I wholeheartedly agree.
It boggles the mind—reading some of the tortured logic some of you here are using to try to “blame” the OP.
I cannot imagine pulling out of a parking lot without looking behind me. I can’t fathom it. It’s beyond careless.
How obtuse can you be? Folks in the business of law enforcement, from the uniform right up to the judge, are given a certain amount of discretion, simply because it’s in the public interest.
Damned straight the guy’s assholishness earned him a different result than you might expect in normal situations. It’s not like we’re talking about the cuffs coming out because he had bad breath or a boorish sense of humour. His assholery made it clear to the officers that he represented a continuing threat to public safety.
If, like any reasonable human being, he accepted culpability proportionate to his mistake, he would have been able to drive away.
When I guy continues to argue along the lines of “It’s not my fault, because I didn’t adjust my mirrors before backing up,” he needs to be corrected. It sounds as though this was attempted through the use of reason. When, after being told repeatedly why his actions constituted recklessness, a driver insists that their actions were appropriate, it would be irresponsible to let them motor off under their own power, because it’s clear that have no intention of altering their behaviour, and they can be expected to harm someone in the future.
Simply reminding someone that they are obligated to make sure that their rear-view mirrors are in order, and to look behind them before backing up, really should be enough. If it isn’t, and they need to have a huge drama involving restraints, a trip to the police station, fingerprinting, and all that fun stuff, before they get the concept that it really is important to drive sensibly, then that’s exactly what’s going to happen.
It’s really not that hard. To clarify: Assholes can very often do their thing without fear of molestation from peace officers. Dangerous Assholes, on the other hand, usually get dealt with when cops have the opportunity to observe them up close.
The two incidents are comparable because both were clearly caused by the driver’s negligence, yet the driver tried to blame the victim for being there in harm’s way. (Sorry, I didn’t explain that part of my incident clearly.) True, the victims could have avoided the accident by not being there, but they (we) had every right to be there. There’s no moral or legal obligation to stay out of potential harm’s way. To suggest otherwise is to suggest that in every single crash, both parties are responsible.
In the OP’s incident, the driver had the responsibility to check where he was going, and neglected it. The driver is clearly 100% at fault here, and I don’t see how anyone can argue otherwise.
Oh, no, you won’t be brought in under the “No Assholes Code of 1933”.
It’ll be something like…by standing there, yelling at the cop, you were Obstructing the Flow of Traffic and Creating a Public Nuisance, in addition to Interfering with the Duty Of A Law Enforcement Officer, which will quickly escalate to Resisting Arrest if you keep running your mouth. Hell, you see it all the time on COPS/Other cop shows. The officer pulls over someone for a busted taillight, that person runs their mouth, and they wind up with a whole list of offenses.
Larry Mudd I hate to tell you this bud but in my younger days I’ve told off more than a cop or two and didn’t get taken to jail.
Again read my last post. If this guy did indeed get taken to jail it wasn’t because of the accident and it wasn’t because he was an asshole. Granted I will give you had he had a better attitude; then maybe he could have went home that night instead of jail. ( by that I mean the cops made up some trumped up charges to book him on and not “I’m taking you to jail for reckless driving!”) Anyway my agruement went on somewhat of a tangent; my original staement was that I was calling BS because nobody would go to jail for what this guy did.-- At least not in the way it was portrayed in the OP.
By the way, grow up the name calling does nothing to help support your arguements. I’ve done nothing to you personally…
Christ this discussion is fucking stupid. Maybe he did check where he was going, yet for whatever reason he didn’t see them, and it was an accident. Maybe he wanted to kill them and changed his mind at the last second, I don’t give a fuck either way because I’m no more right then you. We don’t know any of the facts so there is no point to this.
What most people don’t realize is that most SUVs have a HUGE blind spot behind them. The really large ones (like the LincolnNavigator) have a big area (up to 40 feet) behind them, in which the driver CANNOT see anything. You walk behind these at your peril. That’s why I hate these things:
-the blind spot as described
-they blind you at night (if you arein front of one, in a small car)
-they drink gas…and wasting energy is something I just don’t understand
Finally, they are usually operated by obnoxious people who are yakking on their cell phones, while attempting to steer these behemoths.
By the way, I just saw a H2 “Hummer” in a parking lot-this pig takes up TWO normal-sized parking spaces!
:wally
Bollocks they do. As I have repeatedly said; would you apply this same logic to the OP if she had not been on foor and had been in her vehicle? If not, then your point is wrong. “I’m sorry officer, I backed into this vehicle, but it was taking no responsibility for ensuring I saw it. Therefore it is partly to blame.”
It might well, and everyone should be aware of their surroundings when walking near traffic. But this is not the same as saying that you are at fault when others’ lack of care results in your injury.
It never ceases to amaze me how some people imagine that pedestrians presence on the planet is only there on sufference, as long as they watch out for and don’t get in the way of the cars.
Yes, but did you tell off those cops after being caught commiting an offense that the cop could, at their discretion, take you to jail?
Gah…I just read it, and would be happy to quote it, but on review I can’t find it…
:smack:
However, I wanted to reiterate what someone else brought up about the reasoning for the driver’s arrest. They said reckless driving constituted a misdemeanor, but that causing injury as a result escalated it unto a felony. I believe this is true here in Texas. I, however, am not only not a lawyer, I have no direct personal experience in this. It just tickled something in my memory…ya know?
InkBlot
p.s. I’m on TVeblen’s side.
Did you see the part in the OP, that’s been reiterated numerous times in this thread, where it was established that he did check, but the check was inneffective because he failed to adjust the mirrors before he drove the vehicle? Is the concept of “negligence” really that difficult to understand? When you get angry, do you start swinging your arms in big windmill circles while walking towards the person who upset you and screaming “IT’S NOT MY FAULT IF YOU GET HIT! YOU DIDN’T GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!”?
No, you’re pretty much wrong here.
Well, duh. If you either don’t believe the accuracy of the OP or aren’t willing to suspend your disbelief for the purposes of the discussion there isn’t a point in discussing it. So why hasn’t that stopped you from posting 11 times in this thread so far?
Bullshit, get your facts straight.
Hummer H2 width - 81.2 inches
Honda Accord width - 70.3 inches
Actually I missed that, I stand totally corrected.
<blushing>
/making mental note not to totally gloss over the end of OPs.
The op posted that they we not hit by the vehicle. The elderly lady got spooked (as I would have also) and slipped in the hazardous conditions. When she slipped, she pulled the op down with her, possibly on top of her. As to the responsibility, it has been pointed out that the elderly lady could have possibly been picked up at the door. In such hazardous conditions, snow, ice, slush, perhaps the better judgement would have been not to risk the elderly ladys health at all and not allow her to have to traverse such terrain. I am not excusing the driver, merely pointing out that I too have almost been ‘hit’ in a parking lot because I was walking close to the parked cars instead of in the middle of the roadway where the rest of the vehicular traffic is plying its’ trade. It only takes a second for someone to appear from behind another vehicle, especially if the vehicle they are coming from behind is a large vehicle. It could be possible that the driver checked that corner, checked his other corner, and started his exit. He may still be an ass, but wrong place, wrong time, happens alot. I am sure most of us are aware of how difficult it can be to slowly back out of a blind parking spot, whether he checked or not, the op said he did not hit them.
Pretty funny, we have the exact opposite of this thread in the pit as well.
And that is relevant, how, exactly, O Ye of Little Reading Comprehension?
I didn’t say that there’s a blanket ban on being an asshole, or even taking umbrage with a cop’s behaviour. Yes, you can tell a cop that his pants make his ass look fat, if it makes you happy, and that’s not likely to get him to produce the cuffs, (although he may start looking closer at you for a good reason to.)
It’s another thing altogether if your “telling off” a cop is along the lines of “What are you writing me a ticket for? Littering?! But I always strew my path with broken glass and rusty nails! It’s how I mark my territory. Those whiners that are complaining should have been wearing shoes, it’s not my fault!” then the law is going to have to be applied more emphatically, so that you really get the idea that your behaviour is “not okay” and has to change.
And I will reassert that you are dead wrong about this. Go back and read my post in which I explained why the situation as described fits the legal definition of reckless driving. Yes, you can be taken to jail for booking on a Class I misdemeanor, at the arresting officer’s discretion. I agree that it’s unlikely that this would happen most of the time, because most drivers would handle the situation sensibly, even if they weren’t happy about it. Insisting, despite all evidence (and even admission) to the contrary, that you are blameless, and trying to persuade the cops to press vandalism charges for scratches to your vehicle received as you blithely backed into pedestrians with the right of way, is exactly the sort of thing that will lead to someone getting the “full treatment.” The police have absolutely no need to look for “trumped up charges” in order to make this happen. The guy met the requirements for a reckless driving charge, and that’s all it takes. The cop could have, and ordinarily would have, used his discretion to make sure that a minimum of hassle was experienced by all concerned, and just written it up and let the guy go. The guy’s recalcitrance made it clear that he needed to be taught a lesson, and an important one. That’s all.
Let me summarize my argument for you in as simple terms as possible:[ul][li]The driver was guilty of reckless driving. (Check here if you doubt it.)[]You can be taken to jail for booking on a Class I misdemeanor, especially if you are argumentative.[]The driver’s disavowal of any wrongdoing, while admitting to the basic facts of his actions suggested that he posed a continuing threat to public safety, which would influence the police in their exercise of discretion.[/ul]I would be interested to hear your argument as to why you doubt that someone in this situation could be taken away in handcuffs, beyond the simple assertion and the total non sequitur that you have offered so far.[/li][quote]
By the way, grow up the name calling does nothing to help support your arguements. I’ve done nothing to you personally…
[/quote]
The name-calling is not offered in support of my arguments, which I think most people will agree stand well enough on their own. They are only there as required colour, since this is the Pit, after all.
Personally, I think “ass” and “moron” are pretty mild descriptors, given the position that you’ve taken. Shall we take a straw poll? Who here thinks that calling SHAKES an “ass” and a “moron” is too strong a response to his “argument” here?
Would you mind adding “dipshit” to the list?
(Preparing for a wave of highly detailed fire overanalyzing what I say.)
Here there is no “nitpick-proof” topic. Really, doesn’t matter what it is, who is harmed, or even how mundane some of the topics are (when I say mundane I’m not refering to this OP) that end up spiraling down into a (VERY LONG) debate over everything from the physics of the situation to 20 “Me toos” saying they either agree or disagree with one nitpicker or another. There’s always someone willing to stick up for the dick, or at least debate THOROUGHLY everything possible in the story once or twice.
How many goddamn inches (down to the tenth of an inch) do we have to quote each other on to prove how our way is right?
Twisted meanings and misenterpretations. Quote unquote… see I said it this way, if you’d go back and read what I said in the above etc…
AND I KNOW I PROBABLY HAVE A RUN ON SENTENCE OR TWO AND I CAN’T FUCKING SPELL, DON’T INFORM ME.
Sorry If I interupted anything.
And exactly What position have I taken that constitutes me being an ass? I hope you don’t think–I think – Grandma got what was comming to her because I don’t. It’s very unfortunate indeed. I’ve also stated that I felt like the driver was more at fault than the OP. I’m only argueing that what this guy did was not grounds for him being taken to jail.
That beind said; I don’t know call me a stickler for words but if the cop told ME I was being “reckless” then he might get an arguement out of me as well. To me there’s a BIG difference between being reckless and a moment of carelessness.
To which I might add: Who among us here HASN’T been careless a time or two while driving? The only deal here is most of the time when we have our moments, we ethier catch ourselves to save us from impending doom or we get lucky. This guy just so happened to have HIS moment at the wrong time. (so to speak)
Oh and since we’re adding color to our posts now; Fuck you- you- donkydicksucking-ballsweat-licking- monky-vomit-smelling-“NO DADDY STOP! I TOLD YOU IT HURTS WHEN YOU PEE IN ME!”-sickoid-motherfucker.
Wow. Someone calls you an ass for basically behaving like an ass, and so you respond by jokingly telling them they rape their children?
That doesn’t tell us anything about Larry, but it speaks all kinds of awful about you. Talk about jerky behavior!
Daniel