes of collisions.
If I were king, one of the changes I'd make, would be to use the electronic technology to measure the lag between the detection of a problem and the driver's response. Too much lag too often would lead to a warning of being inattentive or too tired to continue and give the driver a short time to find a place and shut it down. Or maybe the info could be sent to insurance companies to let them know they have an inept, or distracted client likelier to be in a collision.
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WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
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Since when does a person need a driver's license to drive a vehicle? My understanding is that one doesn't need insurance either.
#114
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The guns and cars comparisons are totally meaningless. First more people own and drive cars than own guns. Then People drive daily whereas guns spend most of the time idle.
In any case, neither cars nor guns kill people. People kill people through carelessness (not counting intentional), and the fact is that people are generally careless with things they consider safe, and more careful with things they consider dangerous (most of us are no different about various bicycle riding situations).
So part (or most) of the challenge is reminding people of the driving dangers. Ironically, so much has improved in terms of the safety of occupants, that it's probably increased the comfort factor and made driving MORE dangerous for those on the outside.
On the bright side, even short of self driving cars, continued progress on and integration of forward and side warning systems should lead to reductions of many classes of collisions.
If I were king, one of the changes I'd make, would be to use the electronic technology to measure the lag between the detection of a problem and the driver's response. Too much lag too often would lead to a warning of being inattentive or too tired to continue and give the driver a short time to find a place and shut it down. Or maybe the info could be sent to insurance companies to let them know they have an inept, or distracted client likelier to be in a collision.
In any case, neither cars nor guns kill people. People kill people through carelessness (not counting intentional), and the fact is that people are generally careless with things they consider safe, and more careful with things they consider dangerous (most of us are no different about various bicycle riding situations).
So part (or most) of the challenge is reminding people of the driving dangers. Ironically, so much has improved in terms of the safety of occupants, that it's probably increased the comfort factor and made driving MORE dangerous for those on the outside.
On the bright side, even short of self driving cars, continued progress on and integration of forward and side warning systems should lead to reductions of many classes of collisions.
If I were king, one of the changes I'd make, would be to use the electronic technology to measure the lag between the detection of a problem and the driver's response. Too much lag too often would lead to a warning of being inattentive or too tired to continue and give the driver a short time to find a place and shut it down. Or maybe the info could be sent to insurance companies to let them know they have an inept, or distracted client likelier to be in a collision.
However... as cars kill more folks than guns, isn't it ironic that there is no cry for "car control?"
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The states issue these people a license. Why is this not their fault?
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We don't need mote control of things, we need better control of people. Unfortunately effective "people control" has to come from within.
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Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
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Another cyclist killed in Otoe Co Nebraska, the the driver gets off scott free. An 82 year old woman ran down and hit from behind a trike rider flying an 8 foot flag. The County Att has decided NOT to charge the driver since he said--------------"no one should be riding a contraption like that out on the hiway" his actual words. Apparently is you are on a bike and get killed, cyclist lives dont matter.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.2290341
I wonder what will happen to this poor unfortunate SUV driver....
Out of control for 3 NYC blocks full of rush hour traffic? Really? And made it that far?
Last edited by JustinJK; 07-21-15 at 06:14 PM.
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Out-of-control vehicle fatally strikes bicyclist, leaves 3 others injured in Brooklyn
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.2290341
I wonder what will happen to this poor unfortunate SUV driver....
Out of control for 3 NYC blocks full of rush hour traffic? Really? And made it that far?
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.2290341
I wonder what will happen to this poor unfortunate SUV driver....
Out of control for 3 NYC blocks full of rush hour traffic? Really? And made it that far?
Over all, it sounds like a hit and run gone bad, and if the police can reconstruct it as that, I expect the driver will be charged with a homicide.
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An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
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WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
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An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.
Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
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Check out the video on this link. The high speed blur is the Honda SUV.
Cyclist Killed, 6 Hurt in Crash Near Barclays Center: FDNY | NBC New York
Cyclist Killed, 6 Hurt in Crash Near Barclays Center: FDNY | NBC New York
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I drove over the road a couple of yearsafter the internet killed my business off. We were given safety bonuses for being accident free. I soon learned ever scratching a trailers door on a loading dock was considered a accident.
The people who investigated all accidents, and decided if you were accident free. Classified all accident as preventable, and no preventable.
Being held to this high standard mast accidents are preventable. Thing like speed, california stops, unsafe lane change, loss of controol like on ice, show or rain are all causes of preventable accidents.
The people who investigated all accidents, and decided if you were accident free. Classified all accident as preventable, and no preventable.
Being held to this high standard mast accidents are preventable. Thing like speed, california stops, unsafe lane change, loss of controol like on ice, show or rain are all causes of preventable accidents.
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My point being that while the American public raises noise about things like gun control or even terrorists, they totally overlook one of the bigger killers out there... the family car. The power to "control" this killer is in the hands of every driver.... yet the hew and cry is "it's the other guy" that is the problem.
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