'I just don't care,' says texting driver who hit cyclist

[Lost_Sheep]

I share your sentiment up to the “but I have little sympathy when they get hurt” part. I can’t imagine not having sympathy for someone who gets hurt.

I tend to have an “It serves them right” attitude about such things.

 

[Lost_Sheep]

I find you attitude appalling.

See my signature file.

 

[Path_Finder]

All the same, this article is about Texting as much as anything, dismiss the cyclists, the Wall Street Journal article indeed states:

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), over 3,000 deaths in automobile accidents were caused by distracted driving in 2012.

online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20140414-904606.html

Now, that 3,000 seems very high but from this USA Today article, highway/road fatalities in 2012:

Road deaths in the USA rose 5.3% last year to 34,080, the first year-over-year increase in traffic fatalities since 2005, according to preliminary estimates today from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/03/us-highway-road-deaths-increase/2132457/

One could easily have the same kind of cynical attitude towards motorists, pedestrians and so on.

To me, “Texting” really does seem to be a problem nowadays.

 

[FollowChrist34]

See my signature file.

I am actually still hoping it’s a joke. I’ve commuted by bicycle for years.

For anyone who cares to, please say a prayer for an acquaintance, Don, who was killed commuting home in a hit and run in July 2011 (we shared a bike route of out downtown Seattle for years). He was 41 and left behind his three year old little girl and wife. Thanks.

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

I tend to have an “It serves them right” attitude about such things.

I’m with you. I just don’t have the guts to type such things. I used to live in a “cycling friendly” city. Riding down mountain roads three abreast. Flying around corners, flipping people off, flying through red lights, hitting my mirrors in because I dared to stop at a stoplight too close for their comfort so they can cut all the way up to the front and run the light pedaling in front of everyone. Talking about exercise but refusing to stop at stop signs. Especially in the mountains, they take a saturday afternoon to ride up a mountain at 4 miles and hour and yell at cars.

Here is the thing. No matter who is at fault. I will ever lose in a battle between a car and a bike. I would think some serious education needs to happen to some of these “immortals” who think a helmet and some spandex make them superman. I try to obey the laws and I am a careful driver, I don’t want some weekend yahoo to make the decision with his life that could affect mine if there is an accident. I don’t want to kill a man, just because he likes to put cards in his spokes and yell Wheeeeee! As he tears down a mountain at breakneck speed.

 

[pnewton]

All the same, this article is about Texting as much as anything, dismiss the cyclists, the Wall Street Journal article indeed states:

To me, “Texting” really does seem to be a problem nowadays.

Absolutely! I would say there is no excuse for texting while driving. Yes, some people say they can text and drive, just like some alcoholics think they can drink and drive safely.

This accident is the fault of two sides involved in dangerous behavior.

 

[SuperLuigi]

Not to be rude or anything, but she actually sounds mentally… challenged. Just put the phone away while driving. Put it in the trunk if it’s that much of a temptation. Sheesh.

Not rude when not meant as an insult.

 

[mikekle]

This does not surprise me, around here, they have been pretty tough with texting and driving cases, and have ad campaigns out telling people not to do it, but alot of people still do it, I see them all the time when Im out driving, I see at least 2 at every red light I stop at, I have to laugh, but its really sad, they obviously dont care, plus its nearly impossible for police to see this going on, most people put their phones down low and when at a red light, they look around first to see if any cops are around, so I dont see enforcement being a logical tool in fighting this, have to think of something else to fight it.

Maybe we should be looking to the cell phone manufacturers to solve this, obviously they know this is going on, why arent they coming up with something that does not distract people from driving, yet still allows them to text some…there has to be some give and take, because its clear people are not going to just stop doing it on their own.

Im sure congress can force cell companies to create something like this, I doubt they would do it on their own though, plus, Im a bit surprised they passed new laws making texting a crime, Cell phone companies are HUGE companies now with alot of pull, I have a hard time believing they want any kind of law regarding their products, strange they did not have high priced lobbyists to stop this.

 

[St_Francis]

I took the motorcycle safety course, which was so good it improved my car driving, and learned a lot about visibility. A lot of times drivers don’t or can’t see cyclists (of either kind) and car drivers generally do not know about the relative braking distances and stuff like that. Maybe drivers ed should be more comprehensive…

 

[OrdinaryMelkite]

I think she should have been jailed, not for texting, but for her callous unconcern for the injured cyclist.

This sort of easy sentence gives a message to other self centred morons that there’s not much to worry about if they do injure someone badly through their own actions.

She’s in Australia, so the real people you should be concerned about should be the Australian public-----some of whom might get the that very idea.

AFAIK, though, the majority of them are just as outraged as we are and agree with the victim’s wife that taking away her license for nine months was way too lenient.

OTOH-----this DOES show that callousness, stupidity, and injustice are not just limited to the United States.

Yep.

Indeed.

 

[Geist]

The cyclists I’ve encountered all seem to be arrogant and self-righteous (“I ride a bike so I’m better than you.”) They run traffic lights and stop signs, ride on sidewalks, pass cars on single-lane streets and don’t obey traffic laws in general.

I would never try to deliberately hit one, but I have little sympathy when they get hurt. Bicycles are just glorified toys. They should not be allowed on public roads.

Truth. I live in a mountainous area popular with them, they’re very dangerous.

 

[Sarcelle]

I don’t have a problem with bicyclists that follow the rules, but I don’t actually see many of them. Most bicyclists that I encounter don’t seem to really believe that traffic laws apply to them.The City of Houston has the same law. There was a piece on one of the local news stations recently of riders using GoPro cameras to document drivers violating the 3 ft law. Interestingly, I noticed that the bicyclists doing that were riding just outside the bicycle lane marking, making it impossible for a car driver to use the left lane of the road without violating the law. That was not commented on during the news piece.I wonder how many keep the video running when they decide that they don’t really have to follow traffic laws?She got what she deserved and those bicycle riders should have been, at the very least, cited. When one participates in such a dangerous activity, sometimes the outcome is very bad.

I have had encounters with riding clubs much as you describe. Arrogance leads to injury or worse and those riders must be held accountable for their actions.I begrudgingly accept that because that is the law. If it were up to me (and, unfortunately it isn’t), all bicycles AND motorcycles would be banned from the road.

Unfortunately, most bicyclists (in this area, at least) don’t seem to believe that automobiles have the same right to the road as they do.

Regardless, it is a very sad thing when a bicyclist is hurt. The young woman in the OP should be charged with assault.

Peace

Tim

Or at the very least have their own separate bike paths. In some parts of Maui, not all, I have seen bike paths that are separate from roads used by cars, kind of like a walkway, but for bikes.