Advocacy & Safety - Justice? Two drunk drivers get 10 years per dead cyclist

Some observations from a witness at the Llaneza sentencing. Llaneza was given 20 years state prison, with a minimum 18 years to be served without possibility of parole, for killing two and critically injuring a third cyclist during a high speed drunken driving spree on June 25, 2003.

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/04/285681.shtml

In a separate sentencing, another drunk driver also got a 10-year sentence for killing a bicyclist in Portland last summer.

These incidents and others like them have prompted the City of Portland to initiate a Community and School Traffic Safety Commission.

"Afterwards, Judge Frankel made a striking observation which I had also made to family members of the victims earlier. She pointed out that it was a mistake strictly speaking to refer to the killings of young Orion and Angela and severe injuries to Caroline as "accidents." Lindsey Llaneza had made a choice, which had the reasonably foreseeable outcome of producing such horrible results. She also pointed out that the problem we face is not just "drunk driving," but indeed all reckless and irresponsible driving, whether the driver is intoxicated with alcohol or distracted on their cellphone. She said she herself is a dedicated pedestrian, even though she takes her life in her hands every day due to people like Llaneza, but that people in a city like Portland make a choice to drive a car in a city which is quite manageable without one. She pointed out that people who choose to ride bikes like Angela, Orion, Caroline, and their friends were part of the solution to the problem of automotive mayhem."

Amen.

Thanks for posting that very timely and appropriate quotation, Slvoid.

Michele Young, the drunk driver who killed CeCe Krone, received a significantly lighter sentence of 7 years, paroleable in 4. Perhaps one of our BF members in the greater San Francisco area may be able to find out whether Ms. Young is out on parole yet, terrorizing unsuspecting motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclsts. In addition to jail time, DUI manslaughter/murder perpetrators should suffer permanent driver's license revocation.

A family friend was killed by a drunk driver about 6 years ago, two days before christmas, on his way home from shopping for his two kids. The jackass who killed him got only four years in prison and wasn't even hurt in the "on purpose". Two years ago this scum of socitey was let out of prison, and given his drivers license and everything. Four years. The sentence for computer piracy is longer than that. And this guy shattered the lives of an entre family. I feel that driving drunk is a choice, just like everything else. There should be greater consequnces to this action than a four year jail sentence and getting your license back when you get out.

In addition, make sure that all unlicenced drivers have their car confiscated too. It was recently estimated that around 20% of all drivers in this country have no licence. That is scary.

A guy I work with over the summers has gotten two DUI's in six years, got a third DUI on a suspended license. See, the police outfitted his car with an ignition interlock, so he bought another car. He also skipped court ordered rehab. His license is suspended for years to come, but he still drives. I just hope that he kills himself instead of some innocent family.

In related news, a friend and I have determined that everyone should work construction in their lives, seeing as it makes you work harder in school.

Well, at least its better then over here..

Here, let me copy out the full article for you to see

""SINGAPORE Armed Forces First Sergeant Koe Seng Wah had already had too many glasses of beer when he got behind the wheel of his car on Sept 13 last year.

It did not stop him from exceeding the speed limit though. Shortly after he left Tengah Air Base at about 4.15pm, he hit a 23-year-old cyclist, who died at the scene.

Yesterday, Koe, 31, was jailed four months for causing the death of the cyclist through his recklessness.

A district court heard that the breath analyser test he took about two hours after the accident showed he had 78 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of his breath - more than twice the legal limit of 35 micrograms per 100ml.

The cyclist, Nanyang Technological University engineering undergraduate Alvin Boey, was on the road with a group of friends in Jalan Bahar, which has a speed limit of 60kmh, when the accident happened.

Koe, who was driving his car at about 70kmh, was on his way to pick up his wife and year-old son, when he spotted Mr Boey and his friends on the inside lane, travelling in the same direction.

Instead of slowing down or moving to the right lane, Koe continued driving on the inside lane at the same speed, and hit Mr Boey's bicycle.

The undergrad was flung onto the windscreen of Koe's car, landing so heavily that he cracked it before ending up on the road.

Investigations later revealed that Koe had finished work at the airbase at about noon and gone to the mess hall where he drank beer for about four hours until he left.

In his mitigation, he told the court he had a clean driving record before the accident. He also said he was remorseful and had swerved right after he hit Mr Boey to avoid running over him.

He could have been jailed for up to two years and fined.
""

4mths..

Wait, isn't Singapore the place where they cane you for throwing a candy bar wrapper on the street?

Wait, isn't Singapore the place where they cane you for throwing a candy bar wrapper on the street?

only civilians...

Let me get my soap box...
If we as cyclists can get together to push bills such as T-21, to get MUTs built, bike lanes marked etc. Then why can't we push for more realistic penalties for DUI? We could join with other groups pushing for the same outcome. Why don’t we?

One year driver's license revocation, school and fine. (1st offense)
Permanent driver's license revocation, jail time and fine. (DUI related death)
Permanent driver's license revocation, jail time and fine. (2nd offense)
Unlicenced drivers have the car confiscated.

I would vote for that.....

The problem with revoking licenses, requiring interlock devices and confiscating cars is that there are so many cars available for sale that as long as any joker that loses his car can afford a new one, he's still driving. The guy in the original story that got the 20 year sentence for killing two cyclists had been driving w/ a suspended license for like 17 years, w/ several previous DUIs. No one really did jack about it until he killed someone.... :mad:

The problem with revoking licenses, requiring interlock devices and confiscating cars is that there are so many cars available for sale that as long as any joker that loses his car can afford a new one, he's still driving.

But how many new cars can the average Joe Sixpack afford? Let's face it, after the second one gets confiscated, he's going to find it very difficult to obtain finance unless he sells his house to pay for it.

However, Bentbaggerlen highlighted the real problem above. Too many cycling advocates are satisfied with ribbon-cutting ceremonies to open a bike path (that more often than not goes nowhere), or showing up for a ride once a month with a group of other like-minded advocates. There also seems to be a refusal to believe that any incident of poor motorist behaviour could actually be deliberate (I know this because I was shouted down at a meeting a couple of years ago for even suggesting that something may not have been an 'accident'). Until we get over these issues, it's all a complete waste of time.

But how many new cars can the average Joe Sixpack afford? Let's face it, after the second one gets confiscated, he's going to find it very difficult to obtain finance unless he sells his house to pay for it.

They don't necessarily have to buy new cars though, you can easily go out and buy a $500 car.

If I was the judge, I'd give them life in jail. If you take someones life, why should you be allowed to keep yours. Once that 18 years is up, they're out of jail and back doing what they used to.

In Ohio, we give multiple drunk drivers special license plates to show that they are drunk drivers. I saw one today that had TWO CAR SEATS FOR BABIES in the back!!

The problem of folks driving on a suspended license, DUI, etc is actually a cluster of problems:


It sounds very good to say, "Just take his driving license away permanently" but unless there is a viable way to get around without one, the offender will continue to drive anyway. As he sees it, he has no other choice. He will drive and damn the consequences. We need mass transit, light rail, and inter-city rail transport to be widespred and practical as well as provisions for bicycles and pedestrians designed into cities.
The time to get folks to think about the consequences of driving fatalities is when they are sober and before they have killed someone. Stiff sentences for killers are needed but are not nearly enough. A huge increase in fines for "routine" traffic violations, such as speeding and ignoring signals, would send the message that driving is a serious business and you need to pay attention to the rules. I think this would reduce the number of fatalities.


Dan

In Ohio, we give multiple drunk drivers special license plates to show that they are drunk drivers. I saw one today that had TWO CAR SEATS FOR BABIES in the back!!

In Ohio, I find the practice repulsive. Take their license forever period end of sentence. I just don't get it. No one is so important that they should be allowed to put innocent people at risk. They need their car to get to work, pshaw, personally I don't give a squat. Let them move closer to work or let them call a cab.

To me it's no different than an enabler helping an alcoholic get a drink, except enabling them to keep on driving has far riskier implications to the public at large. They have proven they can't be responsible drivers so revoke their "privileges" permanently, what's so tough about that?

Funny thing is the only time I see those special plates they are on mighty expensive cars, leading me to believe money or something of value has exchanged hands somewhere down the line.

Ohio Trekker, I agree completely! How's this--a Portland radio talk-show host, name of Lars Larson, on reading a report of a TWELVE TIME convicted DUI, suggested that someone wanting a good video project ought to stalk and film this walking piece of fecal matter to see where he drives, who serves him drinks, who sells him package liquor, etc. Larson, BTW, is an anti-cycling, cars first, last, and always right winger so it's refreshing to hear this kind of thinking coming from his camp!

Larson, BTW, is an anti-cycling, cars first, last, and always right winger so it's refreshing to hear this kind of thinking coming from his camp!

It's no surprise. I've never heard anyone from the pro-car lobby advocating drunk driving as a good thing to do. The only public person I've ever heard do this was Sam Kinison (the comedian, so I guess we can take it with a grain of salt). Ironically, he was killed by a drunk driver.