I think we should increase penalties for causing an accident. How about you?

[Tychoblu]

There are no accidents, just idiots.

[Grizzly Willy]

There are no accidents, just idiots.

So everybody does this shit on purpose? Weird...

[Theleklol]

So my wife is home with my son and is having a heart attack, I should tell him what to do completely, get off the phone, and then rush over there? No, I would get the hell into my car and tell him what to do while I am hauling ass over there. you don't know their circumstances, don't assume you are perfect, you aren't, I almost promise in 25 years you have almost caused an accident or two, and got lucky someone else was paying enough attention to make up for it. hell you may not even have noticed, because shit happens, we all know this

That's what 911/999/112 are for.

Also, accidents imply that there's nobody at fault.

[Zoldor]

So my wife is home with my son and is having a heart attack, I should tell him what to do completely, get off the phone, and then rush over there? No, I would get the hell into my car and tell him what to do while I am hauling ass over there. you don't know their circumstances, don't assume you are perfect, you aren't, I almost promise in 25 years you have almost caused an accident or two, and got lucky someone else was paying enough attention to make up for it. hell you may not even have noticed, because shit happens, we all know this

So its justified to put the life of every person around you in danger because you are racing to do what exactly? I understand you want to be there, but unless you are a doctor what are you going to do? Get off the phone and call professionals who have sirens to clear the road. Your circumstance while tragic, unfortunate and I don't wish on anyone is not a justification for putting the rest of the world in danger because you are reacting in an emotional fashion. You kill someone in your car while this is happening, you go to jail. Call an EMT, you aren't going to get their faster or be able to do a damn thing. Emotional response is not an excuse for endangering the world. You freak out because someone does something and you kill them with a gun or knife, 98% of the time you aren't getting out of despite the justification. Good cause doesn't apply when you are just using poor judgement in most cases. You getting to be by your wife while she is having something tragic happen is not > the lives of everyone around you. You can't save her, call the doctor and meet them at the hospital.

[nixcookies]

I'm actually content with the way things are now, it seems fair enough.

[Wynnyelle]

Accidents happen. I am careful as can be on the road, and I still got into one, and yes, it was my fault. The thing is, EVERYBODY makes mistakes while driving. However, accidents don't always result from those accidents and people get lucky, or sometimes unlucky when they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Conversely, some people are terrible drivers, and they get lucky too by never getting into an accident.

Increasing penalties for getting into an accident isn't going to make accidents go away. Until human beings become perfect, there will always be accidents.

[poser765]

I make plenty of mistakes but not when it comes to driving a 3000 pound machine that can kill people. They are called accidents because its a PC way of saying someone screwed up and didnt pay attention to the road. Its the same reason when accidents are reported nowadays the report says John's car crossed 3 lanes of traffic and over the median hitting a car driven by Mortimer, when instead it should say John was brushing his hair when he lost control of the car causing him to drive it across 3 lanes of traffic and into the path of Mortimer. But instead they want it to sound like the car did it all by itself independent of what John was doing.

From a study I found online which while may not be 100% accurate since it was found online, it most likely is at least close. The top 6 reasons for an accident are Rubbernecking, Alcohol, Fatigue, Speeding, eating, and use of mobile devices. NONE of these are what I would consider an accident. They are ALL acts of irresponsibility and shouldn't be tolerated, but penalized harshly.

Dude, it's not PC. I think by definition an accident is when someone screws up. That is the nature of accidents. Almost every accident of any kind can be avoided provided perfect attention is given. The rub is we are not perfect and unless you are a Borg there is no way to pay attention to driving 100% of the time you are driving.

Your examples are ok I guess. I am all on board with agreeing that drunk driving is NOT an accident and is in fact punished by law when accidents are a result of that. Fatigue I will not give you. Unless you have taken fairly specific fatigue training most people are not really aware of what fatigue is. Being fatigued is not as simple as just saying hey i feel sleepy. In fact it is quite possible to feel well rested an in reality be fatigued and impaired as a result. Speeding I'll give you as well...but the other two I lump in with inattention which, as I previously stated happens to everyone. Even you. Would you want to be help criminally negligible if something caught your attention for a split second and caused you to rear end someone?

[Deleted]

This is a grey spot for me. There are just too many factors that need to be considered. I do think they should be looked into a bit more than they are though.

---------- Post added 2012-04-25 at 03:19 AM ----------

So its justified to put the life of every person around you in danger because you are racing to do what exactly? I understand you want to be there, but unless you are a doctor what are you going to do? Get off the phone and call professionals who have sirens to clear the road. Your circumstance while tragic, unfortunate and I don't wish on anyone is not a justification for putting the rest of the world in danger because you are reacting in an emotional fashion. You kill someone in your car while this is happening, you go to jail. Call an EMT, you aren't going to get their faster or be able to do a damn thing. Emotional response is not an excuse for endangering the world. You freak out because someone does something and you kill them with a gun or knife, 98% of the time you aren't getting out of despite the justification. Good cause doesn't apply when you are just using poor judgement in most cases. You getting to be by your wife while she is having something tragic happen is not > the lives of everyone around you. You can't save her, call the doctor and meet them at the hospital.

Can you with all honesty say that you would consider other people's well being if you were in a similar situation? We are programmed to look after ourselves first and those we care about. In a situation such as that, nobody is perfect and instinct takes over.

[v2prwsmb45yhuq3wj23vpjk]

Any penalty that only means paying money is meaningless. Insurance companies will just offer their servuce to cover all fees and fines.

No they fucking won't, are you kidding? Insurance companies try to get OUT of the shit they are supposed to pay, why would they volunteer to pay for this?

As for the OP's penalties, you really just sound angry at somebody. What you suggest is unreasonable.

[khalypso]

My problem with this is how can you tell the difference between a genuine accident and someone just being an idiot and not paying attention? If they caused the crash because they were too busy doing their make up or whatever then chances are they're going to lie about it. If a new driver made an honest mistake then I don't see why they should be severely punished. Obviously they would need to pay for the damages they caused, but people do make mistakes.

[Tyrianth]

How does one cause an accident? Seems to be an oxymoron.

Hardly. Accidents don't just happen. Something, or someone, has to unintentionally cause them.

---------- Post added 2012-04-25 at 05:39 AM ----------

Also, accidents imply that there's nobody at fault.

How so? An accident has to be caused by someone. They don't just happen, they aren't considered Acts of God.

[Deleted]

Yes OP, I agree with you.

[Grizzly Willy]

Hardly. Accidents don't just happen. Something, or someone, has to unintentionally cause them.

---------- Post added 2012-04-25 at 05:39 AM ----------



How so? An accident has to be caused by someone. They don't just happen, they aren't considered Acts of God.

Cause doesn't equal intention.

[Reeve]

As I sat in traffic again on the way to work today making me an hour late for work due to an accident, I got to thinking. Unless the accident is caused by a malfunction of equipment like a wheel falling off, should there be more penalties for the person who caused the accident?

Im thinking if you cause an accident you should not only have to do what you do now but you should automatically receive a 1 year suspension of your license AND have to reimburse EVERY person who was inconvenienced by your negligence or stupidity $500. Perhaps if this was the penalty everyone would pay attention to the road instead of yakking on their phones/texting, putting on makeup, shaving, reading the paper, smoking, fiddling with the radio, looking at a hot chick/guy along the road, driving too fast in rain/snow etc... and our travel would less stressful. It really isn't hard to NOT cause an accident if you pay attention. I managed to drive 25 years without causing one and likely never will.

Causing an accident is its own punishment. You end up having to pay for the bills associated with the auto repair, or if you have insurance for the deductible and the corresponding insurance premium price hikes. You also may have medical issues that result, and even after your car is repaired, there will be underlying structural damage that will reduce the value of the vehicle.

I don't think anyone thinks getting into an auto wreck is a good time, and I think adding additional penalties for someone who is probably having their worst day in months is just adding insult to injury.

[aztr0]

OP, I presume you are perfect and never make a mistake? They call them accidents because they are just that...accidents. Not intentionals.

Exactly. You (OP) act like people like to cause accidents on purpose. If we are looking at situations with your view it sounds like you think a person having a heart attack on the train and delays the train for a while should compensate all the riders of that train because he decided to have a heart attack? Unless the driver is absolutely being negligent as they are driving, I do not agree with the penalty you are suggesting. I do agree that if everyone is more careful about driving and pay more attention less accidents will occur. Sadly. Not everyone deserves or should be driving.

[Tyrianth]

Cause doesn't equal intention.

Thats why I said "unintentional". So I don't know what you're getting at it.

[Pann]

All this idea would do is force the cost of insurance up to level where only the very rich could afford to drive.

[Jarlathe]

Let he who has never slammed on their brakes because they didn't notice someone until the last minute cast the first stone.

That is 100% caused be inattention while behind the wheel. It is also 100% avoidable. Sure, we are all guilty of this, but really, what are the penalties? Very, very minimal. Raise those penalties and maybe, just maybe, people will start to pay attention while driving.

I'm to lazy to look up the sources, but IIRC the amount of "accidents" caused by people not paying attention is very high.

Also, mechanical failure should not be a 100% get out of jail excuse. It is very rare for a properly maintained vehicle to have wheels fall off.

[Grizzly Willy]

Thats why I said "unintentional". So I don't know what you're getting at it.

Apologies, missed that part.

[Reeve]

That is 100% caused be inattention while behind the wheel. It is also 100% avoidable. Sure, we are all guilty of this, but really, what are the penalties? Very, very minimal. Raise those penalties and maybe, just maybe, people will start to pay attention while driving.

I'm to lazy to look up the sources, but IIRC the amount of "accidents" caused by people not paying attention is very high.

Also, mechanical failure should not be a 100% get out of jail excuse. It is very rare for a properly maintained vehicle to have wheels fall off.

If people were robots, that might be true, but the fact of the matter is that people make mistakes. Even when I'm trying very hard to concentrate on something, I lose concentration sometimes. Now compound that for people who have had a bad day at work, or who have just found out their spouse is cheating on them.

People, even when given very strong incentives, cannot give perfect concentration. Shit happens, as they say, and punishing them is unnecessary, since they're already hurting a lot from the collision (emotionally, physically, financially).