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I don't agree with this! Not the same as pointing a gun and pulling the trigger.
I think that the bigger issue here is that, regardless if it is intentional (and most arent, right?) vs. not, the death penalty for texting/driving, drinking/driving, talking on your phone/driving is a faulty way to deter future repeated behavior. While it may punish that one individual, it will never stop anyone else from repeating the same stupid behavior and causing senseless deaths.
I'm not going to turn this into a death penalty debate, but besides the fact that the thought of possibly being sentenced to death will persuade some from texting and driving, the death penalty never was about deterrence. It's simply about punishing those who commit egregious crimes.
I'm not going to turn this into a death penalty debate, but besides the fact that the thought of possibly being sentenced to death will persuade some from texting and driving, the death penalty never was about deterrence. It's simply about punishing those who commit egregious crimes.
If you look at the definition of premeditation, one of the words associated with premeditation is "forethought," or consideration of what may happen in the future.
This driver KNEW the potential consequences of texting and driving. Yet, STILL texted while driving, and this caused the accident which killed innocent lives and destroyed families. How many more of these incidents are we going to tolerate before sending a strong message?
Like I said, the death penalty would be perfect in an ideal world. At the least, 20 years mandatory prison sentence with hard labor (like chain gangs from the old days).
This was no innocent 'mistake,' I repeat, NOT a mistake.
You are 100%+ correct.
If the guy didn't realize the consequences of his actions, he shouldn't be driving. Same goes for drunk driving. It's definitely premeditated.
Twenty years would not be nearly enough. Perhaps 20 years per person he killed would be appropriate. I'd rather just kill him. You know...like he killed 13 people. He doesn't deserve to live.
In the context of such a tragic accident, its hard to make this argument. However, I believe the social disruption that will be caused by autonomous vehicles is so great that you may regret what you wished for. I agree this is a technology that is coming and there is probably nothing that will stop it. I also think it needs to be carefully studied, carefully evaluated, and highly regulated. I don't want private companies simply calling something an "autonomous vehicle" and that vehicle automatically being allowed to utilize the highway system. I want regulation, standardization, and solid proof that the vehicles are at least 200% or 300% safer than driver-operated vehicles.
When these vehicles are available, society will have to deal with the problem of 2 to 3 million unemployed truck drivers who may have little in the way of job skills that allow them to do much else. Perhaps, that's just the way it goes, but the country needs to prepare for this instead of focusing on the kind of trivial issues we've dealt with for decades.
I follow self driving car development pretty closely and I am comfortable with my POV. They won't be perfect, and it may take longer than some of the optimist think, but I fully expect a dramatic reduction in auto accidents and fatalities. It's being "studied, carefully evaluated" more than most people begin to realize. However, Tesla and Uber may be a little out over their skis. There are 15 OEM automakers worked on self driving, many expect to have vehicles in 2020-2012.
While I understand the concern with truck drivers out of work, it will happen slowly. And 200 years ago, 90% of Americans were involved in agriculture, now it's about 3%. There have been several revlotions that have created new jobs and assimilated workers. I hope that happens once again, but I appreciate the concern, innovation happens quickly these days.
The driver should be charged with the murder of 13 people and given 13 consecutive life sentences! The party on the phone texting with him should be given 10 years in jail as an accomplice.
All states should have strict laws on cellphone usage and texting! It’s as bad as drunk driving or worse.
Loss of driver's license is no deterrent since roughly 25% of motorists don't have one to start with.
You can always get a pay-as-you-go phone under a fake name.
Jail is no deterrent since they'll be out in a few days.
Technology might be a solution. Your texting feature shuts off when you're behind the wheel, maybe?
If it were up to me, I'd go with public floggings.
It would be hard for anyone to not know how dangerous texting is (for everyone else cause it won't happen to them).
Yes, its no different then drunk driving. Everyone knows how dangerous it is (well almost... there was a recent thread where a poster was claiming drunk driving wasn't reckless), but it still happens every day. No amount of radio/tv ads, billboards, leaflets, etc... are going to stop everyone from texting/drinking while driving. There will always be those people who think they can drive just fine while impaired.
Texas is one of four states that does not have a statewide ban on texting while driving. After what just happened, it's a little shocking to read that the Governor of Texas opposes a ban because it would "micromanage the behavior of adults." The state House just passed a measure to ban texting on March 15, but it has yet to get through the state Senate.
But do these bans really help? Driving while drunk is against the law in all 50 states, but it still happens. People still die in car crashes caused by drunk drivers.
I live in a state that doesn't have a statewide ban on texting, its left up to the individual counties/municipalities. I actually did not realize that so many states had a statewide ban. I never text and drive because I know that it is dangerous. I don't need a law to tell me that, and I think most people are going to do whatever they want to do in their own cars regardless of what the law is. They're going to think they're immune, or they won't get caught.
I had looked up to see if these laws actually keep people off their phones, and found a study done in California that stated that there is a rising number of people using their phones while driving. In April of 2015, California law enforcement agencies ticketed over 46,000 drivers who were using a cell phone while driving, and wrote 35% more tickets for texting while driving when compared to 2014.
In 2014, three thousand people were killed nation wide in collisions that involved a distracted driver. I doubt this crashes only happened in the four states without a statewide ban on texting while driving. I'm not saying that we should just let drivers do whatever while driving, but I wouldn't put any of that blame on the Governor of Texas. Even if Texas had a statewide ban, its likely that this crash would have still happened since so many people across the country ignore these texting while driving bans.
I don't agree with putting him to death.
I don't even agree with putting him in prison. Why should we have to support this idiot for the rest of his life while he sits around and does nothing constructive?
Can we designate some distant land as a place to banish people like him? Drop them off and let them fend for themselves. Do the same with our prison lifers. Get them off the taxpayers back. Let them take care of themselves.
Just yesterday I pulled over to let the driver behind me pass. I was on a secondary road. Her car was swerving in and out of the lane and she was right on my ass. I could tell she was texting and paying zero attention to anything else. idiots! We gotta figure out what to do with these idiots who "boo-hoo, have mercy on poor me" after they kill people out of foolishness.
Last edited by toosie; 04-01-2017 at 05:52 PM..
Reason: TOS - profanity or avoiding filter
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