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Life is cheap in Tucson, Arizona, where a driver faces a misdemeanor for killing a cyclist (www.kgun9.com)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/micromobility@lemmy.world
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[–] 25 points 1 month ago (4 children)

We can do both. The city should be fined and forced to improve infrastructure. The driver should be held to task for failing to properly operate a multi-ton vehicle. Their job as a licensed driver is to be the safest, most responsible person possible and make corrections for any hazards or circumstances that may arise. There is NO excuse to kill someone just because you wanted to turn left and these punishments aren't nearly enough.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

    There is NO excuse to kill someone just because you wanted to turn left and these punishments aren’t nearly enough.

    That's not what was happening here, or at least there's nothing to suggest that's what was happening here.

    This happened at 06:00. Sunrise in Tucson yesterday was approximately 06:15, so it was dark. Westbound traffic has a traffic light and is allowed to turn left. What ostensibly happened is that this driver had a green light (but not a green arrow), didn't see anybody coming, and turned into a bicyclist, killing them. A driver is being held to task for failing to properly operate a multi-ton vehicle – they're being held to task for their portion of the fault.

    Screenshot of the intersection westbound from Google Street View

    We can do both.

    You can do both, but you have to do both proportionally instead of throwing up your hands and saying "well they both suck". Clearly, the bulk of the blame rests with the city, because a) cars and bicycles should not have to share this space, and b) any reasonable planner would foresee this kind of problem. This is horribly designed in a way that charging anything more than a misdemeanor would be unjust and a ridiculous stretch of consequentialism.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 month ago

    There are no accidents, only collisions.

    As long as society at large sees that the consequences for killing someone with a car can be a slap on the wrist, it is injustice.

    Justice is a difficult topic. It would be one thing if this was the first car crashing into a bicycle ever, and the mayor, governor, and president all decried the tragedy and closed the roads until improvements could be made. Then i could see giving the driver a misdemeanor since society is taking responsibility and justice is being done.

    Is this another day in the life in America? Maybe with more serious consequences for the driver, there would be political will to actually change things and prevent these tragedies.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 month ago*

    If you're driving somewhere horribly designed or something, then you have to drive more slowly and carefully. It's absolutely no excuse to crash your vehicle into any object. Doesn't matter if it's bad road design or bad weather, you are responsible for driving your car.

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