# A maximum penalty of one year for plowing into a car and causing a death? HUH??? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 30, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119 "2007-01-30T16:08:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/101 "2007-01-30T20:39:20Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] And I was never on a high horse. I was simply trying to narrow your broad brush. It was you who started with the assertion of liar. Back it up or retract it. [/QUOTE] We’ve gotten pretty far afield from the original point I was trying to make here. Let’s go back to what I said originally, shall we? > [@Me](#): > > It could have happened to any one of us, and if you’re going to claim you’ve never once **driven faster than you should have** , I’m going to call you a liar. Again, please, note very carefully that I said nothing about exceeding the speed limit. I don’t know why you keep going back to that, because that’s NOT what I said. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/102 "2007-01-30T20:39:29Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] How do you define speeding? Can you give me a number? [/QUOTE] Any amount over the posted speed limit is speeding. One mile over for one second is speeding. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/103 "2007-01-30T20:39:46Z")
[QUOTE=CarnalK] Any comments? [/QUOTE] Yeah, those guys were assholes. What of it? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/104 "2007-01-30T20:41:06Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] How do you define speeding? Can you give me a number? [/QUOTE] I’m not the person you’re replying to, but I would define it as anything that is over the posted speed limit or that is too fast for the current road conditions. The latter would be subject to ones discretion compared to the first which is an absolute. That’s not to say I don’t speed, but I do recognize that 5 mph over the limit IS speeding. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/105 "2007-01-30T20:41:43Z")
Ah, so according to **QED** , I’m not a liar, and according to **Kalhoun** , I am. Glad we settled that. I’ll take my lumps now. ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/106 "2007-01-30T20:42:35Z")
[QUOTE=magellan01] _Maximum?_ The singer Brandy had an accident and caused someone’s death and they may prosecute her for vehicular manslaughter. Okay, so far, [/quote] … > [@](#): > > Assuming this is found to all be true, does a year seem like adequate punishment? I feels grossly inadequate to me? Well, geeze. She only killed someone. You’d think she [inadvertently found porn on her computer](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=403939) or something. Now that’s worth 40 years in jail. Killing someone - meh. Especially if you’re a young sexy superstar. (What the FCUK is going on with this world?) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/107 "2007-01-30T20:42:53Z")
[QUOTE=Antinor01] I’m not the person you’re replying to, but I would define it as anything that is over the posted speed limit or that is too fast for the current road conditions. [/QUOTE] Sometimes very contradictory things. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/108 "2007-01-30T20:43:21Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] It was you who started with the assertion of liar. Back it up or retract it. [/QUOTE] Here, let me help [QUOTE=tdn] [I’ve driven over the speed limit once in my life. I was 18, it was only the only car on the road, and it was a country road. I got the thing up to 70, for about 10 seconds. Call me a liar if you want, but I have no sympathy for those that speed.]([http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8205162&postcount=8](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8205162&postcount=8)) [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=tdn] [When I say I’ve never sped, what I meant was I never did 55 in a 40. I may have thrown caution to the wind, and done a wacky and reckless 42, or even an insane 45, but I always tried to be mindful of the posted limits. I also took the flow of traffic into account, as well as road conditions. When travelling on a 55 highway, I might have done anywhere from 53 to 61, but I always kept in the right-hand lane. I certainly never did 70.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8205694&postcount=51) [/QUOTE] You must be lying in one of these statements as they are contradictory. Not only do I think you are a liar, but I think you are a self-righteous, sanctimonious asshole too. Just MHO. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/109 "2007-01-30T20:43:23Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Ah, so according to **QED** , I’m not a liar, and according to **Kalhoun** , I am. Glad we settled that. I’ll take my lumps now. [/QUOTE] You can be doing 10 miles under the posted speed in a rainstorm and if you get in an accident, you will likely be cited for driving to fast for conditions. It is different from speeding, but the result is the same. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/110 "2007-01-30T20:44:15Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] How do you define speeding? [/QUOTE] Sigh. [Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/speeding) > [@](#): > > 1. to drive a vehicle at a rate that exceeds the legally established maximum As to a number, that depends on the jurisdiction. If the speed limit is 55, then speeding is going at a speed greater than . . . Drumroll . . . 55 This topic is getting way to complex for me, I need a nap. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/111 "2007-01-30T20:47:40Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Sometimes very contradictory things. [/QUOTE] As I said, the road condition one is more discretionary where exceeding the posted limit is an absolute. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/112 "2007-01-30T20:48:20Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] How do you define speeding? Can you give me a number? [/QUOTE] Speeding is generally defined and understood to mean “exceeding the speed limit.” So if the speed limit is 25, that number is 26. If the speed limit is 55, that number is 56. If the speed limit is 70, that number is 71. I’m sure you get how it works. So chalk me up as another person who had trouble reconciling the self-righteous “I never speed, I’ve speeded once in my life” with “I only go a few miles over” The second contradicts the first. But you’ll have to excuse my confusion, as I’m one of those lurking lawyers. :rolleyes: If you are going at or near the speed limit, there is no way you will be charged with impeding traffic only for going too slow for conditions. The correct speed for conditions has already been set by the authorities – that’s the speed limit – and that’s how fast you are going. The fact that everyone else is going 90 mph is not your problem, though you would be well-advised to move to the far right lane (in the States, where the right lane is the slowest lane and the most left lane is the passing or “fast” lane) because you might be ticketed for impeding traffic not based on your speed but based on your refusal to move over. And here’s another FYI: even if you’re going _under_ the speed limit, you can still be charged with driving too fast for conditions and/or failing to maintain a safe following distance _if you rear-end someone else_. That’s because the very fact that you rear-ended someone is itself evidence that (a) you’re driving too fast for the conditions (the condition being stop-and-go traffic, or a stopped car ahead of you) and (b) you were following too closely – because if you weren’t you wouldn’t have hit them. So all the kerfluffle about what consitutes “speeding” and whether Brandi was “speeding” and do you automatically become completely undeserving of sympathy for any result if you were “speeding” – they’re all sort of beside the point. If you hit someone from behind, 99 times out of 100, you will be charged with something. If someone _dies_ as a result of your rear-ending someone, but you did nothing else to put you at fault, you probably will be charged with the least serious charge for criminal actions involving the death of someone – in this case, involuntary manslaughter. ---
**Author:** ![Dob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Dob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dob)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/113 "2007-01-30T20:49:38Z")
Awww! **Eyer** beat me to the lump givings!! _shakes fist in an angry manner_ Damn you Eyer8, damn you to hell! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/114 "2007-01-30T20:50:39Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Ah, so according to **QED** , I’m not a liar… [/QUOTE] I’ve neither stated nor implied any such thing. I still say you’re a liar. Yes, you did admit you had exceeded the speed limit the one time, however, your convoluted explanation as to why it was perfectly safe to do so was horseshit. Regardless of whatever rationalization you might provide, 70 MPH on a country road (which probably isn’t very well maintained, if my experience with various rural roadways is typical) is, as I said, driving faster than you should. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/115 "2007-01-30T20:52:22Z")
[QUOTE=Eyer8] You must be lying in one of these statements as they are contradictory. [/QUOTE] Let me revise my original statement then, to make myself clear. Not that it will do any good to people hell-bent on calling me a liar. I have, to the best of my recollection, driven at an unsafe speed once, exactly once, less than twice, more than zero times. On occasion, I have exceeded the speed limit, but not excessively. On occasion, I have driven under the speed limit. In those cases, my deviation from the posted speed limit was in the interest of safety, in light of blending in with the flow of traffic. That should put this to bed. I doubt it will. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/116 "2007-01-30T20:54:00Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Let me revise my original statement then, to make myself clear. Not that it will do any good to people hell-bent on calling me a liar. I have, to the best of my recollection, driven at an unsafe speed once, exactly once, less than twice, more than zero times. On occasion, I have \*\*exceeded \*\* the speed limit, but not **excessively**. On occasion, I have driven under the speed limit. In those cases, my deviation from the posted speed limit was in the interest of safety, in light of blending in with the flow of traffic. That should put this to bed. I doubt it will. [/QUOTE] Do you see why we’re having a hard time with your original statement? ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/117 "2007-01-30T20:55:02Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] How do you define speeding? Can you give me a number? [/QUOTE] From my point of view, the term speeding just means going above the speed limit. Practically that would mean if the speed can be measured by a radar gun or speedomiter to be above the speed limit, ie about 1 mph or more above the speed limit. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/118 "2007-01-30T20:56:36Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Let me revise my original statement then, to make myself clear. Not that it will do any good to people hell-bent on calling me a liar. I have, to the best of my recollection, driven at an unsafe speed once, exactly once, less than twice, more than zero times. On occasion, I have exceeded the speed limit, but not excessively. On occasion, I have driven under the speed limit. In those cases, my deviation from the posted speed limit was in the interest of safety, in light of blending in with the flow of traffic. That should put this to bed. I doubt it will. [/QUOTE] Unless you’re Brandy, I don’t care one way or the other since the thread is about the accident she was in. So does it help that at least one doper doesn’t give a rat’s ass if you speed or not? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/119 "2007-01-30T20:59:41Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Let me revise my original statement then, to make myself clear. Not that it will do any good to people hell-bent on calling me a liar. I have, to the best of my recollection, driven at an unsafe speed once, exactly once, less than twice, more than zero times. On occasion, I have exceeded the speed limit, but not excessively. On occasion, I have driven under the speed limit. In those cases, my deviation from the posted speed limit was in the interest of safety, in light of blending in with the flow of traffic. That should put this to bed. I doubt it will. [/QUOTE] Well, I for one would not call you a liar, since it doesn’t appear you were intentionally stating a falsehood, just using your own personal (very odd) definition of what constitutes “speeding.” But you in turn should be able to recognize why so many people found your comments contradictory and confusing – not only were they not using the same definition of speeding you were, they didn’t know the personal definition you were using. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119/120 "2007-01-30T21:00:06Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] Yes, you did admit you had exceeded the speed limit the one time [/QUOTE] Yes, I did. I did not lie about that. Are we in agreement here? > [@](#): > > however, your convoluted explanation as to why it was perfectly safe to do so was horseshit. For one thing, my explanation was hardly convoluted. I don’t see how it could be any more straightforward. For another, I never claimed it was perfectly safe. I claimed that I didn’t pose a hazard to other drivers. I admit that I myself could have gotten hurt, though the likelyhood was low. Next? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-maximum-penalty-of-one-year-for-plowing-into-a-car-and-causing-a-death-huh/390119.md?page=7)