OFF THE WIRE
Speculation about Charleston crash
Did the news reporter in that first article make a mistake, or has SC become AIM'ed? I hope SC is still A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments. Be careful before asking government for protection as this often causes a ripple effect and more regulations against motorcyclists.
Would the police have handled the investigation differently if it was the DA and a police officer killed? Would the driver have been charged if, instead of being named McDonald and working for Brit, Peters, and associates, and wearing executive attire, his name was Peter Brit and he worked at McDonalds and was wearing associates attire? Would this have been handled differently if it were pedestrians, bicyclists, or passenger vehicle motorists - and, if the answer is a suspicious yes, can anyone prove it?
There is a mountain of speculation, and we might never know the answers, or the truth. I think the victims families are entitled to hear testimony and hear of evidence and facts as presented under oath. They can do this in a civil lawsuit, although the defense attorney might not even put the defendant on the witness stand.
In case a motorcycle safety group goes into knee jerk problem solving mode and rushes into asking for more government, I philosophically disagree with legislative solutions for everything, and also disagree with litigation for all matters. We already have over 800,000 laws. Knee jerk laws result in brain jerk cops turning more people into criminals, seizing property to benefit the police, and grabbing money for the state.
It would be horrible if there was willful negligence, gross negligence, or reckless endangerment resulting in loss of life, and the guy gets to walk simply because of his station in life in comparison to the victims of his negligence. There is evidence he was using his cell phone moments before rather than paying full attention to the road. Is that proof of willful gross negligence sufficient for prosecution to proceed? Personally, I think that evidence of recent cell phone use is sufficient proof of willful negligence resulting in loss of life, but that's an opinion based on hearsay reported by the news rather than my personal review of the facts and evidence.
In terms of prevention, lane splitting in some states (a reduction in legislative mandates rather than more unnecessary regulation and creation of more criminals), has reduced the number of motorcycles rear-ended.
I always feel vulnerable when sitting at traffic lights, but it is not just traffic lights. I was rear-ended at a stop sign by a cop who was watching a high school girl in a miniskirt. I saw him in my rear view mirror, knew he was going to run into me, and couldn't do anything. My husband was rear-ended while taking a left and waiting for an opening, despite being in a big, bright yellow 1975 Dodge Charger, by someone bombing around in a little car gabbing on a cell phone. Look at what happened two months ago in Phoenix, with the truck running into 8 motorcycles - I believe uppers were involved although there was no obvious visible signs of driving while under the influence.
Sorry I do not have anything more to contribute other than condolences for the families of the victims.
