heyholetsgogrant Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/12/17/canada-ducklings-highway-fatal-court/20513845/ I'm in the minority here and may get flamed here, FINE. I agree stopping for little ducks were dumb and she should have had her emergency light on. However, I have had similar situations a car stopping short to a complete stop while I was flying down i95 in MD, but wasn't tailing the person in front of me and had plenty of time to stop. Also, if I'm not mistaken this car was completely stopped? What if it was a person or Protesters? Should we just plow through them? Second, what is with it this vengence in Canada with this case? It's ridiculous they are using the courts for hardcore retribution. It really sick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grego Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I'm trying to put together what happened. Were the ducks actually in the road at the time of the accident? Cuz it says she stopped to "make sure they were ok". So was she just stopped, watching them even though they were out of the way? And was this on a blind curve? Obviously you're not expecting a car to be stopped on a highway, but at the same time, accidents happen, and when they do, cars do come to a sudden stop from time to time. Of course, on a motorcycle, having to come to a sudden stop can cost you your life instead of a few grand in body work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endzone_dave Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 90 days in jail for doing something stupid that kills two people isn't harsh in my opinion. Stopping your vehicle on a busy highway is VERY dangerous. There would have to be a compelling reason for me to stop my vehicle on a highway in a big city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinInsite Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Pretty light considering she did something stupid that cause the death of two people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQCOWBOY Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Do Canadian Highways not have a shoulder to pull over on? I mean, even if you are stopping for Ducks, of all things, why wouldn't you pull off to the side? The lives of Ducks do not trump the lives of Human Beings. I get those who are against hunting Ducks or what have you but at some point, it would seem as if common sense would kick in on the situation. I don't know. Maybe there is more too it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdcskins Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 At least the ducks are okay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Was there a reason the motorcyclist didn't notice the stopped car? Was it dark and the car had no lights? I ask because this idea that a stopped car in the highway is certain death is simply not true. Cars break down. They crash. The likelihood of encountering a stopped car on the highway is high, I've had many situations like this. One guy I saw seemed to have stopped in front of a highway sign to consult a map (this was 15 years ago). Every driver should be looking for hazards in front of them at all times and certainly should not be simply motoring into a stopped car at 65 mph. I'm assuming that there was a reason the deceased driver failed to see this car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQCOWBOY Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Was there a reason the motorcyclist didn't notice the stopped car? Was it dark and the car had no lights? I ask because this idea that a stopped car in the highway is certain death is simply not true. Cars break down. They crash. The likelihood of encountering a stopped car on the highway is high, I've had many situations like this. One guy I saw seemed to have stopped in front of a highway sign to consult a map (this was 15 years ago). Every driver should be looking for hazards in front of them at all times and certainly should not be simply motoring into a stopped car at 65 mph. I'm assuming that there was a reason the deceased driver failed to see this car. It says that she was stopped and helping the Ducks in the article. That doesn't sound like a sudden stop by her to avoid ducks. It sounds like a parked car in the middle of the road. Further, it was apparently a highway and she actually parked in the passing lane. According to the Law in Canada: Section 384 of the Quebec Highway Safety Code, states that no one can stop a vehicle on a roadway where the maximum speed is 70 kilometres per hour or more, “unless in case of necessity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balki1867 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I think this article actually describes the accident in better detail: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/22/newser-woman-who-stopped-for-ducks/11235367/ According to that, the ducks were on the median and she stopped her car in the left lane to help them. Incredibly stupid. Even if she wanted to be slightly less stupid, she could've pulled onto the shoulder and retrieved the animals. That said, the motorcyclist was also 10-20 mph over the limit (70-80 in a 60). I'm not going to judge on that one because I'm pretty sure almost every person reading this post sometimes drives that fast, but i'll let people who own motorcycles comment on whether they think that's such a great idea on the interstate. Her punishment actually seems generally reasonable IMO. 90 days = 45 weekends, or basically 10 months without having a weekend for yourself. 240 hours of community service also seems reasonable. I don't get the 10 years of banned driving. I know people who've gotten 5 DUIs (not friends of mine... people I know), and have never gotten more than 6 months suspended. Also kind of weird: In one article: "But the family of the victims have said Czornobaj has not shown compassion toward them." In the other: "His wife was following behind them at a slower speed and avoided injury, and has said she doesn't blame Czornobaj for the deaths;" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endzone_dave Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 On a side note, I think people who ride motorcycles on city highways are insane. There are way too many idiots to contend with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s0crates Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Sad story, poor girl was just trying to help the animals, and now she has to live with causing two deaths. Poor guy just bonding with his daughter and both end up dead. It just sounds like a tragic accident to me. It is tough to assign blame in cases like this with no ill intent. Sometimes people need to be held responsible for their negligence though. As to the particulars of the traffic case, it sounds like both drivers failed at driving safely. The girl stopped without hazards (which is dangerous and illegal), and the motorcyclist rear ended her at full speed (which is also illegal, you are responsible for watching the traffic in front of you and being able to stop in time). In my opinion it is just a sad accident, and pointing out that both parties were driving dangerously doesn't really help. No real winners in a situation like this. I'm glad I wasn't the judge in charge of sentencing in this case. The bit about the girl lacking remorse sounds to me like anger from the mother, a normal stage of grief I suppose, but I don't think her opinion on how much remorse the girl feels is really relevant to the case. Hopefully the mother gets past the blaming stage of her grief. Really sad all around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RansomthePasserby Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Never, never, NEVER stop in a travel lane on a freeway. Especially in the passing lane. Cases like this are why they spend money constructing shoulders and medians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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