Post by DontDentMyCar on Jul 21, 2015 11:31:50 GMT -5
Referring to this story: abcnews.go.com/US/pickup-truck-driver-drank-beer-collision-long-island/story?id=32564636
Pickup Driver Drank Beer Before Crash With Long Island Limo Killed 4 Women, DA Says
Okay this story is in the NYC area news. Eight women were making the rounds at some wineries tasting wine and hired a limo to take them on the tour. At an intersection they were T-boned by a pickup driver who was 'drunk' (I don't know how drunk, if he was speeding, etc.) which killed 4 of the women inside. The pickup truck driver fled the scene (Hit and run) and was found relatively close by.
Hit and Run: "After the accident, Romeo stayed at the scene for about 15 minutes and then walked away, Spota added. He walked away about 1,000 feet, climbed a fence, and went down a steep embankment until officers caught up with him and brought him back to the scene, Spota said."
One's first thought is the drunk caused the collision. In fact he's being held on a $500,000 cash bail, $1Mil bond in jail. But like so many collisions there are other factors that create the conditions for collisions. While only one factor can create the condition for a collision certainly, many and most of the time there are several factors that contribute in varying degrees to the outcome. The thing most of the coverage doesn't cover is that the limo driver after exiting a highway realized he was going in the wrong direction, so at a nearby intersection he decided to do a u-turn, and while in the middle of his turn was T-boned by the pickup. Certainly the pickup driver should have tried to avoid the collision, and perhaps (probably) the drunken state of him made this impossible, but what about the limo driver? His vehicle was in the middle of the road , not making a left, but in the process of making a 360° turn.
"Making a U-turn at the location is legal, officials said, though police have been issuing summonses to limo drivers over failing to yield the right of way at that turn near the vineyard."
For me, there are few circumstances where a u-turn should be legal and perhaps this incident will allow law makers to rethink this attitude. While it can be okay if those making the u-turn drive responsibly, the unfortunate reality is that people like this limo driver expect others to yield to them rather than they wait for the road to be clear. Obviously in this case the drunk driver couldn't react in time and probably hit the limo at full speed.
So, for me both drivers had a lax attitudes, one significantly worse than the other, but both responsible in different degrees to the loss of 4 perfectly perfect lives.
I give the limo driver 15% responsibility (because it was legally allowed, but he was careless expecting others to yield to him), for if he didn't make the u-turn as he did this collision would not have happened. The drunk bears 85% in my mind because if you drink then drive you really are an idiot who's recklessness is essentially suicidal behavior.
Pickup Driver Drank Beer Before Crash With Long Island Limo Killed 4 Women, DA Says
Okay this story is in the NYC area news. Eight women were making the rounds at some wineries tasting wine and hired a limo to take them on the tour. At an intersection they were T-boned by a pickup driver who was 'drunk' (I don't know how drunk, if he was speeding, etc.) which killed 4 of the women inside. The pickup truck driver fled the scene (Hit and run) and was found relatively close by.
Hit and Run: "After the accident, Romeo stayed at the scene for about 15 minutes and then walked away, Spota added. He walked away about 1,000 feet, climbed a fence, and went down a steep embankment until officers caught up with him and brought him back to the scene, Spota said."
One's first thought is the drunk caused the collision. In fact he's being held on a $500,000 cash bail, $1Mil bond in jail. But like so many collisions there are other factors that create the conditions for collisions. While only one factor can create the condition for a collision certainly, many and most of the time there are several factors that contribute in varying degrees to the outcome. The thing most of the coverage doesn't cover is that the limo driver after exiting a highway realized he was going in the wrong direction, so at a nearby intersection he decided to do a u-turn, and while in the middle of his turn was T-boned by the pickup. Certainly the pickup driver should have tried to avoid the collision, and perhaps (probably) the drunken state of him made this impossible, but what about the limo driver? His vehicle was in the middle of the road , not making a left, but in the process of making a 360° turn.
"Making a U-turn at the location is legal, officials said, though police have been issuing summonses to limo drivers over failing to yield the right of way at that turn near the vineyard."
For me, there are few circumstances where a u-turn should be legal and perhaps this incident will allow law makers to rethink this attitude. While it can be okay if those making the u-turn drive responsibly, the unfortunate reality is that people like this limo driver expect others to yield to them rather than they wait for the road to be clear. Obviously in this case the drunk driver couldn't react in time and probably hit the limo at full speed.
So, for me both drivers had a lax attitudes, one significantly worse than the other, but both responsible in different degrees to the loss of 4 perfectly perfect lives.
I give the limo driver 15% responsibility (because it was legally allowed, but he was careless expecting others to yield to him), for if he didn't make the u-turn as he did this collision would not have happened. The drunk bears 85% in my mind because if you drink then drive you really are an idiot who's recklessness is essentially suicidal behavior.