She murdered someone............I bet she gets off with a slap on the wrist.

20 year old girl plows into 2 others (her best friends), killing on and critically injuring the other.

She was PLAYING around with her iPOD.........

LOCK HER UP.......

[url]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,539780,00.html[/url]

Make an example out of this...............

THE DUMB kids, and even DUMBER adults that text, play with their iPOD, etc, etc, are WORSE than drunk drivers.

Vent OFF.

AND NO........I don't text, and NO, I don't mess with my iPOD in the car, and NO I don't dial numbers (I have voice activated bluetooth :) :) ).....

Bottom LINE Personal responsibility...........

Later,

Geo

Something similar happened a couple of years ago in Kingsport, TN. A mother of a small child was traveling through a green light on her way to work at Walmart. A young lady, talking on a cell phone, plowed through the red light and T-boned the other driver killing her. The young lady got a slap on the wrist and probation. IMO they treated it as if the death of the mother was no more than running over a skunk. She should have received some serious time in prison but, essentially, walked away with no punishment.

Don't be surprised if the driver you wrote about, goes into court and pleads guilty to a lesser charge and walks out with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. I don't think the punishment fits the crime when it comes to cell phones and text messaging while driving. jmo

Where would you draw the line on driver inattentiveness? Texting? Fiddling with radio? Getting something out of the glove box? Putting on makeup? Turning around to see what the kids are fighting about? Talking to the passenger?

In this case there was no criminal intent, but gross negligence. The girl had a duty to pay attention to the road and not be distracted, and she owed that to the victims. She was grossly negligent in that department and should pay a price for her mistake. I don't think it should be the same price that should be paid if she had decided to get up that day and go beat her friend over the head with a tire iron. Same end result, but different means of getting there. One had serious criminal intent, the other is gross negligence. She will likely pay more through civil actions against her than criminal, and maybe that's the way it should be. "Good" people have lapses in judgement and make mistakes, and I'm not sure that sending them up the river every time is the answer there.

If instead of a 20-year-old girl this had been a 40-year-old mother of 3 in a minivan who turned around quickly to tend to one of her kids, and ran over someone and killed them as a result...would locking her up still be the answer? She was grossly negligent too, just like this 20-year-old kid fiddling with her iPod.

ANYTHING that diverts your attention from the road causes stuff like this...Simply talking on a cell phone, even if hands free, has an effect on your reaction time. Digging for change, eating a cheeseburger, searching for a radio station, playing with a navigation unit, yelling at a kid in the backseat, you name it.

Now I'll give you, iPods and Text Messaging are over-the-top horrible for it and we're seeing more deaths. The more gadgets we put out there, the worse it will get. It requires your mind, your eyes, and your fingers to be away from the steering wheel/road. That's the trifecta recipe for disaster. You've got kids now that have spent the last decade of their teens with a cell phone in their hand and texting constantly...I mean, constantly...who knows how many words per minute some of these kids can type. They hop in a car and it's "no big deal" to text-and-drive. And it's BAD.

I think the only halfway effective method for cutting down on stuff like this starts with the parents of teens...they have absolutely got to beat this into a kid's head that it's bad...and some will listen, some will not. While I don't disagree that there should be serious consequences for this girl's actions and mistakes, I'm not sure that sending her up the river for 10 years or whatever for a lapse in jugement is the answer. She will pay in civil court if the victims family persues it, and will pay for the rest of her life with the guilty conscience from making a mistake that killed her best friend.

[QUOTE=psprowler;378886]Where would you draw the line on driver inattentiveness? Texting? Fiddling with radio? Getting something out of the glove box? Putting on makeup? Turning around to see what the kids are fighting about? Talking to the passenger?[/QUOTE]

I agree it's a tough call and a blanket punishment call would be wrong...I know u didn't say what u feel the punishment should be (I feel you would show some sympathy) but I don't think sending her away for life is the answer. Punishment needs to be rendered for sure but she also needs to be put to use as a spokesperson to reach these kids..IMO.

[QUOTE=psprowler;378886]Where would you draw the line on driver inattentiveness? Texting? Fiddling with radio? Getting something out of the glove box? Putting on makeup? Turning around to see what the kids are fighting about? Talking to the passenger?[/QUOTE]

ALL of the ABOVE.............if they lead to the death of someone else.......

I'm guilty of some.........but for the most part, I STAY in TUNE to DRIVING.

Later,

Geo

[QUOTE=bassin_bug;378880]Something similar happened a couple of years ago in Kingsport, TN. A mother of a small child was traveling through a green light on her way to work at Walmart. A young lady, talking on a cell phone, plowed through the red light and T-boned the other driver killing her. The young lady got a slap on the wrist and probation. IMO they treated it as if the death of the mother was no more than running over a skunk. She should have received some serious time in prison but, essentially, walked away with no punishment.

Don't be surprised if the driver you wrote about, goes into court and pleads guilty to a lesser charge and walks out with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. I don't think the punishment fits the crime when it comes to cell phones and text messaging while driving. jmo[/QUOTE]

It all depends on how well politically connected her parents are. Ted Kennedy never even had to drive by a jail!

I may have been a bit harsh when I said they should spend some time in prison but a month or two in jail wouldn't do any harm. I have stronger feelings about driver inattentiveness than most of you and with good reason. I am one of their living victims and I live with the pain every day and night of my life and there is nothing more I can do that will stop it.

I don't think there is "one size fits all" punishment for people who kill others because of driver inattentiveness but I do think more should be required of them than just an apology. They could at least do community service, speak at schools and warn students, or pick up trash by the road but they should be forced to pay with some sort of time or service. jmo

[QUOTE=Tom523;378920]It all depends on how well politically connected her parents are. Ted Kennedy never even had to drive by a jail![/QUOTE]

Excellent point....it really matters who you are not what you did.

[QUOTE=bassin_bug;378925]I don't think there is "one size fits all" punishment for people who kill others because of driver inattentiveness but I do think more should be required of them than just an apology. They could at least do community service, speak at schools and warn students, or pick up trash by the road but they should be forced to pay with some sort of time or service. jmo[/QUOTE]

Agreed 100%...

Community Service by speaking at schools to try and reach kids would be great...

[QUOTE=MrSplitshot;378957]Agreed 100%...

Community Service by speaking at schools to try and reach kids would be great...[/QUOTE]

Agree on community service, and teaching at area shools, but topics out to be:

a. Why you should by a car with Onstar and hands free phone capability
b. Why you should buy a bluetooth and talk hands free.
c. Why texting when driving is stupid.
d. How to render first aid at a crash scene.

[QUOTE=GeoFisher;378855]20 year old girl plows into 2 others (her best friends), killing on and critically injuring the other.

She was PLAYING around with her iPOD.........

LOCK HER UP.......

[URL]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,539780,00.html[/URL]

Make an example out of this...............

THE DUMB kids, and even DUMBER adults that text, play with their iPOD, etc, etc, are WORSE than drunk drivers.

Vent OFF.

AND NO........I don't text, and NO, I don't mess with my iPOD in the car, and NO I don't dial numbers (I have voice activated bluetooth :) :) ).....

Bottom LINE Personal responsibility...........

Later,

Geo[/QUOTE]

Do you ever adjust the radio?