Bicycle Austin forum

MichaelBluejay

Webmaster

From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-05-26

Posts: 1,484

Website

Driver who stopped for ducks in road gets jail, no license for 10years

A Canadian woman stopped her car for some ducks in the roadway, then a man speeding on a motorcycle with his teenage daughter on the back slammed into the stopped car, killing both the man and his daughter.  A court sentenced the driver who stopped for the ducks to 90 days jail and banned her from holding a drivers license for ten years.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/ … -1.2896005

It could have been harsher:  After the conviction, she faced the possibility of life in prison.

The case garnered a lot of attention and was controversial.

The first thing that comes to my mind is, I wish drivers in *our* country had their licenses suspended for 10 years when they recklessly cause the death of others, or hit-and-run injure others even if the victim doesn't die.  But about the duck woman, I have mixed feelings.  What are your thoughts?

karmakazie

Member

Registered: 2015-04-08

Posts: 2

Re: Driver who stopped for ducks in road gets jail, no license for 10years

As a driver - if you're speeding beyond your capacity to see the road and identify obstructions then you should be at fault - not the driver who stopped to avoid them.  It very well could have been a couch dropped off a truck accidentally that they stopped for.  If the driver stopped in the middle of the road for no reason / obstruction / or lack of attention - then yes, negligent.  However driver that hit them still should be faulted (not possible as died).

MichaelBluejay

Webmaster

From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-05-26

Posts: 1,484

Website

Re: Driver who stopped for ducks in road gets jail, no license for 10years

Thank you for joining, karmakazie, and for sharing.

Yes, I think your thoughts are exactly why the case is controversial.  That, and the fact that truly at-fault drivers who kill bicyclists in the states frequently seem to duck (no pun intended) the kind of penalty that the driver in the Canadian case got.

rich00

Member

Registered: 2010-01-18

Posts: 166

Re: Driver who stopped for ducks in road gets jail, no license for 10years

Agreed.

Unless it was a blind corner, I don't the driver should be at fault. What if she had stopped because of some other road obstruction or accident.

The rule is - you should travel at a speed which you can stop within the same distance of your sightline. Obviously the motorcyclist wasn't.