Impaired Driving

[n23x 0]

Given the responses in this bonfire post, should the people be/are they punished to the same extent that a drunk driver is punished?

Can one make the arguement that driving under the influence is less bad than groggy/asleep driving?

Regardless, I sure as shit never did anything like that talking on my cellphone.

.jim

"Don't touch my fucking Easter eggs, I'll be back monday." ~JTFC

[Rookie120 0]

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Can one make the arguement that driving under the influence is less bad than groggy/asleep driving?

I dont know about being less bad. Both are pretty dangerous and have been the cause of many deaths.

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Given the responses in this bonfire post, should the people be/are they punished to the same extent that a drunk driver is punished?

I dont know how you could prove that a driver fell asleep at the wheel. That might be more difficult that someone who is drunk.

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[shropshire 0]

what if they are in the PJs

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Rookie120 0]

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what if they are in the PJs

That might be a clue!

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[Rookie120 0]

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The driver of a sedan that slid into a rain-swollen ditch killing five Houston children will be charged Sunday with three counts of intoxication manslaughter, police said.

Chanton Jenkins, 32, who failed a sobriety test, lost control of the vehicle Saturday while trying to answer a cell phone, authorities said.

Police recovered three of the bodies, all boys believed to be ages 4, 7 and 11. Another child, a 1-year-old, was found Sunday afternoon

A 3-year-old has not been found, and is believed to have been washed away by the current, police said.

Jenkins, his bother and his 10-year-old daughter escaped the fast-moving current that swept the car 100 feet on Saturday from where it left the road and made the vehicle inaccessible to emergency workers for hours

Five Houston children died after their sedan slid into a rain-swollen ditch when the driver lost control while trying to answer a cell phone, authorities said.

Houston Fire Assistant Chief Omero Longoria said in the online edition of the Houston Chronicle that rescue workers found the car in 9 feet of water about 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 2 1/2 hours after the driver lost control.

The children's deaths brought the weekend death toll to six from massive storms that swept across southeast Texas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This crash was a combo of distraction by phone and being drunk. I am sure plenty of people have been killed by falling asleep at the wheel. Both are unacceptable in my book.

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[AggieDave 6]

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should the people be/are they punished to the same extent that a drunk driver is punished?

In terms of negligent homicide, they have been!

As for standard traffic stop and DWI investigation, please tell me how we could determine how someone is driving when they're too tired. With DWI there are standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs) that are medically and legally proven indicators.

As a side note, you would be amazed how many people are driving in the same manner someone who is DWI drives, come to find out they are 100% sober and simply using a cell phone!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[n23x 0]

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As for standard traffic stop and DWI investigation, please tell me how we could determine how someone is driving when they're too tired. With DWI there are standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs) that are medically and legally proven indicators.

Agreed, no reliable methods exist to evaluate "driving while sleepy", at least after the fact.

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In terms of negligent homicide, they have been!

Is negligent homicide dependent on admission of guilt? That is to say, do they have to say, "I fell asleep", to be charged with negligent driving, or could they say, "the car just got out of control"? If so, wouldn't it be hard to agree that they're punished to the same extent?

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As a side note, you would be amazed how many people are driving in the same manner someone who is DWI drives, come to find out they are 100% sober and simply using a cell phone!

I bet I would be amazed. I bet I would also be amazed by the amount of people with the same indicators performing some other task besides talking on the cellphone.

.jim

"Don't touch my fucking Easter eggs, I'll be back monday." ~JTFC

[Beachbum 0]

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As a side note, you would be amazed how many people are driving in the same manner someone who is DWI drives, come to find out they are 100% sober and simply using a cell phone!

No, I don't think I'd be amazed, since I see them around me constantly and have been forced onto the shoulder, almost into the barrier, etc. by them more times than I've counted. Not as directly dangerous to me, but the one that ticked me off most so far was the idiot that couldn't keep his truck on the road in front of me (left lane of 4 in that stretch of road) and had almost his entire truck on the shoulder throwing stuff up before I could back off enough to avoid a nice big ding in my newly replaced windshield. The part that makes it even worse to me is that they all seem to think they are perfectly competent behind the wheel while doing so. At least most of the drunks know they are drunk and driving poorly!!!

As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

[n23x 0]

Interesting.

Riding motorcycle, I'd say I'm most concerned with people who are looking around their car and grabbing at shit (although phone manipulation certainly falls into that realm). However, I'd go as far as to say the people that concern me most, and thus get the most amount of space, have been most commonly doing things other than phoning (reaching in the back seat, yelling at kids, reading maps, playing with gps).

In addition, I would say that I ride in proximity with far more phone users with whom I make direct eye contact and are driving safely than driving phone users I see swerving about.

It is entirely possible that people in/from Houston simply have no business being on the road.

Back to the thread topic:

Are groggy drivers more likely to fall asleep than drunk drivers? (Total Loss of Control vs. Impaired Control)

Are groggy drivers more likely to push their driving than drunk drivers?

Are people more likely to drive groggy than drunk?

.jim

"Don't touch my fucking Easter eggs, I'll be back monday." ~JTFC

[loumeinhart 0]

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Riding motorcycle, I'd say I'm most concerned with people who are looking around their car and grabbing at shit (although phone manipulation certainly falls into that realm). However, I'd go as far as to say the people that concern me most, and thus get the most amount of space, have been most commonly doing things other than phoning (reaching in the back seat, yelling at kids, reading maps, playing with gps).

It's amazing what I see on a motorcycle. I started riding last summer using my bike for work. On the freeway I notice speed differentials, swerving and can see people shifting and moving in their car like their walking around their house or something. It has made me more aware as a motorist. I've seen weird shit on the youngstown-akron commute like cars throwing meaningless signals and the speed varying 20mph +/- constantly!

If I ever go to jail for assault it will be because I ran some motherfucker down for flicking a cigarrette butt out at me.

[ryoder 1,590]

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If I ever go to jail for assault it will be because I ran some motherfucker down for flicking a cigarrette butt out at me.

Read a good story on bikeforums.net a couple weeks ago.
A cyclist was riding along, and some moron in a car threw a paper cup filled with ice and coke at him.
He put up his arm to block it, and surprised himself by catching it.
At the next traffic light, he caught up with the car.
The car's window was open.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[TomAiello 26]

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If I ever go to jail for assault it will be because I ran some motherfucker down for flicking a cigarrette butt out at me.

I had a good friend in college, who, when we were out running once, saw a driver flick a cigarette butt out his window. He picked it up, ran up to the car that the next stop sign, and knocked on the window. The driver rolled the window down and my friend said "you dropped this!" and threw the butt back into the car.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com