Jonny Gaudreau

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

That's a Philly suburb too, not the sticks.

Very easy to get Uber/Lyft to take you home if you've had one too many pops after work. No excuse. Throw the book at him.

I'll bet his 'lawyer' will plea deal the crap out of this and I doubt he'll see any real jail time. He may not have a license but he'll drive again..and drink and drive.

[Elefantino]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

I'll bet his 'lawyer' will plea deal the crap out of this and I doubt he'll see any real jail time. He may not have a license but he'll drive again..and drink and drive.

Two counts of second-degree (?) death by auto. Driving while intoxicated. Consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. Having an open alcohol container in a vehicle. Improper passing. Reckless driving. Making an unsafe lane change.

If he does no jail time there should be mass protests. (There won't be, but there should be.)

[LIRider]

Any hope I had of this guy getting a stiff sentence went out the window when I saw that he is a US Army major.

[many_styles]

Originally Posted by climbgdh

THIS ^^^ X1000. Well said.

I see a handful of examples EVERY time I drive. Common courtesy is no longer practiced or placed as high of a pedestal as it use to be.


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[many_styles]

Originally Posted by BumbleBeeDave

There's not much we can do except keep wearing hi-viz, buying flashing lights and radar units to warn us, and using video cameras to record our rides in the faint hope that if we do get hit, someone will be held accountable in some way after the fact.

Even sadder, I don't think this is just about cars. I read recently an op-ed that called the US today "a cult of selfishness." And so it is. In the past 8-10 years things have gotten so much worse with both overt and casual selfishness, plus casual arrogance, casual aggression, casual bigotry, and an increasing refusal to take personal responsibility for just about anything that ends up hurting others in any way.

I just don't remember it being this way when I took up cycling 40 odd years ago. Was I just young and naive then? Maybe more naive than I am now, but not to the degree that I wouldn't notice this much failure of morals, empathy, and the humanity that separates us from wild animals..

Seems best I can do now is keep charging all these warning gadgets, grow another set of eyes in the back of my head, and keep seeking out rail trails and roads out in the middle of nowhere. That's the reality, and it's depressing.

BBD

Can you share a link to this op-ed? I’d like to read in detail.

I just think that the overall discussion is too focused on blaming others for your own shortcomings and not enough self reflection of one can improve upon themselves. I think the discussion needs to be pulled back to have some balance.


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[rallizes]

There is always the option of not supporting certain industries.

[Elefantino]

Originally Posted by many_styles

I just think that the overall discussion is too focused on blaming others for your own shortcomings and not enough self reflection of one can improve upon themselves.

There is no money, or power, in the latter. That drives the former.

[NHAero]

From this web site.... I don't think he's going to walk unless the police really messed up.

Penalties for Death by Auto in NJ

The sentencing for a second degree crime of death by auto is 5 to 10 years. However, the minimum term for this crime is the greater of three years or one-third to one-half of the original sentence. In other words, an intoxicated or reckless driver who kills someone could possibly spend five years in prison with ineligibility for parole. The penalties for death by auto are increased if the accident has any relationship with schools. Relationships with schools include the accident taking place in a school zone, at a school crossing, or at any property used by schools. The state will not care if schools were closed, or if there were no children at the crossing. It is not a defense to be unaware that the location was a school zone. Death by auto, when related to schools, is a first-degree offense. The sentence for this crime is 10 to 20 years.

In addition to a term of incarceration, a defendant convicted of death by auto while driving while intoxicated in New Jersey could lose their license for an extended period, if not lose their driving privileges entirely. At the very minimum, you will not be able to drive for 5 years after you’re released from prison; however, the court has the authority to revoke your license completely.

[dmitrik4]

Originally Posted by verticaldoug

It's not a one factor thing.

You need to throw in mental illness and substance abuse into the mix.

(I put mental illness in here since more people are self-medicating.)

I think all of this related back to problems developed during covid shutdown.
I think we are still dealing with the aftermath.

Don’t blame “social media,” or whatever. The problem is that we all (Americans, mainly) think we are the main ****ing character. The guy was drunk but that only exacerbated his existing sense of self importance. That is the core of why this, and countless other deaths, happen.

I grew up on those roads and am extremely reluctant to ride them, and this is why. **** that guy and **** everyone who thinks they matter more than anyone else.

[buddybikes]

Take issue with "we all"

View my family as caring, humble, not self serving and good drivers that KNOW how to drive. This along with all of most all of our friends we hang out with

[dmitrik4]

Originally Posted by buddybikes

Take issue with "we all"

View my family as caring, humble, not self serving and good drivers that KNOW how to drive. This along with all of most all of our friends we hang out with

As I was saying, people often have a tendency to make themselves the subject of the events around them, and driving is just one common and easily relatable example of that behavior.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . today, at least that I've seen in this country. Reference my "cult of selfishness" post earlier. It's the whole idea of "American Exceptionalism."

BBD

Originally Posted by dmitrik4

Don’t blame “social media,” or whatever. The problem is that we all (Americans, mainly) think we are the main ****ing character. The guy was drunk but that only exacerbated his existing sense of self importance. That is the core of why this, and countless other deaths, happen.

I grew up on those roads and am extremely reluctant to ride them, and this is why. **** that guy and **** everyone who thinks they matter more than anyone else.

[ridethecliche]

Originally Posted by verticaldoug

It's not a one factor thing.

You need to throw in mental illness and substance abuse into the mix.

(I put mental illness in here since more people are self-medicating.)

I think all of this related back to problems developed during covid shutdown.
I think we are still dealing with the aftermath.

I don't think this developed during covid. Drivers have been killing cyclists and getting away with it long before COVID.

[smontanaro]

Originally Posted by gone

The guy that hit him is going to do whatever the maximum is, unless of course the local police screwed up the arrest somehow.

I'll believe it when I see it. Whenever I see yet another tragedy like this, I'm reminded of the death of Bobby Cann here in Chicago. If Higgins has the best defense counsel money can buy, he might get much less than the maximum.

https://chicagoreader.com/news-polit...-of-a-cyclist/

TL;DR San Hamel got (as I recall) 10 days in the pokey.

[BobbyJones]

This happened literally right down the street from my GF's family property.

It is indeed "the sticks", more or less. Farmland slowly converting to warehouses & even slower conversions to subdivisions.

Unfortunately, the only reason anyone is still talking about it is because of the célébrité of the victims. However, it has raised a bit of cycling awareness amongst the locals.