K.A. Moylan
May 28th 11, 03:53 AM
This newsgroup has often had discussions of how lightly motorists get
off when they hit cyclists. I saw the linked article in the Canberra
Times, read the guilty motorist's penalty compared to the victim
motorist's injuries and immediately thought of the situation when a car
hits a cyclist.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/act-woman-avoids-
jail-term-as-paralysed-victim-suffers/2175391.aspx?storypage=0
I know the intersection where it happened. The driver left an undivided,
2 lane road and entered a divided, 5 lane road (3 lanes coming,
including a right-turn waiting lane, + 2 lanes going). There is (now, I
can't remember to back then) a dashed line painted on the road surface
to indicate the correct line to take when turning right. From the brief
report, she must have (somehow) gotten confused as to which roadway to
take and collided head-on. At the time of the crash (about 9pm in
January), the sun would have been set for about half an hour to an hour.
The punishment sees so light as compared to the victim's injuries. The
most galling part is that the driver's license has been suspended for
only 6 months. I wish more people, especially judges & lawmakers,
regarding operating heavy machinery (such as driving a car) as a
privilege, easily lost, rather than a right and easily kept.
--
K.A. Moylan
Canberra, Australia
Ski Club: http://www.cccsc.asn.au
kamoylan at netspeed dot com dot au
off when they hit cyclists. I saw the linked article in the Canberra
Times, read the guilty motorist's penalty compared to the victim
motorist's injuries and immediately thought of the situation when a car
hits a cyclist.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/act-woman-avoids-
jail-term-as-paralysed-victim-suffers/2175391.aspx?storypage=0
I know the intersection where it happened. The driver left an undivided,
2 lane road and entered a divided, 5 lane road (3 lanes coming,
including a right-turn waiting lane, + 2 lanes going). There is (now, I
can't remember to back then) a dashed line painted on the road surface
to indicate the correct line to take when turning right. From the brief
report, she must have (somehow) gotten confused as to which roadway to
take and collided head-on. At the time of the crash (about 9pm in
January), the sun would have been set for about half an hour to an hour.
The punishment sees so light as compared to the victim's injuries. The
most galling part is that the driver's license has been suspended for
only 6 months. I wish more people, especially judges & lawmakers,
regarding operating heavy machinery (such as driving a car) as a
privilege, easily lost, rather than a right and easily kept.
--
K.A. Moylan
Canberra, Australia
Ski Club: http://www.cccsc.asn.au
kamoylan at netspeed dot com dot au