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They have surveillance video. While the driver was drunk and maybe speeding, he had the right of way and the limo driver pulled right in front of him trying to make a left across Jericho Turnpike. The limo driver should have seen the other car. So sad especially if they were young.
Similar to the case on the east end a few years back. The limo driver failed to yield in that case as well.
NY is a pure comparative negligence and joint & several liability state so there will be negligence on the DWI car. In for a penny, in for a pound. Hope he has good insurance.
Yes, drunk driving is wrong.
Yes, speeding is against the rules and can contribute to a crash.
To demonize the Mercedes driver and continually imply that this has to do with drunk driving is wrong. Based on the video the town car driver is at fault. He pulled out into traffic at a low speed and blocked both lanes.
Where alcohol is a factor in the crash, that's one thing. However, BAC level always seems to be the automatic cause.
I drive a lot. Rarely have I seen anyone who was obviously drunk. On the other hand, I regularly see Uber/taxi/limo drivers doing things that are dangerous.
Getting a license in NY is absurdly easy. Getting a livery license in NY involves filling out an application and paying an additional fee. No test, no extra training, no experience necessary. Any 18 year-old who passed the road test yesterday could get a class E.
I'm not excusing drunk driving. Just don't like when it become a convenient excuse to ignore the real problem.
Similar to the case on the east end a few years back. The limo driver failed to yield in that case as well.
NY is a pure comparative negligence and joint & several liability state so there will be negligence on the DWI car. In for a penny, in for a pound. Hope he has good insurance.
I know the family of one of the girls lost personally. I attended the funeral. Having to look the parents in the eyes. No words. Nothing seems to change. People are out here every day driving drunk.
Making a left turn from a side street onto Jericho Turnpike with no traffic light is dangerous. You have to clear both directions of traffic that are going at least 40 mph in most places. Maybe there should be a traffic light or a no left turn sign at the side street. You can usually go a block or two and make a u-turn from a left turn lane.
I don't like making left turns on a four lane road like Jericho Turnpike.
Especially when it's busy, I turn right and safely turn around at the next designated left turn lane.
Too bad for the guy that hit the Town Car. Even though he may not have been in the wrong, he's in for a world of hurt.
Yes, drunk driving is wrong.
Yes, speeding is against the rules and can contribute to a crash.
To demonize the Mercedes driver and continually imply that this has to do with drunk driving is wrong. Based on the video the town car driver is at fault. He pulled out into traffic at a low speed and blocked both lanes.
Where alcohol is a factor in the crash, that's one thing. However, BAC level always seems to be the automatic cause.
I drive a lot. Rarely have I seen anyone who was obviously drunk. On the other hand, I regularly see Uber/taxi/limo drivers doing things that are dangerous.
Getting a license in NY is absurdly easy. Getting a livery license in NY involves filling out an application and paying an additional fee. No test, no extra training, no experience necessary. Any 18 year-old who passed the road test yesterday could get a class E.
I'm not excusing drunk driving. Just don't like when it become a convenient excuse to ignore the real problem.
A lot of this is BS.
You drive a lot and rarely see someone obviously drunk. So what? Being moderately drunk slows down reaction time and impairs judgement...the driver doesn't have to be visibly weaving around to be a danger on the road. Someone could look perfectly fine on the road to your well trained eyes...and then present them with a potential accident situation, and their extra fraction of a second reaction time due to their lack of sobriety can be the difference maker.
In this accident, the limo driver was wrong. If the Mercedes driver was not impaired and was fully alert, it's possible they may have avoided the accident with evasive maneuvers or at least slowed down enough/maneuvered enough to lessen the lethality of the impact, and maybe some of the victims would be alive right now. You have to assume everyone on the road is a moron (kind of like how one must approach posting on this forum) - so driving while impaired, even if one can manage it OK, makes them less equipped to act quickly and skillfully when they encounter a moron such as this limo driver.
I will agree that many livery and T&C drivers suck in terms of skill level.
Drunk driving is a real problem, it is not an excuse to ignore any other problems. Why do people think everything is a zero sum game? Drunk driving is a problem...and sober people driving like imbeciles is a problem. A lot of T&C drivers suck. Those can all be true at the same time.
How fast was the Merc going? Merc had one headlight out. Harder to see. But he was coming in pretty fast.
OTOH it looks like there may have been time for the Limo driver to either nail it to avoid a crash, or cram it into reverse to avoid a crash. Was he looking the other way?
I know the family of one of the girls lost personally. I attended the funeral. Having to look the parents in the eyes. No words. Nothing seems to change. People are out here every day driving drunk.
And if they aren't drunk, it's a drug. In NYS your required Personal Injury Protection ("no fault" as it's commonly called, because it pays the medical bills of everyone in your car regardless of fault) bars you using it if you're under the influence. The hospital knows this so they will do everything in their power not to run a tox screen if you go to the ER, because they don't want their bill denied.
It's quite a system.
And yeah, I don't make those kinds of left turns but that's how limo drivers roll. Time is money. The main roads here in NC mostly have medians so it's a no-go to do it, which is nice.
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