I just... can't imagine hitting a person with my car, and my first thought being, "Is he dead? I hope so. LET'S MAKE SURE!" What the hell kind of psychopaths are they producing over there?
Well, this thread flew right off the logic rails into the Kim Davis abyss.
I was thimking the turning it to me (where is that Pixy thread of making a tragedy about "me" thread) was typical Americanism. And, then I saw thsi and now I am
I don't think being distracted by gadgets has quite the same intent as running over someone and then throwing the car into reverse and rolling over their skull a few more times, getting out of your car and stabbing them to insure they're actually, truly dead, before finally driving off. Â
Maybe not, but I'm not sure it matters of I'm dead either way.
It matters quite a great deal to the criminal justice system in the U.S.
And to, you know, basic human decency and a sense of morality and the value of a life vs. a dollar.
It matters quite a great deal to the criminal justice system in the U.S.
And to, you know, basic human decency and a sense of morality and the value of a life vs. a dollar.
I do understand the legal distinction. My belief is that the way we treat these crimes in the criminal justice system is incorrect. When you speed in any place where pedestrians may exist it should reasonably be assumed that you are aware that increased speed exponentially increases the risk of death for a struck pedestrian. When you choose to speed anyway it can be assumed that you don't care about that. Likewise, there is data upon data showing that using a phone to text/surf the Internet/navigate while driving is more dangerous than driving drunk. If you make the conscious choice to do so in a pedestrian rich environment that's good enough for intent for me.
But that's just not the definition of intent.
If I go bungee jumping -- knowing there's a possibility I could die -- is it suicide if I do die? Of course not. Knowing potential risks doesn't mean you intend for them to come to fruition.
It matters quite a great deal to the criminal justice system in the U.S.
And to, you know, basic human decency and a sense of morality and the value of a life vs. a dollar.
I do understand the legal distinction. My belief is that the way we treat these crimes in the criminal justice system is incorrect. When you speed in any place where pedestrians may exist it should reasonably be assumed that you are aware that increased speed exponentially increases the risk of death for a struck pedestrian. When you choose to speed anyway it can be assumed that you don't care about that. Likewise, there is data upon data showing that using a phone to text/surf the Internet/navigate while driving is more dangerous than driving drunk. If you make the conscious choice to do so in a pedestrian rich environment that's good enough for intent for me.
I can't say I have a specific answer about how the statutes should be changed to rectify this, but when a man is captured on video running over a 3 year old in a crosswalk and faces no criminal charges there has to be something we can do besides throw up our hands and lament the accident.
And honestly I don't know what's more gross the weighing of money above human life? Or weighing getting to your destination 20 seconds faster or taking a stoplight selfie more than human life? They all suck.
Clearly there is a need for insurance reform in China--it seems that would fix a good deal of this. Likewise we need reform here because it's clear that killing a pedestrian is virtually never considered a criminal act and it really ought to be.
There is no way to do this without utterly dismantling the entire civil and criminal liability structure in the US such that mistakes and accidents would essentially cease to exist in a legal sense.
I'm not saying when people are hurt or killed we just "throw up our hands" and move on, but to equate going 30 in a 25 zone with backing over a living person repeatedly is ludicrous to me and no basis for a legal framework.
I just... can't imagine hitting a person with my car, and my first thought being, "Is he dead? I hope so. LET'S MAKE SURE!" What the hell kind of psychopaths are they producing over there?
the "but the persons JUST AS DEAD" argument makes no sense
if I stupidly read a text on my cellphone then hit somebody yes i deserve punishment. It's dumb. People shouldn't do that. We should find a way to make it impossible for people to use their phone while driving. But it's not in any way the same as hitting someone then backing over their head several times to make sure they are truly dead.
Post by sugarglider on Sept 4, 2015 11:07:41 GMT -5
But that's why there are degrees of negligence/recklessness: to take into consideration how the wrongdoer breached his or her duty to the harmed. Driving 100 mph in a residential area is different than not noticing a pedestrian that entered your blind spot while you were changing the radio station at a red light.
But that's why there are degrees of negligence/recklessness: to take into consideration how the wrongdoer breached his or her duty to the harmed. Driving 100 mph in a residential area is different than not noticing a pedestrian that entered your blind spot while you were changing the radio station at a red light.
Yup. That's why I mentioned some states may already be working on this because I think some statutes increase the punishment if you are texting and driving. It already exists but specific things as technology and culture changes are being addressed too and added to the statutes.
I'm not going into the other debates on intent or whatever but there is no freaking way that a person can mistake a crushed human being for a trash bag or a cardboard box. Ten years doing complicated personal injury and seeing photos that I've had to wash my hands afterwards tells me this. There is a level of inhumanity that makes someone think "it will cost too much to treat the person I just hit so I will simply kill him instead." And a baby or toddler is doubly horrific because that person is thinking "this is a small child that has decades of treatment so it is better that he die and I don't have to pay for the care and instead just put a smaller dollar amount on the value of his life." Oh.My.God how can anyone think this??? It's inhuman.