I don't know about the rest of the country but cyclists being hit and killed are getting a lot of media attention around here. The horrific tragedy of June 7th is surely part of the reason, and the publicity is probably a good thing. It helps maintain public awareness and drivers (who are not on their phones) are a bit more aware.
Recently, one of the disgusting perps was sentenced for a hit and run resulting in death. Witnesses at the scene saw him driving erratically before and after the collision. He left the scene and turned himself in the following day. The judge treated his actions as contrite and repentant, sentencing him to one year in jail. He takes a life, conceals his driving condition by leaving the scene, and loses one year of his own freedom. How can anybody call that justice? I think a lot of the effort being applied to improving cycling infrastructure is being misdirected. We should be lobbying for more strict arbitrary punishment and stronger sentencing guidelines especially when the driver flees the scene.
One year?! I'm not in favor of mandatory sentencing because of the terrible disparities we've seen in how those have worked out in the past, but one year is crazy. A similar sentence was given to a rapist recently (the story made the national news). It seems that sometimes judges identify with perpetrators in a way that makes it hard for victims to get justice.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'd like to see distracted driving punished in the same way driving under the influence is. The evidence shows that the results of both are the same.
I agree 100% with the distracted driving punishment. I do think that fleeing the scene of a collision should result in twice the punishment for whatever offense was committed and should certainly be more than OWIL.
DeleteI think fleeing the scene should be dealt with seriously because, when one injures someone, one assumes a duty to help them, at least to try to stop their condition from worsening, and to summon help.
ReplyDeleteThe penalty needs to be high enough that, when weighed against the chance of getting caught, even the most callous decide they're better off stopping. Even the most drunk. It should also be high enough to send the appropriate signal for how seriously wrong it is to do.
I would have no problem with at least manslaughter charges if it can be shown that, had the driver stopped and called for help, a victim who died may well have lived. Yes, that means that it would be less serious to hit a child in a busy crosswalk on a bright day, than a cyclist alone on a dark country road, but then it's exactly on that country road that it's most important that the driver help the victim.
Couldn't agree more. One thing brought up is that intense lobbying by MADD and others has resulted in very strict drunk driving laws, but penalties for leaving the scene have not been upgraded during the process. It now leaves drunks with a viable means of concealment.
DeleteMarc
In the August 8, 2015 hit-skip case in Montague, the "person with knowledge of the incident" turned himself in on August 11. Along with whatever substances he was on leaving his system, there may have been tampering with evidence during that interim.
ReplyDelete--admin, Michigan ghostbikes