raria

https://www.theage.com.au/national/v...14-p50fza.html

She at least took responsibility and admitted she was in the wrong. It would have been easy to blame other circumstances or even the cyclist.

JW Fas

With a guilty plea and genuine remorse I wouldn't be surprised if she avoided jail time.

CB HI

Certainly what the driver is counting on.

DiabloScott

Drivers and cyclists will all be better off when autonomous cars are standard.

JoeyBike

Modern cars and modern lifestyles are set up for distraction. The driver was completely in the wrong no doubt, but the playing field is very slanted against the average person's ability to resist temptation. Since she came clean and shows remorse, she could do a lot of good in a community service capacity and zero good in jail. A deal could be worked out where the motorist could tell her story in high schools and civic groups in an attempt to change a few minds about safety and driving. Maybe serve time on weekends, visit schools on weekdays. Or report to jail every evening and get a reduced sentence. I know this kind of deal exists. She isn't a violent offender. Her life is ruined. Her victim's survivors are heartbroken. Why not try to squeeze some good from all of that loss?

JoeyBike

Carjacker stock will go through the roof for sure. I mean...what if I WANT to run over somebody?? My wife tried (and failed) to run over a dude who attacked her in her car. But it wasn't the car's fault. Dude jumped some hedges and a fence.

JW Fas

That is a good 20 years away. Even if the technology is perfected today, the typical middle class American won't be able to afford one for a long time.

Daniel4

It's unfortunate that while this story may catch the attention of other drivers anywhere around the world, they will continue about their own version of distracted driving because they are so good at it.

In Toronto, we had a case where a bottle of water rolled around a driver's feet. While he was trying to get the bottle, he jumped the curb and killed a pedestrian waiting for the bus. He was acquitted. Regardless of all the details in the trial, the bottom line was that, in my interpretation, that bottle of water was worth more than the life of a pedestrian.

Of course the drivers were sorry. They're always sorry after the fact.

JoeyBike

So what does "Failure to maintain control of a motor vehicle" - resulting in death - get a person, legally speaking?

Paul Barnard

I am not in favor of jailing people for such offenses. If we can keep a productive taxpaying member of society a productive taxpaying member of society rather than having them become a huge financial burden, then we should. I am in favor of revoking driving privileges for a significant period of time. I mean a PAINFULLY long period of time.

CB HI

That does not work, they just keep driving.
There are two people who live within a mile of me who kept driving while revoked. One (a multiple drunk hit&run motorist) would drive 2 blocks to the store and back.

If they have to forfeit the car they are driving each time they get caught, then it will have an impact.

Maelochs

And of course, good citizens should video the infractions and report them to the police, if they really want to be good citizens and help make society a better place.

CB HI

And when good citizens like myself do video it and report it but the police do nothing?

Former Honolulu Chief of Police and his Assistant Attorney General wife are both on trial for stealing from and then framing their relatives.

Have video of a violent homeless man who camps on the Pearl Harbor Bike Path. Reported him for punching his girl friend in the face over 3 times; police only talked to him, no arrest. Have video of him flipping off cyclist on the path, reported with video to councilman and police over a month ago. He is still camping in the same place despite a specific law and easement agreement requirement that mandates the city not allow such camping by anyone.

Tamiya

SBinNYC

It's a long way off. At present the collision rate for autonomous vehicles is about 20 times that of human driven vehicles. In particular, autonomous vehicles have a difficult time reacting to bicyclists and pedestrians. One proposed solution has been to ban pedestrians and bicyclists. Please make sure there's a place for bicyclists and pedestrians in your vision of the future.

astrodust

stories like this definetly make me try to take the responsibility of driving very serious. I've caused one accident in the 30 some years I've been driving, and it happened because I was distracted.

Paul Barnard

Driving without distractions is nearly impossible. It's managing the distractions that makes the difference. I am prone to migraines. I am nowhere near as sharp when I have a headache. So for me headaches are a distraction. Even the road signs we need to get to where we are going are distractions. Around here there are school zone signs without flashing lights. The time periods posted on the signs are so small that I really have to study them closely to read them. I work for the government. I draw a lot of different vehicles from the motor pool. Of course all the controls are in different places, so it takes a while to learn them. My latest car was a Fusion Hybrid. Between the steering wheel and the right side of the console there were nearly 70 buttons or controls. Sometimes I eat on the road. When I do a drive through, I emphasize "NO TOMATO" I had a close call one day getting the tomato out of my way. My ability to hear where noises come from is not as good as it used to be. When I hear a horn, I take a look about to see if was a warning for me. I could go on and on, but distractions are a part of driving. Managing those distractions and eliminating unnecessary distractions is what matters.

JonnyHK 

Victorian Sentencing Manual

Up to ten years by the looks of it.

JoeyBike

This is very BF-like:

On 30 May 2016 the Court of Appeal stated that current sentences for dangerous driving causing death were inadequate and should be increased – Stephens [2016] VSCA 121.

Daniel4

It's already happened in one neighbourhood in Toronto. But it's to do with priority of bad drivers over residences. The incident occurred when a driver cutting through a neighbourhood to by-pass a traffic light of a nearby intersection (as a lot of non-local traffic does there) jumped a curb and killed a boy returning home from school via a pedestrian walkway connecting the school to his home.

The city's response was to close down the walkway with nothing being done about the non-local traffic cutting through.

Rollfast

Then only driverless cars will cause havoc and...

Umm. Let's stick to the real and now reality for now.