I agree with what you’re saying here, I just feel that I’m sure there are circumstances where the driver could do everything correctly and due to misjudgement of the ped, and accident still occurs. I think the OP should have been more careful, that’s all. I don’t really know what more to say, I see where you’re coming from and hopefully you see what I’m saying.
Almost running over an elderly lady with parkinsons while recklessly backing out of the handicapped spot you illegally parked in is not really a good way to endear yourself to the police.
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Yes, the handicap parking thing was totally an asshole move.
She was walking her to the sixth space from the door. That’s hardly “through a busy parking lot.” That’s the distance that some handicap stalls are. I wouldn’t have any qualms about my grandmother walking six spaces.
Did you miss the part where the driver of the car blamed his inabilty to see them in the mirror on not being able to use the mirrors because they were set up for his shorter wife?
OP: You’re not a bonehead. I hope I have neighbors like you when I’m 87.
I’m getting your drift, World Eater, and pedestrians should be careful and watch the cars around them. Not sure it would have helped this situation, but who knows?
WRT her walking this lady through the parking lot, according to the story, they would have had to walk past a grand total of 6 cars to get to their spot. Hardly seems that outrageous to me.
As a transplanted Vermonter, there are a few things that may shed some light on some of this. I don’t know what town the OP lives in, but when I lived in Burlington they were absolutely lousy at plowing the sidewalks. This can mean that sometimes the choice of where you walk is made for you. Not that I know this to be the case, but I would venture to say that most people will not place themselves in danger if it is avoidable. I would speculate that there probably was not a sidewalk in front of the parked cars, or if there was it was impassible. This is not that uncommon.
As an aside, QaWd, good to see you in another SUV thread!
I get so very tired of other Dopers blaming Dubya for everything, so I jumped. I won’t apologize for it, but I’m glad there’s no offense taken. Where’s that peacepipe smilie when you need it?
I agree with the rest of the paragraph 100%.
I don’t doubt that he WAS an asshole; just that his silence didn’t make him so.
And because pedestrians sometimes walk on blacktop in a parking lot, heaven forbid, and do unpredictable things, for shame, that is why we have laws that require drivers to pay some attention to what they’re doing. That is why the driver is legally culpable for the accident. He did not follow the protocol for responsible drivers to insure visibility though his mirrors and he did not look through the rear window manually.
If I’m walking through a parking lot behind cars—and face it, the parking lot is full of them—then I check cars for drivers sitting in the seat. I try to make eye contact and wave to them before I walk behind them, but that’s because I’m paranoid and defensive when someone might stupidly kill me. I’m not required to do this, I just do because it’s smart to be as safe as I can. The law is no comfort if I’ve already been run over.
The driver was not driving defensively, as he should have. He should have assumed there were pedestrians and acted accordingly.
For what it’s worth, the backing-around-a-corner thing is part of the driving test, or it was when I took my driving test ten years ago. You were marked off for not looking; you were marked off for not stopping at the assumed crosswalk at the corner and you were marked off for not stopping a second time at the stop sign. These things are the responsibility of the driver, by law. Maybe the OP didn’t do every prudent, cautious and paranoid thing possible, but the accident is not her legal fault.
I opened the thread because the title “I just scratched the hell out of an SUV’s paint job” sounded like a typical anti SUV thread. The following “I’m glad, glad, glad” sounded like it had deliberate malice. And, based on the title, I think the OP used that title to get some reactions from SUV owners. And also anti-SUV folks.
It sounds like the driver was more at fault. From a legal standpoint, probably completely at fault. Bad driving, unaware, to much in a hurry, whatever. You should not just use your mirrors when backing out. You must turn around a look. If you have a vehicle that you cannot see out of (work truck) except for mirrors, you had better move real slow.
I can understand that you would not want to walk slow down the middle of a parking lot to stay away from cars backing out.
However, pedestrians have to be aware.
When I walk in a parking lot, I watch out for vehicles that are running, and of course, back up lights. You may or may not been able to tell if the SUV was running. And the driver may have put it in reverse so fast that you had no where to go.
I suppose, that If I was in a similar situation, and my purse scratched the vehicle, I would be a little gleeful as well. I hate bad drivers.
We had a fatal accident here in Cincinnati involving an SUV (not that it really matters) last year. Following a Bengals game, the driver felt he was too intoxicated to drive. So he let his buddy drive.
Did I mention that his buddy was a parapalegic?
And no, the car was not handicap modified.
Idjits are everywhere. And a 13 year old kid is 6 feet under because of it.
Speaking as a driver of a big honking mini-van, when I’m able I always park as far away as I need to in order to pull through so that I’m facing out when I have to leave. Your visibility when backing up is minimal and can definitely be a safety hazard. I can see how you could easily miss seeing a short person or a child if they are directly behind your large car.
Of course, the last thing I would do is complain about my paint job were I to hit someone.
Back when I took driver’s ed, my teacher made the whole Pedestrian thing very simple: “The best way to go about it is to always act as if the pedestrian has the right of way.”
Not legal words, no, but a very intelligent way to think of the situation.
I would be reluctant to walk an 87 year old through a parking lot but in my nursing days I often had some infirm oldster hanging off my arm who stayed hanging on until they could be sat down. You often can’t just loosen their grip and say “I’ll be back, stand here” and
So on balance I too may have walked the few yards to the car.
Until something like this happens you don’t realise that when you are walking through a car park you look at the cars as you are walking to see if anyone is in them. With a tall SUV it is often hard to tell. If you spot a driver in a car you are about to pass you are naturally cautious.
It’s a wonder that fall didn’t dislocate her new hip, or give her a proximal femoral fracture to go along with it. Falls in the elderly are often a nasty business, and your neighbor should thank her lucky stars that she’s not back in surgery.
Shakes, not only is it generally considered bad form to “call bullshit” on personal anecdotes that cannot be proven or disproven, I doubt very seriously that it is bullshit. Failing to adjust your mirrors so you can see out of them, or to look where the fuck you’re going is operating your vehicle in a careless manner. In other words, it’s reckless driving. The asshat in the SUV was, by his own admission, guilty of this. He may also have been guilty of failure to yield right of way, but that’s in addition to the reckless driving, not instead of it.
It may vary by jurisdiction, but yes, the police have the right to haul you in for driving recklessly. If you’re a significant danger to others, or if they’re just in the right sort of mood, that’s exactly what happens. Not only did this guy injure a pedestrian, he was a major asshole, and assholishness tends to put the police in the right sort of mood to haul your ass in.
No fault accident my big fat ass. This guy was clearly and by his own admission negligent.
Last time I checked; its not against the law to be an asshole. If this were true I’d never see the light of day.
And as far as the wreckless driving goes-- NO it’s not. Wreckless driving is when some one intentionally disregards the public safety. I see nothing in the OP to support this. As a matter of fact I’d be willing to bet my next paycheck that if this guy DID know they were back there; he wouldn’t have backed the SUV up. So worst case senario my point still stands… he failed to yeild right of way. Which is something the cops do not take you to jail for because if they did that means they would have to arrest some one every time there was a fender bender on the road.
Living up admirably to the attitude expressed in your sig, eh SHAKES?
It’s difficult to make a definitive statement either way, since we don’t know what jurisdiction StarvingButStrong is in, but most the actions described in the OP are considered reckless driving just about everywhere, ei; driving with an obstructed view or without functional rear-view mirrors. Most states have language under their reckless driving laws specifying that “A person shall be guilty of reckless driving who operates any motor vehicle at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person on the premises of any industrial establishment providing parking space for customers, patrons, or employees.”
Ass. “Failure to yield right-of-way” usually falls under the rubric of reckless driving. Stock language for this offense, in just about every state I’ve peeked into, is along the lines of “A person shall be guilty of reckless driving who fails to yield the right of way.”
Ass again. Reckless driving is on par with DUI (Class 1 misdemeanor in the States, no?) which means that someone so charged will indeed be hauled off to the hoosegow.
If the driver acted as described in the OP, he is in all probability thrice guilty of reckless driving, quite apart from the parking offense. Depending on where this took place, he’s looking at a possible suspension, a hefty fine, and even the possibility of a jail sentence, depending on the last time the judge he goes up before had a good bowel movement and whether he considers the fella is in need of an attitude adjustment.
And since you’re on the carpet, pay attention: It’s “reckless”. You know, like: Have you reckoned a thousand acres much? Have you reckoned the earth much?
Have you practiced so long to learn to read?
Again I know plenty of people who have been in fender benders and DIDN’T go to jail. Some of these people got in these wrecks because they were talking on their cell phone. They still weren’t charged with reckless driving nor did they goto jail. According to you all; just about everyone who gets in a wreck should goto jail. (at least one of the parties involved anyway…)
Also you some of you guys are acting like this couldn’t happen to you. Which is again BULLSHIT. The guy’s human he made a mistake but so did the OP in my opinion.
Lastly I could make the point that you could substitute FAT ASS for SUV and people on this board would dog pile the OP trying to point out that being a FAT ASS has nothing to do with ones ability to drive.
This basically makes me think that the OP is nothing more than propaganda to promote hatred towards SUV’S and their drivers.
I’m not required to do this, I just do because it’s smart to be as safe as I can. The law is no comfort if I’ve already been run over.
