tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post5557969535296741798..comments2024-03-25T17:49:41.408-07:00Comments on Salem Breakfast on Bikes: Fleeing Police, Driver Strikes and Kills Person Crossing River Road in KeizerSalem Breakfast on Bikeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618055627843335993noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-79477983985760407752023-07-23T09:27:47.363-07:002023-07-23T09:27:47.363-07:00Updated with news on sentencing.Updated with news on sentencing.Salem Breakfast on Bikeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15618055627843335993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-90096862927394972962021-08-02T08:03:32.486-07:002021-08-02T08:03:32.486-07:00Updated and revised with clip on a memorial vigil....Updated and revised with clip on a memorial vigil.Salem Breakfast on Bikeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15618055627843335993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-86854117905246893332021-08-01T06:50:38.393-07:002021-08-01T06:50:38.393-07:00Updated with information on the driver and dead, a...Updated with information on the driver and dead, as well as a Grand Jury indictment.Salem Breakfast on Bikeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15618055627843335993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-79073753815803711882021-07-31T18:23:15.704-07:002021-07-31T18:23:15.704-07:00Placing a lot of meaning on the use of the phrase ...Placing a lot of meaning on the use of the phrase "the car struck the pedestrian" instead of "the driver struck the pedestrian" seems like an overreaction. I doubt that there is any malicious intent or real harm done. <br /><br />I think it is universally understood (at least until driverless cars are in regular use) that autoists are people and cars are objects that do not act willfully.<br /><br />As to legal penalties, that issue is fairly settled and is consistent with legal and societal standards. If the driver is negligent or reckless, penalties should be relatively severe compared to those levied in cases where driver error or road designs become a factor.<br /><br />All of this must, unfortunately, be viewed in the context of the unequal access to fair review that exists in our society. If the driver is personified as a criminal and lacks the resources to present a proper defense, he is almost certainly going to be severely punished.<br /><br />If the driver has position or resources, then only in the most egregious circumstances will the state hold him responsible in any meaningful way, comparatively speaking.<br /><br />I would argue that the unequal application of penalties for those involved in traffic events is one of many opportunities that the state exploits to heap punishment upon those that it has classified as undesirable. A clear example of this is how the massive amounts of traffic cam related fines impact those with limited resources. While being merely an inconvenience to those of means, a couple of these types of citations could easily result in life changing sanctions for the poor or working poor.anothervoicenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-8910657344940101302021-07-31T06:54:57.293-07:002021-07-31T06:54:57.293-07:00You misunderstand.
The problem of "erasing t...You misunderstand.<br /><br />The problem of "erasing the driver" is about grammar and rhetoric first. It's about constructions with the passive voice that mystify the operation of and responsibility for driving, a "dangerous instrumentality." The driver is the one who employs lethal power and speed, and when we mystify the operator of a vehicle, we contribute to victim-blaming. Demystifying that element is a very small part in changing the norms and culture of driving, ones currently that make drivers an unfairly protected class. Using better language will not by itself have a causal relation to crash reduction.<br /><br />The solution to "erasing the driver" is not to name and shame a driver who has killed someone, who as you say must bear that burden. The names are usually in police reports or come out later, and rarely is any extra effort necessary there.<br /><br />Penalties should come from the law, which is too lenient at our present time. For a discussion of the legal questions about punishment, see Gregory Shill's article in the <i>New York University Law Review</i>, "<a href="https://www.nyulawreview.org/issues/volume-95-number-2/should-law-subsidize-driving/" rel="nofollow">Should Law Subsidize Driving</a>."<br /><br />The earlier posts collected under "<a href="http://breakfastonbikes.blogspot.com/search/label/Erasing%20the%20Driver" rel="nofollow">erasing the driver</a>" here discuss particularly egregious examples, and may offer more clarity for you. If you would like to continue the discussion or to comment on future posts, please adopt a pseudonym and use it consistently.Salem Breakfast on Bikeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15618055627843335993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666195730630249633.post-30537969871549251482021-07-30T11:56:25.980-07:002021-07-30T11:56:25.980-07:00Your theory seems to be that, by identifying drive...Your theory seems to be that, by identifying drivers that are involved in pedestrian deaths, whether accidentally, intentionally, or negligently, there would be a public benefit by somehow inducing safer driving behaviors within the autoist community.<br />There is absolutely no evidence that that is true.<br />Unless there is some legitimate basis for this theory (and perhaps even if there isn't), the public shame that might be piled on to those who most likely will have to live with a lifetime of guilt and shame, seems more like cruelty than anything else, unless the act has been identified as a criminal act.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com