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Text Messaging Teen kills bicyclist

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,653
1,128
NORCAL is the hizzle
Well it's good to hear the 'Vang say that the idea of killing someone is a strong deterrent. Sadly there are lots of people who don't get that message. Those people probably won't be deterred from stupidity by a longer jail sentence, so Splat I don't know that a long jail term is a very strong deterrent. There are no right or wrong answers here, just opinions. If the victim was a part of my family, 1 or 5 years would not be enough to make me feel that the killer got what they deserve. I mean come on, it was a mistake? So is pulling a trigger. If you do something really stupid you should be held accountable as if you meant it. You took a life, so how much should we respect your life? The kid who texts while driving is not thinking of consequences any more than the drunk or the gang banger, and in my mind is not any less culpable.
 

bluebug32

Asshat
Jan 14, 2005
6,141
0
Floating down the Hudson
I think it's great that the use of cell phones is banned in some states. I don't think this solves all the problems, however. While cell phone use encourages accidents, let's not forget all the people who are eating a meal, listening to a dvd, putting on makeup and all the other stupid things people do to impair their driving. I've seen people swerve and make dumb moves while on their hands free. Once I even saw someone reading a newspaper. It's easy just to point a finger at cell phone users, but I think our society needs to wake up and realize just how dangerous the vehicle they're operating can be.
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
***UPDATE******UPDATE***UPDATE***UPDATE***


Teen Charged in Text Messaging Accident
By Associated Press
4 hours ago


HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. - A teenage driver accused of text messaging behind the wheel and hitting a cyclist was charged with a misdemeanor, authorities said.

The 17-year-old was charged with careless driving causing death, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison.

The victim, Jim R. Price, 63, was riding his bicycle Nov. 23 when he was hit by the teen's car, said Lt. Alan Stanton, a spokesman for the sheriff's office. Price died two days after the accident.

The teen has not been identified because he is a minor. Authorities said he lost control of the car because he was sending text messages on a cell phone. He was issued a summons and ordered to appear in court, authorities said.
 

mmaddmark

Monkey
Feb 24, 2004
118
0
put a transmitter in the cars that block cell phone usage while the car is in drive....create a "feild" that blocks phone usage on the road...many things could be done....but it wont happen.
 

rooftest

Monkey
Jul 10, 2005
611
0
OC, CA
mmaddmark said:
put a transmitter in the cars that block cell phone usage while the car is in drive....create a "feild" that blocks phone usage on the road...many things could be done....but it wont happen.
I'd find a way around it.
 

Pete Russell

Chimp
Mar 26, 2018
1
0
Yea, well drivers and bicyclists here in Saint Petersburg Florida have problems. From the standpoint of the bicyclist, the roads seldom have bike lanes so they have to ride on the sidewalk to be safe. Say, I am making a right turn from a major road into a tertiary or secondary road and I see a bycylist riding to my right. I have to judge his/her speed to see if I should stop and let him through the intersection. Two dangerous conditions exist here. If the car stops on a main road he runs the danger of being rear-ended by the car behind, so his impulse is to try an make it ahead of the cyclist. Pedestrians in this situation know to stop and look left for traffic. Don't do that in Miami and you die. Bicylist are going faster and want to stay in motion. Those are just the rules of inertia. Also it seams that many cyclists are not aware of their surroundings and many don't even have rear view mirrors to see a signalling car approaching. INcreasingly I see bicyclist who seem to have the attitude that everybody should watch out for them. Hell, when I'm on my bike I am very careful of tthe motions of cars in my vicinity. I don't have a death wish. BUt some around here are just, "hit me, I need the money".
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,072
5,983
borcester rhymes
State/Region: New York
City: New York
Latitude: 40.7517 (40° 45′ 6.12″ N)
Longitude: -73.9972 (73° 59′ 49.92″ W)
Postal Code: 10001
 

KenW449

Thanos did nothing wrong
Jun 13, 2017
2,704
329
Floating down the whiskey river...
whys that. if you just have to tell a person just one thing its cheaper than calling them. for instance. with my plan i get 400 texts a month for 5 bucks. know spending a minute on my phone costs more than that
Glad we don't have those plans any moar.

put a transmitter in the cars that block cell phone usage while the car is in drive....create a "feild" that blocks phone usage on the road...many things could be done....but it wont happen.
They have those nao.

Two dangerous conditions exist here. If the car stops on a main road he runs the danger of being rear-ended by the car behind, so his impulse is to try an make it ahead of the cyclist. Pedestrians in this situation know to stop and look left for traffic.
Then the car behind you is at fault for not maintaining proper following distance.

So the kid was 15. If he had gotten 20 years, he would be 13 years through it by this point and would be 28. Once he would get out at 35, he would have no school diploma, and MAY have gotten a GED, depending on the prison. He would have no real world work experience and would be a convicted felon. He would have very little chance to get a good job making livable wages, it is possible but very hard and you would need an understanding boss. So, now he would work min wage for the rest of his life and would likely be on welfare. So you taxes paid for 20 years in prison AND welfare. And that's if he sayed on a good track in prison.

Alternately, he could have gotten involved with gangs, drugs, ect making him even worse for society once he got out.

Kid was young and fucked up majorly. But he would likely be a burden on the rest of society for the rest of his life. Brains are not fully developed at that age to decipher good and bad choices. I think 5 years max would have been good. People still do it to this day, so what would have 20 years have done? People still drink and drive, not wear seat belts. I don't think 20 years would have made any difference that would be positive.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,991
9,646
AK
Glad we don't have those plans any moar.


They have those nao.


Then the car behind you is at fault for not maintaining proper following distance.

So the kid was 15. If he had gotten 20 years, he would be 13 years through it by this point and would be 28. Once he would get out at 35, he would have no school diploma, and MAY have gotten a GED, depending on the prison. He would have no real world work experience and would be a convicted felon. He would have very little chance to get a good job making livable wages, it is possible but very hard and you would need an understanding boss. So, now he would work min wage for the rest of his life and would likely be on welfare. So you taxes paid for 20 years in prison AND welfare. And that's if he sayed on a good track in prison.

Alternately, he could have gotten involved with gangs, drugs, ect making him even worse for society once he got out.

Kid was young and fucked up majorly. But he would likely be a burden on the rest of society for the rest of his life. Brains are not fully developed at that age to decipher good and bad choices. I think 5 years max would have been good. People still do it to this day, so what would have 20 years have done? People still drink and drive, not wear seat belts. I don't think 20 years would have made any difference that would be positive.
This is dangerous, you are actually thinking here.

I was riding yesterday thinking about how fucked up prison is. You go there, where you might be raped, get HIV or hepatitis, be forced to join a gang, learn to hate other groups/gangs for survival, and so on. It's basically a place where crime breeds, as in spawning ground. It should be hard because you are locked up, you don't get to go outside the walls, etc., but it shouldn't be hard because you have to join a gang for survival or get freaking HIV. That shit is all out of control in this country.
 

KenW449

Thanos did nothing wrong
Jun 13, 2017
2,704
329
Floating down the whiskey river...
This is dangerous, you are actually thinking here.

I was riding yesterday thinking about how fucked up prison is. You go there, where you might be raped, get HIV or hepatitis, be forced to join a gang, learn to hate other groups/gangs for survival, and so on. It's basically a place where crime breeds, as in spawning ground. It should be hard because you are locked up, you don't get to go outside the walls, etc., but it shouldn't be hard because you have to join a gang for survival or get freaking HIV. That shit is all out of control in this country.
Yup, but unfortunately due the the size of the country, we cant really do what other smaller countries do with their prison systems. Wish we could though. It could likely make a huge difference.

Slightly older article about brain development
https://www.today.com/parents/why-teens-make-bad-decisions-blame-brain-1C7398331
 

rockofullr

confused
Jun 11, 2009
7,342
924
East Bay, Cali
Yup, but unfortunately due the the size of the country, we cant really do what other smaller countries do with their prison systems. Wish we could though. It could likely make a huge difference.
Yeah we'd have to seriously reduce the size of our prison population to be able to incarcerate them humanely. We would have to do something drastic to achieve that..... like maybe, stop sending people to prison for stupid shit like being in possession of a specific plant or chemical that makes them feel good.
 

KenW449

Thanos did nothing wrong
Jun 13, 2017
2,704
329
Floating down the whiskey river...
Yeah we'd have to seriously reduce the size of our prison population to be able to incarcerate them humanely. We would have to do something drastic to achieve that..... like maybe, stop sending people to prison for stupid shit like being in possession of a specific plant or chemical that makes them feel good.
That's already happening, slowly but surely.