Grandmother who hit cyclists loses licence

On Dec 16, 5:19 pm, Terryc wrote:
TimC wrote:
I'm sure there is a way to tip off RTA (etc) without requiring a
doctors certificate -- surely RTA can force a driver to be tested by a
reputable doctor.

It is a bit of a catch 22. If you have a notifieable health issue, you
are required to submit to annual assessment by a doctor. So if the
doctor is reluctant to notify, you can imagine how keen they will be to
write an adverse report.

OTOH, given that the report can restrict you to driving certain distance
each day or between certain places, no responsible doctor should feel
any problems about writing a restricting report.

The Courier Mail yesterday reported on 'Jet's Law' in Queensland, for
mandatory reporting of drivers' medical conditions to Queensland
Transport:
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...5-3102,00.html

"QUEENSLAND'S first eponymous law will be named after 22-month-old Jet
Rowland, who was killed in a car crash three years ago.

Transport Minister John Mickel committed the Government to the move
following a meeting with Jet's mother Anita Rowland, who has
campaigned tirelessly on road safety since her son's death.

Jet was killed after a driver suffering an epileptic fit crashed into
the Rowland family car on the Logan Motorway, south of Brisbane, in
February 2004.

Mrs Rowland suffered horrific injuries in the crash and her eldest son
remains confined to a wheelchair.

Jet's death inspired the introduction of a law that requires motorists
to report serious and long-term medical conditions to Queensland
Transport.

A spokesman for Mr Mickel said the Minister would lobby Cabinet early
next year to have the legislation renamed.

Mrs Rowland said Jet's law was a legacy she had always hoped for her
son, who she would never see grow up.

Mrs Rowland recently launched a petition calling for doctors to notify
Queensland Transport of patients with medical conditions affecting
their driving.

The petition can be found online at www.gopetition.com/petitions/jets-law.html."

Adam F Wrote:
John Pitts wrote:
This is in relation to the crash which occurred in Newcastle a year
ago.
The driver went straight through a tee intersection at the bottom of
a
long steep hill, right into the bunch riding across on the other side
of
the road. Several cyclists were severely injured.


snip

Defence barrister Peter Harper told the court his client had a
clean
record and had no recollection of the accident.
snip
"She is reduced to tears on a daily basis and the nightmares
continue during the night and day."



Is it just me or do these statements contradict one another?



--
//Adam F

Not necessarily, one can have no recollection of an event but still be
reduced to tears and have nightmares based on the knowledge that one had
caused serious injury and death.


--
matagi

In aus.bicycle on Sun, 16 Dec 2007 05:45:51 GMT
TimC wrote:

I'm going to be a heartless ******* (I do that well) and say that
causing someone to lose a bit of quality of life for their remaining
few years is probably the better evil than causing many people large
impacts in their quality of life for their remaining many years.

well.. "definite arge amount of quality of life" vs "probably
annoyance and *possible* large amount of quality of life for possibly
one person"

After one serious crash with injury it is unlikely she'd be driving
again.

I am unsure how many small accidents are worth her life - restricting
her has a disturbingly high chance of killing her. But how likey is a
serious crash? I don't know, Should she be punished for what she
might do, not what she has done?

whether someone needs a car depends a lot on where they live. Those
with health and youth and who live close to the places they want to go
may think cars aren't needed. Those who actually visit their aged
relatives (let alone care for them..) may have different views.

Aged people driving is a serious difficulty. When it's not you or
someone you know and care about it is easy to say "ban them"! When
reality hits it is harder to be so sure.

Comes back to the larger difficulty - that the country and society is
built around the car and its ease and convenience. Fixing that isn't
cheap and it isn't easy.


Zebee
- who may well have to deal with this problem soon and ain't ooking forward
to it.

John Pitts wrote:
Terryc wrote:

lol, a 5 year ban is not a total ban.

I think that for her it would be.

Well I don't know if she's remorseful or not, but if she's like most
people I've met she would be. Not having met her, I'm happy to assume
that she's like most people.

Yup.

Confiscation and sale/destruction of the motor vehicle and
imprisonment with forced labour. Sale of all your assest to
compensate people injuried from your driving.

Reality apparently eludes you.

Forced labour for a 75 year old woman? I'm glad I don't live in your
utopia.

Aye.

Om a practical basis, there are gophers and other devices.

This was 10 or 15 years ago - I don't think gophers weren't around
then.

I bought one for my Mother-in-law circa 1994.

Theo

Terryc wrote:
John Pitts wrote:

Surely the RTA would follow the judge's recommendation?

Umm AFAIK, a recommendation has no legal basis.

Forced labour for a 75 year old woman? I'm glad I don't live in your
utopia.

AFAIK, most illegal driving is by young people.

Hi Sonny, you were doing 3 kms over the speed limit, that will be 3 years
hard labour.

I do not always think old people should be treated any more liently.
She certainly didn't display any wisdom of being aged, so I fail to
see that she gets old persons clemency. Perhaps she needs to be
committed to a home for public safety.

You're either trolling or stark raving mad Terry.

Theo

Theo Bekkers wrote:


Hi Sonny, you were doing 3 kms over the speed limit, that will be 3 years
hard labour.

Typcal Theo. This sub-thread was about people driving when they had lost
their licence. there is a need for an effective system that stops those
who persist. but hey, so long as it was applied to all, why not.


I do not always think old people should be treated any more liently.
She certainly didn't display any wisdom of being aged, so I fail to
see that she gets old persons clemency. Perhaps she needs to be
committed to a home for public safety.

You're either trolling or stark raving mad Terry.

Not at all. I have had enough to do with older people to know that some
of them are just sneaky and devious and not deserving of clemency or
leniency "because they are senior".

Theo Bekkers wrote:

Confiscation and sale/destruction of the motor vehicle and
imprisonment with forced labour. Sale of all your assest to
compensate people injuried from your driving.


Reality apparently eludes you.

So the youngish guy who can no longer ride or work because of her
driving deserves no compensation because of her
negligence/thoughtlessness/etc.

On Dec 17, 3:48 pm, Terryc wrote:
Typcal Theo. This sub-thread was about people driving when they had lost
their licence.

I didn't see that, I thought it was about people driving who
*shouldn't* have a license. Who said anything about people who had
actually lost their license?

Terryc wrote:
Confiscation and sale/destruction of the motor vehicle and
imprisonment with forced labour. Sale of all your assest to
compensate people injuried from your driving.

Theo Bekkers wrote:
Reality apparently eludes you.

Terryc wrote:
So the youngish guy who can no longer ride or work because of her
driving deserves no compensation because of her
negligence/thoughtlessness/etc.

This is why we have 3rd party insurance. The victim is presumably able
to sue for compensation in the usual way. Though how sending the
driver off to prison with forced labour would help the victim I have
no idea...

On Dec 17, 6:06 am, Zebee Johnstone wrote:
Aged people driving is a serious difficulty. When it's not you or
someone you know and care about it is easy to say "ban them"! When
reality hits it is harder to be so sure.
Zebee
- who may well have to deal with this problem soon and ain't ooking forward
to it.

Please elaborate. I really hope you aren't referring to yourself.
Although I have noticed that your typing skills have deteriorated
lately...