@canihasaccount I hope all the other faculty at NC State gang up on the civil engineering department to demand changes in what and how they teach. NCDOT is a terrible, deeply anti-pedestrian state DOT that does everything it can to prevent meaningful safety improvements and the bulk of their workforce comes from NC State.
This is such a good point. Our streets are dangerous by design. You only can have a safe experience walking in a location built before cars were the norm.
Not a single word on whether the car was an SUV. The likelihood it was is quite high, sedans are configured to not cause death in these events.
edit: typo
It's in the US so it's almost obligatory some oversized "my penis really is big, I promise you!" bucket
I almost got hit by a garbage truck yesterday at a crosswalk. The guy couldn't see a giant orange vest with reflectors during the middle of the day, I was walking my bike to the sidewalk and the guy didn't slow dowm
Obviously this is his fault, but given he's only 19 this sucks for everyone - even with him getting a lighter sentence. This will stay with him his whole life. And it's probably a combination of the area and how unfriendly it is to pedestrians, an issue with line of sight, and night now falling earlier. This is definitely the right place to post this. Even in an area around a university with heavy foot traffic there's always some close calls, and like people said in the article, some people get behind the wheel and think they are entitled, using it to dominate a situation when it's easier and safer to just let people walk by. Cars suck. Many drivers suck too.
The driver was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. That's a special section of law for killing by car, and it's far too lenient. North Carolina has laws on involuntary manslaughter they're not charged with.
The problem with explaining away the light sentence is that we have laws to make accidental killing by car OK, but accidental killing by any other method is not. That's not justice as it's neither fair nor equitable.
This driver should be in jail for 1 to 3 years as laid out in North Carolina's involuntary manslaughter code.
I feel like someone needs to make the simpsons bus meme, with the sign reading how blaming and increasing the punishment for the individuals with systemic problems isn't going to solve the issue.
Who cares if he's only 19? He just murdered someone by his own will. He needs to be locked up at a minimum
The higher charge would be some degree of manslaughter, not murder, unless you know of evidence that he planned to do this.
Involuntary manslaughter doesn't require premeditation or planning.
I'm sure he got in his car and thought: "Today's a good day to murder someone". Or maybe you mean he thought: "I see someone crossing the street, let's murder her".
There's no mention of ill intent. There is mention of bad lighting and bad road design. Seems like the guy is guilty of not being extra careful enough in a risky road situation, but why was there a risky road situation near a university in the first place?
When you choose to drive unsafely, you choose to drive with intent to kill.
There is a firm correlation between not wanting to murder others and driving carefully.
And while there are unfortunate accidents, the vast majority of pedestrian and cyclist deaths are caused by arseholes
Not accidents, collisions.
All automotive collisions are avoidable. In this case, it sounds like the driver was at fault. The road designers were at fault and probably politicians are also at fault.
@limer @Fredthefishlord But many of those arseholes aren't driving, they're sitting in offices designing dangerous streets or vehicles.
He didn't commit a murder because he didn't plan to murder her. Accidents aren't murder and not everyone is to survive the day.
Correct. Killing is allowed if you do it at random with an SUV.
Did the traffic engineer who created an intersection leading to death commit murder or manslaughter?
What about further traffic engineers who reuse this exact intersection knowing it leads to death?
Unhinged take, you clearly don't even know what will means. It's a tragic accident
That's why in less insane countries, the car is always at fault when it comes to accidents with "weaker" street/traffic participants such as bikes and pedestrians
(Such countries also have proper driver training, after this a young person would have to retake the exam probably or at least take part in "correctional lessions", if they didn't have their license rewoked for a long while in the first place, but oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
The driver is always, always at fault because by driving a two-ton heavy machine on the road, the driver is putting every one else in danger. With great danger comes great responsibility.
I like to keep reminding drivers about this by walking in front of their cars when they're not expecting it.
No joke, no sarcasm.
I just don't care about getting hurt as much as I care about teaching these drivers a lesson. I don't jump in front of cars randomly if they don't see me, but a driver who clearly looks me in the eye when I'm clearly about to step on a crosswalk — I don't even hesitate to step in front of them no matter what they're driving and how hard. (*edit I tell a lie, I actually don't do it to public transportation now that I think about it) Several times people have had to stomp their brakes and even somewhat slid sideways on an icy road.
I have been yelled at several times, but 9/10 the people realise it's their mistake. The remaining 10% are egotistical arseholes who know they're wrong but can't handle it.
I do this because traumatising the driver with "oh shit I almost ran over someone" could prevent a kid from getting run over by those exact drivers.
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