# Laura Bush Opens Up About Why Crash Wasn't Really Her Fault **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 28, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617 "2010-04-28T13:09:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/61 "2010-04-29T18:02:31Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Prove there was negligence involved in driving off the bridge. Well, you see, a bridge is designed to drive _on_, over things like rivers. When you drive \*off \*of one into a river beneath it, that’s pretty fucking negligant. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/62 "2010-04-29T18:05:54Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Every single one of us takes our eyes off the road for one reason or another many times during every drive. Maybe we glance at the speedometer, or react to what a passenger says, or who knows what else might cause it. It might be a ‘good’ reason, or a ‘bad’ one. But if it happens at just the wrong moment, as some other vehicle is entering the situation, we may be suddenly toast. In that sense, anyone can be unlucky and contribute to a death on the road. If you take your eyes off the road at the wrong time and this causes an accident, the accident is your fault. If it doesn’t, you were lucky. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/63 "2010-04-29T18:13:26Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > What jumped out at me was not so much the recklessness of a 17-year-old (that is all too common) so much as the continued rationalizations of a however-old-she-is-now adult (admittedly also all too common, but that’s the new part of the old story). This. While “too-black a road (which most others handled fine),” “too-small stop sign (which most others saw just fine),” “engrossed in my convo” and “sleek sports car which is known to roll over\*,” excuses don’t necessary mean a lack of remorse, why even write this down and publish it if you aren’t, at lest to some extent, trying to rationalize what happened. - Sure it’ll roll over if you hit it at the right speed. How fast was she supposed to have been going anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/64 "2010-04-29T18:14:53Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Well, you see, a bridge is designed to drive _on_, over things like rivers. When you drive \*off \*of one into a river beneath it, that’s pretty fucking negligant. He was driving in the dark, and it was an unlit bridge with no guardrail. He also wasn’t actually trying to drive over the bridge. He had taken an accidental wrong turn down an unlit dirt road that led to the bridge. He didn’t realize he was even driving toward a bridge, or towards the water until he right up on the bridge. He hit the brakes, but toppled over to the right. He wasn’t speeding either, he was going 20 MOH. His mistake was taking a wrong turn in the dark and not realizing he was headed towards a bridge. That’s not a mistake that necessitates any negligence, much less intentional illegality like running a stop sign. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/65 "2010-04-29T18:16:02Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > She shouldn’t have blown through the stop sign, no. True, I was wrong to say it was just an accident beyond her control. Good for you. Seriously, owning your mistakes is part of responsibility, and that’s what I’m arguing for. > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I guess I can’t help thinking that maybe she thought no one was there, maybe it was a stop sign people just didn’t use–stupid mistake, but I still can’t characterize her as having taken a human life, as though she’s a murderer. Her reckless driving caused a horrible accident. But I’m not seeing the evidence that she’s happy with her choice or anything like that. Maybe she feels terrible about it–who knows, really, what’s in her heart? Again, she’s not a murderer. Intent _does_ count for something. Nor do I think she’s “happy” about it. She does seem to be rationalizing it in a way that minimizes her responsibility, and I can’t condone that. If she had used the accident to send a constructive message at the height of her public profile, as **Duke** suggests, I would have nothing but respect for her. She _did_ take a life. It _was_ her fault. And our legal system is far too lenient on people who commit the crimes (charged or not) of reckless driving and vehicular manslaughter. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/66 "2010-04-29T22:23:08Z")
Do they actually have different size stop signs at different intersections? How do they determine what size to put where? How small do they get? Do they have huge ones for dangerous intersections? ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/67 "2010-04-29T22:47:20Z")
I always felt bad for Laura regarding this accident. It could happen to anyone who takes their attention off the road for a minute. My dad didn’t see a stop sign and ended up in an accident that killed my mom. I’ve seen guilt first hand. The accident got very very little attention before Bush became president and during his presidency. Most people who knew about it were respectful to Laura, and really, it was talked about so seldom that most people probably didn’t even know about it. My main thought regarding the accident was knowing that, if the tables were turned, and Hillary Clinton had had an accident at age 17 that killed someone, the right would have screamed about it so loud and so long, think Chappaquiddick x 10, even jungle hermits who still think World War II is going would have known about it. And that was then, when she was First Lady. Imagine when she ran for president, and then become Secretary of State! > [@Duke](#): > > I agree, yes, it was a long time ago. And I’ll wager that Laura Bush is still grieving, and since we don’t know everything in the book we’re still working off of limited information. But on the other hand, there’s a part of me that says, “You know, Laura, there were eight years while you were First Lady, eight years when hundreds, probably thousands of innocent people were killed by distracted drivers. Why didn’t you speak up then, when you had a reasonable public podium? Why couldn’t you say then, ‘When I was young I made a mistake that ended one life and damaged many others, including my own–and that’s why I want to bring attention to the issue of distracted driving.’?” > > I don’t want to blame her if she didn’t speak up. It’s her call. But it would have been helpful if she had. Yeah, that would have been nice. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/68 "2010-04-29T23:11:06Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Ted is dead, dude. Let it go. The [family tree](The population in our immediate area just outside of Houston proper was app. 80% “Hispanic” with app. 80% of that percentage being in the country illegally. This according to a city government funded survey, and I say they were, if anything, a bit conservative in their figures.) is alive and drinking down memory lane. Maybe the Bush girls can break tradition and keep it an off-road activity. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/69 "2010-04-29T23:41:06Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > (Ted’s) mistake was taking a wrong turn in the dark and not realizing he was headed towards a bridge. That’s not a mistake that necessitates any negligence, much less intentional illegality like running a stop sign. Durn right! Anyone can miss the fact that they’ve driven onto a bridge, but running a stop sign is _criminal_, a true sign of being a _Republican_. :dubious: Actually I get the same vibes from Laura Bush’s quoted statements as others do. She seems to be saying “I feel terrible about the accident, but look at all these mitigating factors that mean I wasn’t _really_ so much at fault for going through a stop sign and killing somebody.” “And if he’d known what was good for him, he’d have been driving a full-sized car.” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/70 "2010-04-29T23:46:35Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > His mistake was taking a wrong turn in the dark and not realizing he was headed towards a bridge. That’s not a mistake that necessitates any negligence, much less intentional illegality like running a stop sign. Anyone can swim back from an island to avoid reporting an accident (that would have saved her) and then later attack the policeman publicly for investigating it. Yes, that’s the same thing.:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/71 "2010-04-30T15:31:00Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I’d want to see what she wrote in a larger excerpt before concluding what her intent was. The other quotes in that article indicate that she has felt enormous guilt over what happened, which suggests an acceptance of responsibility. > > From the quote, she may simply be explaining why she thinks the crash proved deadly to the other driver and not to her, not shirking responsibility for the crash. Similarly, as to the article’s unexcerpted description of what she says about the road conditions, she may simply be explaining what caused her to be inattentive to the stop sign, without suggesting that it lessens her guilt in the matter. I’ll be inclined to give her that much. Essentially what she seems to be saying is, “It was an accident. I caused it. Here are some of the reasons why it happened… But the reason the other driver died instead of being injured but surviving is the vehicle being driven, which Ralph Nader condemned as unsafe.” Any explanation of mitigating circumstances always sounds like someone is trying to escape blame. Even if that is not his/her intent. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/72 "2010-04-30T15:37:28Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Do they actually have different size stop signs at different intersections? How do they determine what size to put where? How small do they get? Do they have huge ones for dangerous intersections? Yeah, they do. And it’s a factor of where they need to be seen from. City street corners, a sign that I’ve never actually gotten the measurements of but looks to be around 15"-18" diameter is adequate. A stop sign on an intersection on a straight-line open rural highway needs to be much larger – coming down that road at6 55 or greater, you see the stop sign ahead at some distance, and only on coming up alongside it do you realize that it’s actually Red-Octagonzilla. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/73 "2010-04-30T17:53:59Z")
I never heard Ted claim that it was dark, the bridge was small, and it was rainy a half a century after the fact. I don’t think I ever heard him say anything but take sole responsibility. For some shit it’s just a bad idea to make excuses or throw in caveats. He understood that, she doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/74 "2010-04-30T18:02:32Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Plus Ted had been drinking, and was driving his dead brother’s campaign secretary to a beach to fuck her, while his pregnant wife sat at home. > > Regards, > Shodan Didn’t we have about 200 threads on this back when it was relevant? This one is about Bush. You are Shodanizing again. Like Teddy said " we will cross that bridge when we come to it". But Laura is the subject here. She just released a book . ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/75 "2010-04-30T21:45:56Z")
You know, I’m going to give Laura a pass on this just like I give Ted Kennedy a pass on his long ago car accident. Don’t care. But, she wrecked a corvair? Man those cars are cool. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/76 "2010-05-01T03:24:08Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Yeah, they do. And it’s a factor of where they need to be seen from. City street corners, a sign that I’ve never actually gotten the measurements of but looks to be around 15"-18" diameter is adequate. A stop sign on an intersection on a straight-line open rural highway needs to be much larger – coming down that road at6 55 or greater, you see the stop sign ahead at some distance, and only on coming up alongside it do you realize that it’s actually Red-Octagonzilla. This goes way back but some of the older ones were about 5 inches smaller in diameter and were posted lower than the current height. The paint was either a different color or very faded. I haven’t seen one of those in a good 30 years and it was in the boonies. It was old then. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/77 "2010-05-01T06:53:06Z")
Laura Bush old? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/78 "2010-05-01T11:56:44Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Didn’t we have about 200 threads on this back when it was relevant? This one is about Bush. You are Shodanizing again. Like Teddy said " we will cross that bridge when we come to it". But Laura is the subject here. She just released a book . Why shouldn’t he point out when you guys are being hypocrites? The whole argument for being disgusted by her actions involves taking the moral high ground. At that point it becomes relevant whether you are actually moral enough to take that high ground. By excusing it when it happens to someone on your side, but being against it when it happens on the other, you indicate you do not have the moral high ground. Myself? I say they both did stupid stuff. They both wound up killing someone. There are arguments that either side are refusing to take the blame. I decide to give them both a break. I really can’t be assed to care about either of them. It’s not like I can do anything about it, anyways. One last thing: How’s the newfound moral relativism working for you, **Dio**? ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/79 "2010-05-01T14:28:38Z")
Y’know, I used to have a modicum of respect for the woman. But blaming the accient on the other driver’s car, the small stop sign (that she’d probably driven by before), and road conditions (which she as the driver should’ve been taking **more** care driving in) is reprehensible. It makes her and her husband true soulmates: he starts a couple of unwinnable wars, wastes away a budget **surplus** into a record _deficit_, and does very little on domestic issues (over _ **8** _ fucking years), and then has his GOP cronies pin it all on Obama as he tries to clean it all up. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617/80 "2010-05-01T15:30:58Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Why shouldn’t he point out when you guys are being hypocrites? The whole argument for being disgusted by her actions involves taking the moral high ground. At that point it becomes relevant whether you are actually moral enough to take that high ground. > > By excusing it when it happens to someone on your side, but being against it when it happens on the other, you indicate you do not have the moral high ground. > > Myself? I say they both did stupid stuff. They both wound up killing someone. There are arguments that either side are refusing to take the blame. I decide to give them both a break. I really can’t be assed to care about either of them. It’s not like I can do anything about it, anyways. > > One last thing: How’s the newfound moral relativism working for you, **Dio**? I’m a moraol absolutist. I have no idea what you’re talking about. The same thing didn’t happen in both cases. One case involves an instance of proven reckless negligence and illegality ending in death. There is NOT any evidence that Kennedy’s accident was caused by any negligence or illegality, so no comparison, but even if there had been, that would not excuse Laura Bush’s crime, so Chappaquiddick is nothing but a dickless tu quoque anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laura-bush-opens-up-about-why-crash-wasnt-really-her-fault/537617.md?page=5)