This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
Killing is cheap
I can’t quite figure out why the courts fine people $400+ if they litter. But if you kill someone at a crosswalk, you get fined less than $375. Go figure. I’m all for the family suing as stated in the paper this morning. The girl was in a marked cros
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Doug, did you get all of this from my previous postings? Thanks for making it a seperate bitch though.
Hey,I totally agree. Not that I’m a legal expert or something, because I’m not, but is it even worth it? After legal fees, and the time it’s going to take (snails pace) to work its way through the legal system, what will they have to show for it? A dead daughter, a few thousand dollars – maybe, and one or two more wasted years.Nothing against the family – I couldn’t imagine what they are going through… My cousin was good friends with the girl, and went to school with her, it really affected a lot of people.Now we need someone who cares (in government – perhaps an oxymoron) to submit some new legislation that makes it a little tougher on those to whom using their cellphones while driving (or whatever the driver’s excuse is) are more important that a teenage girl’s life!!
Like Vehicular homicide, I know they have that in most states (all except for four apparently)… It’s like manslaughter, where there was no cognitive intent, but through their own negligent actions, someone was killed nonetheless…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicular_homicide
Ban cellphones while driving. In England, they take away your car if they catch ya yakking it up behind the wheel. Sounds good to me.
I agree we need tougher laws regarding driving. (who doesn’t?). Look at Newfoundland for example, it is against the law to talk on a cell phone without a hands free device while driving. The vast majority of people I know can drive and talk on a cell phone using their hands free device, including me. All I have to do it touch one button on the ear piece and say “call, Stephanie” and my phone calls Stephanie and we talk away about what her dog humped today, and how many times she heard the people in the apartment above her do it last night and what they screamed during out during an episode of Lost. Don’t worry if you live above Steph cause I changed her name and she really can’t hear you thumping away like walrus’. You know the important stuff. I myself am happy to use the hands free device, it was not that expensive and come to think of it I believe it came with phone. I am lazy! Most people are! I would much rather push one button and talk my way thru dialing a number then having to push all those tiny little buttons. Now in the UK it is against their silly British laws to do just about anything while driving. mobiles (as they call them, cells to us maritimer folk), eating, watching TV, shouting at other drivers and just look at how many accidents are happening over there. But they are crazy drivers, seriously have you ever been, it’s worst than the 401. Everyone drives fast, everyone cuts out into the smallest gap in traffic, buses have the right of way pulling into busy traffic they need to be fully aware of their surroundings because everything is so much faster over there. Me I like driving in NS. You have no idea what anyone is going to do. Turn signals are just a suggestion, speed limits are for sissy’s and cross walks don’t get me started on them. As I drive along I would rather be next to the guy speeding along that you know is attentive and will do the same thing as 99.5% of the other people then the NS drivers speeding along putting on make-up, shaving, talking on cells trying to shift gears who you have no idea when they’ll decide they are in the wrong lane and calmly drift across three lanes of traffic without a turn signal, a look or spilling a drop of that precious double-double.IanAKA Shoes
Not being an expert in law and what not, I still have to agree with all the posts above. On the outside looking in- some fines really do not make sense and our laws can seem so conveluted and abstract, I have to wonder if it is just to leave loop holes for ridiculous defenses.I can’t imagen what it would feel like to loose my daughter KNOWING it was due to a cell phone abuse, and that the repercussion was a $375 fine.on a different note- I just think we all need to slow down – pedestrians and motorists. be aware