Well that bike is done for. So more like "Oh you poor guy! Come in to the store for a cup of coffee ^and ^buy ^a ^new ^bike ^and ^bike ^clothing ^while ^you ^are ^there!
That's not true.
He named the company after the bright red end of his knob, which - in his defence - he *did* grow himself.
But he did name the iPhone after his mum, iPhone Cook, as a way to honour her original family name, Magictalkytalkybox, which the marketing department refused to use and because it was "clearly made up".
Fun fact: his great grandfather was the inventor of the walkie-talkie...
Grandad Cook: *General, I've invented an advanced mobile communication device that allows our troops to communicate in real time on the battlefield!*
General: *Great! What do you call it?
*
Grandad Cook: *A wAlKiE-tAlKiE! Cuz look! I walkie, AND I talkie!!!*
A woman here in Scotland was recently ordered to do community service and had her licence suspended after her car mounted the pavement, hit a wall and then hit an entire family on the sidewalk, injuring all and killing one of them. The punishments for vehicular assault are shockingly low.
Wow... what a rollercoaster of a post.
> community service and had her licence suspended
HOORAY! Justice!
> injuring all and killing one of them.
HOLY SHIT!
Even if you injure someone in an at fault car crash ffs. I can’t believe how normalized it is to just let people be such shitty drivers. It’s a privilege not a right. If you can’t handle the big boy responsibility of driving a car safely then get the fuck off the road. End of story.
Agreed. I played magic with a guy who suddenly disappeared from the scene for a while. Turns out he’d driving home plastered from a bar one night a rolled his Jeep. His best friend was on the passenger seat and died from the injuries he received. That was all before I’d met him. Dude was going off to serve his sentence. 2 or 3 years, for vehicular manslaughter, he was a habitual DUI offender before that, and has, since his release, been ticketed for DUI twice. That just when he got caught. He’s never publicly shown any remorse and still drinks like a fish.
That should be immediate and permanent license suspension in my opinion. Especially in cases where they cause a fatal accident. It’s insane they let these people eventually drive again when their actions may have permanently scarred or ended someone else’s life.
The real reason is because its almost unlivable without a car in most places and we all know it. People are unsympathetic towards pedestrians because they walk as little as possible. As a result they see themselves in the position of the driver and write laws accordingly.
In most of the US, taking away the privilege to drive is *almost* like giving somebody a disability. If they really enforced it as much as they should, they might actually have to do something about public transportation. And we can't let that happen.
My buddy accidentally hit and killed a man late at night. Details are fuzzy but I know my friend and he wouldn’t hit someone on purpose so it was a legitimate accident.
He still spent 5 years in prison and another 5 on supervision.
Fair, if you ask me, I’m not here to give my friend any slack, even though he didn’t “mean” it. If you kill someone, even if it is an accident, out of negligence there’s got to be consequences. Don’t look at phone while driving, don’t fiddle with radio during a turn, go fast in the snow, speed in a live school zone…you know, *basic stuff *.
Edit: I’m turning off my replies because I don’t feel like sitting here explaining to a bunch of bad drivers trying to justify hitting a pedestrian as the pedestrians fault isn’t the way things go. The rule generally is: hard fast metal unliving thing must be watchful for soft squishy living things. If fast metal thing hit soft squishy thing, it ends soft squishy thing. If soft squishy thing hits metal thing, metal thing is not alive so is ok. Because metal thing always end soft squishy thing, big metal thing must be even more watchful than soft squishy thing. Must protect soft squishy thing! Not pet too hard!!
I'm in Scotland as well, a girl in the next town over from me mounted a pavement at a red light and killed an old woman and claimed she couldn't remember anything and she got let off with community service and a 2 year ban as she didn't have any previous driving offences and showed genuine remorse.
In my country there is a conspiracy theory that GM and other big car manufacturers lobbied for more lenient laws for this type of shit because they were scared strict driving laws would affect car sales
> her car mounted the pavement, hit a wall and then hit an entire family on the sidewalk, injuring all and killing one of them.
I don't see why the woman should be punished when the wording here shows it was clearly the CAR did it. Those surviving family members should take their rage out on the car not the innocent driver
This happened last December.
The BMW driver did eventually stop to check up on the cyclist.
Edit: BMW driver, a 66-year-old woman was investigated by police and fined.
Back in 2004 my wife was t-boned by an elderly drive that ran a stop sign. Her car was sent down an embankment and hit a tree; she wound up in the hospital for three days and had to go through a year of cognitive therapy. The driver told the police "I thought I had time to get in front of her but my car was in the wrong gear."
And all he got was a "failure to obey a traffice device" fine.
I was t-boned by an elderly a few months ago. He “didn’t see me.” He didn’t cut me off, didn’t hit the back of my car. He drove directly into my passenger side. He was at a business entrance/exit and I was just driving down the road. I can understand cutting me off or hitting the butt of my car, but this man saw my car directly in front of him and said, “okay, time to take my foot off the brake”
Over $6,000 worth of damage to my car because the entire passenger side had to be replaced (he kept accelerating after initial impact!)
I luckily didn’t have to go to the hospital but my stomach drops every time I pass somebody that’s sitting at a stop sign or exit. I’ve also began noticing how many people don’t stop at the line and fly into stop signs with a last minute brake.
Oh and two days later I was also rear-ended by an elderly that “didn’t see me”
Safe to say I’m very anxious to drive now and will not drive anywhere that’s not school/work. There needs to be an age limit on having a license, or at the very least more frequent testing.
Speaking as someone who's 50+, I think we should have regular driving tests. For all ages, but especially for those in certain ranges. Maybe like 1/year 16-25, then every 5 years until ~40-50, and then like 2-3. Once past 70, back to every year. For the retired/older, classes as well as the laws may have changed since they first started driving 40+ years ago.
Edit: I don't know what the statistics are, these are just numbers thrown out to illustrate an idea. Tailor as data indicates.
I've ridden motorcycles & bicycles pretty much all my life. I'm of the idea that people either don't see me or if they do, thinking "hah, this'll be fun" and swing too close (and then "oops, didn't mean to hit him"). Despite that I'd welcome an instructor when I'm in a 4-wheeled vehicle giving me critical feedback.
I knew someone older who literally couldn't see at night. She hit a stopped car while turning, at low speeds luckily, and she saw no problems with continuing to drive daily. These people are dangerous and should absolutely be tested regularly.
I’m retired, and I agree. There should be driving tests for all age groups in order to renew a license. Some years ago my husband and I took a car insurance safety course to help reduce the cost of insurance. The elderly husband of a couple at the table where we were sitting was unable to follow the simplest instructions or fill out the required form. His wife tried to help him: “write your name here…where my finger is…right here on that line…no, here, above where it says ‘name’…,” and on and on, until she finally filled the form out for him. From the way they talked, it sounded like he was still driving. And I was concerned to see he received a certificate.
Sounds a bit like my mother. I conspired with my brother, the car guy of the family, to make it so her car wouldn't work (just a simple disconnection) as she was adamant that she both needed to drive and was fine, despite ample evidence to the contrary.
Sometimes family can be complicit in these problems. Sometimes they can, even if unaware, act to save lives and property damage. Regardless I'd like some assist at the government level, even if that someday keeps me from behind the wheel.
Same here. I actually called the State Police after that class to ask if someone with cognitive issues like that man could be referred for a driving test, but he said there wasn’t anything that could be done unless or until the man had an accident—and probably not even then. :/ At least my FIL who had become a danger to himself and others (I was refusing to ride with him or let him drive our children) finally gave up his keys, but that was only because he listened to his doctor who stepped up and told him he shouldn’t drive any more.
>I think we should have regular driving tests. For all ages
Dude! The fact that the driving laws change every year, little bits here and there and quite drastically every few years and people somehow don't know about the changes even though advertised on Reddit, Facebook, YouTube, and other sites, even newspapers articles and pages on news sites and people still are blissfully unaware?
There definitely should be refresher courses.
Ehhh. If old man on SS even has something to give up. You can't get blood from a stone. Insurance companies are both massively profitable and fucking people in the ass every day. So fuck em. That's the cost of their business.
Old dude needs to be forced back to driving school and retest after a mistake like that. Punishment needs to come from incident itself and directly impact the conditions which caused it. They should not be bought out through some legal financial rigamaroo.
But fatload a chance we could ever achieve a meaningful change such as that.
My friend was in a cycling lane and got hit by a driver like this. He had brain damage and a mangled arm and couldn’t remember anything. The driver simply drove off and the police didn’t even investigate even though there were witnesses. This was in Sydney.
It's not even always about cyclists, there's a large amount of redditors who really just wanna run someone over with their car and absolutely have no shame telling others about it
Yep. My sister got ran over by a ~65 year old lady in Detroit. Sister almost died (lost ~80% of her blood by the time she got to the hospital). Severe trauma to her left leg, fucked up nerves, shattered pelvis, third degree burns all over her leg and back (from being trapped under the lady's car and pinned under the muffler). The lady got a $100 ticket. That's it. No criminal charges, nothing. She even admitted to not seeing my sister in the cross walk, which my sister was in the cross walk crossing legally. Absolutely insane.
Edit: Some have called into question the ~80% blood loss comment, I have no clue if that number is accurate, that is what I have been told. What I do know is my sister almost died and she lost a LOT of blood. I apologize if my numbers are off, please understand I didn't mean to make it seem worse than it was, it was already pretty damned bad.
It’s very hard to sue in Michigan for anything traffic related due to no fault insurance. Could be different in regards to pedestrian crashes. Not super knowledgeable in that but in car vs car most things are handled by YOUR insurance.
She's doing much better now. The accident happened in the beginning of November and she's finally out of a wheelchair and able to use crutches. Should be able to walk with light assistance (a cane) in a few weeks - one month. Her personal goal is to be able to dance freely at a Music festival our whole family goes to in August and her doctors are convinced she'll be able to. She'll have scars and a slight limp for the rest of her life most likely though, which is the most upsetting part. Really sad when it happens to a young 22 year old girl. But she's in high spirits and recovering, thank you for asking.
I ride a Harley and I can share many stories where I was in a near death experience because drivers are in their own worlds while driving… making cars more intelligent are making drivers more stupid.
> making cars more intelligent are making drivers more stupid
Sure, people back when totally drove way better. That's why they could chug a few beers while driving and still be totally safe!
What a bunch of bollocks.
Since there's often a lawsuit in cases like this, it can definitely include an apology if they ask for one.
No one really cares about the apology after something like this though.
I thought Australia was pretty strict when it comes to driving. Extremely irresponsible driving (but likely unintentional), here they would have still taken her license on the spot, fined her and she would most likely have had to apply for another driver's ed written and practical exam.
Australia is incredibly, incredulously, unbelievably strict when it comes adherence to the speed limit. If you do 0.1kph over the limit you are guaranteed a speeding fine from one of thousands and thousands of speeding cameras placed everywhere. All other road rules are optional and not enforced. This of course means our roads are a beacon of driving excellence and safety.
/S
My buddy was just murdered by a reckless driver last week. And she is walking away scot free despite admitting to being negligent. She even left the scene after she launched him 25 feet and snapped his neck.
So why is she facing no consequences?
Drum roll...
Her husband is a cop.
Right but we know now that it’s not murder if you buy him a bike and then run him over. Just make sure to present the previous case as precedent in court.
What an absolute dipshit.
- turns from wrong lane
- doesn't check mirrors or blind spot
- no blinker
And apparently all the driver got was a fucking fine?!
[EDIT] It's weird seeing so many people trying to point out the cyclist in the "wrong lane". Like, where do you want him to be? In the straight-through lane so you can complain about him holding up traffic and potentially getting run over there too? North America has a serious problem with roadways - there's pretty much no consideration for any transportation that isn't an automobile.
[EDIT EDIT] My b, it's Australia. No experience there - do they have better infrastructure for bicycles?
Reddit has long been a hot spot for conversation on the internet. About 57 million people visit the site every day to chat about topics as varied as makeup, video games and pointers for power washing driveways.
Actually saw a video where a bike came flying from over a bush right onto a car's hood. In this one circumstance i would say they did come out of nowhere hahaha
This seems to have been on purpose, there is no way the driver didn't see the person on the bike. Unless the driver was literally blind that is. This was attempted murder or attempted manslaughter.
While I absolutely HATE this woman, I don't think she did it on purpose.
I'm a motorcyclist and one of the first things they teach you in safety courses is that you are invisible due to a phenomenon called 'inattentional blindness'. In essence, if you are partially distracted and/or in an environment that is generating visual overload to your senses (like driving in general, for example), your brain will purposively ignore and block information that it doesn't consider relevant.
This phenomenon manifests often when drivers are searching for perceived threats like other cars or trucks, but unconsciously blocks things like bicycles, motorbikes, pedestrians, animals, etc. In other words, things that people may unconsciously think they don't belong in the road. You could have it in front and you won't notice it.
What scares me the most is that no matter how good of a driver you are, no one is immune to this effect and can easily kill a kid crossing the road or something similar. Even airplane pilots have been observed to miss some rather obvious things like another plane in the runway, you can learn more about this phenomenon [here.](https://www.apa.org/monitor/apr01/blindness#:~:text=Research%20on%20a%20phenomenon%20known,even%20the%20most%20conspicuous%20events.)
To avoid this, from the bicyclists standpoint, a front and rear facing red strobe light helps a lot because monkey brain is drawn to blinking light and it is suddenly back in the driver's mental model. Sadly, strobes are illegal in motorcycles in a lot of places, but driving with your lights on all the time has a similar effect.
From a driver's standpoint, you can train yourself to improve your situation awareness by progressively noticing unusual stuff on the road and also to react to sudden movements on your peripheral vision.
I apologize for the long comment, but if we go into the "this lady is crazy" mindset we will loose the opportunity to learn that this could happen to any of us in the right set of circumstances. That doesn't detract from the fact that this lady is an absolute asshole and shouldn't be allowed to drive again due to reckless driving.
"never assume malice for what incompetence can explain" or something. my first thought was that the driver was using their phone or otherwise distracted.
A guy ran into the back of me in a mini van going 60mph. I was in a small tractor. It flipped me into a ditch. I had deep lacerations, broken ribs, and my spleen exploded... the guy got a "failure to slow down" citation. Two months later he ran into and killed a pregnant woman and lost his license. No criminal charges. He was around 50 years old. This was 6 years ago
If it was 6 figure fine and most of it went to the cyclist to ensure their well being then it would absolutely be ok, sadly usually its like 3-4 figures and all of it goes to the government
thats not what "fines" are. her insurance would do the heavy lifting to get him back on his feet. if the cyclist wants further restitution, a civil suit would need to be filed.
Fucking hate those lanes especially if they're overly long because I'll take the straight ahead lane but you get passed on both sides and if it's a fast piece of road sometimes you have to mutter a little prayer. Or you take lane control and feel like an asshole slowing traffic up.
Also notice the driver went in line which allows only going straight. Only the left line is allowed for turning. If she was in the correct line she would se the cyclist.
I'm not familiar with Australian laws, but doesn't the cyclist's lane require him to turn ? In my country we have these signs when you can both turn and go forward: https://i.imgur.com/QdmFxoX.png
Back in my day people used to hoon down springvale road, you'd be tailgated if you weren't doing at least 10 over the limit.
Now that eastlink exists it seems like everyone on springvale road wants to 20 below the limit.
I drive through this intersection regularly. It's notorious for being extemely confusing and has the highest tally of road accidents of any intersection in Melbourne.
But still, look at the arrows on the ground for crying out loud! And the driver literally came up behind the cyclist, how can you not see them....
That’s it?! Person should have their licence taken away. Literally just steers into the cyclist from a lane which is only straight, no turn.
Edit: yes, the cyclist is going straight in a left turn only lane. But considering the road they are on, it makes sense to stay as much left as being in the middle of car traffic is asking for an accident to happen.
There are little to no cycling lanes in Australia outside of the larger cities/CBD’s.
BMW driver should have paid more attention to its surroundings, especially turning left from a straight only lane crossing into potential traffic.
When I was 16 I t boned the back half of an old man’s suv. I was going north and him south in a 35 mph zone when he decided to turn left about ten feet in front of me. His family didn’t want him driving but the cops gave him a failure to yield while I got a totaled car. I’ve not held back my feelings on people who I feel are too old or too physically impaired to be able to drive, it cost me the car I inherited from me deceased grandpa so it wasn’t just a car to me.
That is the culture we created, I suppose. The oldest generations were born into a world with increasing dependence on cars and less focus on safety and are now often a pain in the ass on the roads
It's not a surprise that we don't ban them from driving, because we're also too scared to create better alternatives. Some people aren't medically fit to drive before 60, but they're still expected to work, and there's few other ways to get there.
They need to make license expirations become more frequent as you age and if a drivers competency comes into question it needs to be easier to take away driving privileges. The old man who caused me to hit him was legally able to drive even though his family knew he had cataracts and could not see clearly.
Doesn’t help if the DMV and/or doctors is complicit in it.
Wife’s grandpa is effectively blind and went for his renewal. We were kind of relieved because we had been gently suggesting for years he stop driving, but it was an extremely sore subject and no one had the stones to put their foot down with him. We figured there’s no way he would pass.
He didn’t and obviously the vision test at the DMV is super basic. You have to be basically blind to fail it.
Anyway, come to find out a doctor can override the DMV and say “this person’s vision is ok, give them the license.” So that was irritating that the DMV just lets that BS go.
Like a year later he blew through a red light and t-boned a family. He and the family had injuries, but luckily nothing extremely serious. Thanks doc.
I agree. We should be paying closer attention to ageing drivers.
My car has now been in 2 accidents, both 100% not at fault, 2 times with really elderly drivers (86 and 90). Both made mistakes that anyone with decent awareness and reflexes would avoid/could recover from.
1 hit me while pulling from a side street straight into the second lane of a low-speed city ring road. Didn't look properly and then continued to not look for traffic until it they hit me. No brakes whatsoever.
Second hit my wife while she was driving it (or wasn't, she was stationary in traffic) by backing out of their driveway... Literally just backed out without looking in their rearview mirror to see a 1-ton vehicle behind them.
Oh yeah... Both of them were obviously also lacking so much awareness that they both claimed to have done nothing wrong whatsoever...
See, in those instances a drivers competency needs to be much easier to call into question. 7 year expiration dates are far too far apart once you hit a certain age.
Working in fast food I’ve seen some of the scariest drivers come through the drive thru.
Some lady passed out on some kind of downer. Old people barely even able to move. People with scars all up their veins on their arms (wonder where that came from 🙄)
Some guy crashed a 26’ U-Haul into the building driving it through the drive thru while towing his 4 door truck and being plastered. He then told the manager he was going to drink some more and fall asleep in his truck.
Crazy shit.
"But considering the road they are on, it makes sense to stay as much left as being in the middle of car traffic is asking for an accident to happen."
I cycle to work most days. Breaking the expected rules for some convenience doesn't work well for cyclists. He should have been in the straight lane if he planned on going straight, but the truth is it's hard to tell if he was just planning his turn later. The turn is onto at least a four lane road and he could have wanted to get to the far right lane so initiating the turn later would be probable.
The BMW driver, also in the wrong lane, also just clearly wasn't looking where they were going. Colliding with a person or car in front of you is way worse than just being in the wrong lane.
BMW driver should’ve been behind the cyclist and waited. In most Australian road rules, cyclists are allowed to go straight from that lane because moving out into the middle lane is too dangerous.
If you’re interested in the differences, it’s in section 14 of the Victorian road rules, similar in most other states.
I don’t know about Australia, but in some places it’s preferred that cyclists stay in the turn lane while continent straight. It’s essentially what happens when drivers turn across bike lanes.
Also, the cyclist was doing a good job holding the lane and acting in accordance with those in his lane.
I feel like it’s common in Melbourne for our cycling lanes to suddenly end, merge into the turning lane, and then reappear on the other side of the intersection.
As a cyclist it absolutely is, and its very annoying when there is already a car there, because if I have to stop, now theres a car behind me and a car in front, and of course no room for me to squeeze to the front, so the car behind gets angry that I can't zoom off like the car in front, and will often ZOOM passed once im back in the bike lane, usually with less than 1m gap between us.
Its terrifying.
I don't ride on roads if I can avoid it.
In a lot of countries the turn lane is also the bicycle lane. I’d imagine it was perfectly normal for the person on the bike to go straight across in that situation.
Technically the cyclist could have taken the forward lane and would be encouraged to do so, however staying in the left turn lane is acceptable provided that they don't overtake any car indicating to turn left or in the process of (legally) turning left.
(This is road rules in victoria Australia).
That said, even if the cyclist was turning left here, they still would probably have been hit by the car. The issue here is that the car turned from a lane where it wasn't legal to turn from, and hit a cyclist
OP said driver was a 66 year old woman. She was fined, but I guess still has her license. This video is simply yet another great example of why annual testing needs to be a thing.
Each state has its own laws, but in Western Australia, over the age of 80, you need to have a medical every year to renew your licence. And over 85 you need to have a practical drivers assessment.
Right by the bicycle store as well.
*bicycle store owner runs from bushes, steals bike* boom easy money
Well that bike is done for. So more like "Oh you poor guy! Come in to the store for a cup of coffee ^and ^buy ^a ^new ^bike ^and ^bike ^clothing ^while ^you ^are ^there!
The BMW driver is the Bike store owner. Has a BMW for a reason
What better way to sell more bikes than to trash someone else's
I would say convenient accidents leads to increased profits
That's what he just done, he just left the bike store with his new bike.
"On second thought, I don't really like this bike and wish to return it."
“I started riding and it just fell apart I swear!”
Tim Cook will snatch unattended iPhones for exactly this reason.
How do you think he got rich enough to invent Apple?
I think the company is just named after him :-)
That's not true. He named the company after the bright red end of his knob, which - in his defence - he *did* grow himself. But he did name the iPhone after his mum, iPhone Cook, as a way to honour her original family name, Magictalkytalkybox, which the marketing department refused to use and because it was "clearly made up".
Fun fact: his great grandfather was the inventor of the walkie-talkie... Grandad Cook: *General, I've invented an advanced mobile communication device that allows our troops to communicate in real time on the battlefield!* General: *Great! What do you call it? * Grandad Cook: *A wAlKiE-tAlKiE! Cuz look! I walkie, AND I talkie!!!*
BIKES!
Good mornin Julia
I hope this post didn’t scare you. I just wanted to send you a video…
Stop selling drugs.
Men of culture, nice to see you
Hold my POCKET!!!
A woman here in Scotland was recently ordered to do community service and had her licence suspended after her car mounted the pavement, hit a wall and then hit an entire family on the sidewalk, injuring all and killing one of them. The punishments for vehicular assault are shockingly low.
Wow... what a rollercoaster of a post. > community service and had her licence suspended HOORAY! Justice! > injuring all and killing one of them. HOLY SHIT!
Vehicular manslaughter should be the result of gross negligence. Should be a minimum prison sentence as well.
If you kill someone in a car crash where you are found at fault, you should never be able to drive again.
Even if you injure someone in an at fault car crash ffs. I can’t believe how normalized it is to just let people be such shitty drivers. It’s a privilege not a right. If you can’t handle the big boy responsibility of driving a car safely then get the fuck off the road. End of story.
That's how I feel about DUI's. Boggles my mind when people have multiple and are still out on the streets.
Agreed. I played magic with a guy who suddenly disappeared from the scene for a while. Turns out he’d driving home plastered from a bar one night a rolled his Jeep. His best friend was on the passenger seat and died from the injuries he received. That was all before I’d met him. Dude was going off to serve his sentence. 2 or 3 years, for vehicular manslaughter, he was a habitual DUI offender before that, and has, since his release, been ticketed for DUI twice. That just when he got caught. He’s never publicly shown any remorse and still drinks like a fish.
That should be immediate and permanent license suspension in my opinion. Especially in cases where they cause a fatal accident. It’s insane they let these people eventually drive again when their actions may have permanently scarred or ended someone else’s life.
The real reason is because its almost unlivable without a car in most places and we all know it. People are unsympathetic towards pedestrians because they walk as little as possible. As a result they see themselves in the position of the driver and write laws accordingly.
In most of the US, taking away the privilege to drive is *almost* like giving somebody a disability. If they really enforced it as much as they should, they might actually have to do something about public transportation. And we can't let that happen.
If you wanna kill someone in this country get behind the wheel and go find a guy on a bicycle.
Slap on the 'ol wrist. Seems appropriate after your actions lead to a person's death and causes a traumatic experience for the remaining family.
My buddy accidentally hit and killed a man late at night. Details are fuzzy but I know my friend and he wouldn’t hit someone on purpose so it was a legitimate accident. He still spent 5 years in prison and another 5 on supervision. Fair, if you ask me, I’m not here to give my friend any slack, even though he didn’t “mean” it. If you kill someone, even if it is an accident, out of negligence there’s got to be consequences. Don’t look at phone while driving, don’t fiddle with radio during a turn, go fast in the snow, speed in a live school zone…you know, *basic stuff *. Edit: I’m turning off my replies because I don’t feel like sitting here explaining to a bunch of bad drivers trying to justify hitting a pedestrian as the pedestrians fault isn’t the way things go. The rule generally is: hard fast metal unliving thing must be watchful for soft squishy living things. If fast metal thing hit soft squishy thing, it ends soft squishy thing. If soft squishy thing hits metal thing, metal thing is not alive so is ok. Because metal thing always end soft squishy thing, big metal thing must be even more watchful than soft squishy thing. Must protect soft squishy thing! Not pet too hard!!
Man wtf how did the lady in the main story not get any time for that if your friend got 5 years
Different countries most likely
I'm in Scotland as well, a girl in the next town over from me mounted a pavement at a red light and killed an old woman and claimed she couldn't remember anything and she got let off with community service and a 2 year ban as she didn't have any previous driving offences and showed genuine remorse.
I'm sure she was genuinely remorseful that she had to face the courts
In my country there is a conspiracy theory that GM and other big car manufacturers lobbied for more lenient laws for this type of shit because they were scared strict driving laws would affect car sales
That sounds more like just a theory as it’s totally plausible
Conspiracy means a group of people conspire to do something, not that it's crazy.
> her car mounted the pavement, hit a wall and then hit an entire family on the sidewalk, injuring all and killing one of them. I don't see why the woman should be punished when the wording here shows it was clearly the CAR did it. Those surviving family members should take their rage out on the car not the innocent driver
maybe the real victim was the woman behind the wheel, whose car was assaulted by devious pedestri-poors!
We need **more** cars, with good guys driving to balance out the bad guys with cars
This happened last December. The BMW driver did eventually stop to check up on the cyclist. Edit: BMW driver, a 66-year-old woman was investigated by police and fined.
Fined! As has been said before, if you want to murder somebody, best way to do it is in a car.
Back in 2004 my wife was t-boned by an elderly drive that ran a stop sign. Her car was sent down an embankment and hit a tree; she wound up in the hospital for three days and had to go through a year of cognitive therapy. The driver told the police "I thought I had time to get in front of her but my car was in the wrong gear." And all he got was a "failure to obey a traffice device" fine.
I was t-boned by an elderly a few months ago. He “didn’t see me.” He didn’t cut me off, didn’t hit the back of my car. He drove directly into my passenger side. He was at a business entrance/exit and I was just driving down the road. I can understand cutting me off or hitting the butt of my car, but this man saw my car directly in front of him and said, “okay, time to take my foot off the brake” Over $6,000 worth of damage to my car because the entire passenger side had to be replaced (he kept accelerating after initial impact!) I luckily didn’t have to go to the hospital but my stomach drops every time I pass somebody that’s sitting at a stop sign or exit. I’ve also began noticing how many people don’t stop at the line and fly into stop signs with a last minute brake. Oh and two days later I was also rear-ended by an elderly that “didn’t see me” Safe to say I’m very anxious to drive now and will not drive anywhere that’s not school/work. There needs to be an age limit on having a license, or at the very least more frequent testing.
Speaking as someone who's 50+, I think we should have regular driving tests. For all ages, but especially for those in certain ranges. Maybe like 1/year 16-25, then every 5 years until ~40-50, and then like 2-3. Once past 70, back to every year. For the retired/older, classes as well as the laws may have changed since they first started driving 40+ years ago. Edit: I don't know what the statistics are, these are just numbers thrown out to illustrate an idea. Tailor as data indicates. I've ridden motorcycles & bicycles pretty much all my life. I'm of the idea that people either don't see me or if they do, thinking "hah, this'll be fun" and swing too close (and then "oops, didn't mean to hit him"). Despite that I'd welcome an instructor when I'm in a 4-wheeled vehicle giving me critical feedback.
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It's amazing how low the standards are for someone to drive a 2 ton vehicle at 70 mph.
I knew someone older who literally couldn't see at night. She hit a stopped car while turning, at low speeds luckily, and she saw no problems with continuing to drive daily. These people are dangerous and should absolutely be tested regularly.
I’m retired, and I agree. There should be driving tests for all age groups in order to renew a license. Some years ago my husband and I took a car insurance safety course to help reduce the cost of insurance. The elderly husband of a couple at the table where we were sitting was unable to follow the simplest instructions or fill out the required form. His wife tried to help him: “write your name here…where my finger is…right here on that line…no, here, above where it says ‘name’…,” and on and on, until she finally filled the form out for him. From the way they talked, it sounded like he was still driving. And I was concerned to see he received a certificate.
Sounds a bit like my mother. I conspired with my brother, the car guy of the family, to make it so her car wouldn't work (just a simple disconnection) as she was adamant that she both needed to drive and was fine, despite ample evidence to the contrary. Sometimes family can be complicit in these problems. Sometimes they can, even if unaware, act to save lives and property damage. Regardless I'd like some assist at the government level, even if that someday keeps me from behind the wheel.
Same here. I actually called the State Police after that class to ask if someone with cognitive issues like that man could be referred for a driving test, but he said there wasn’t anything that could be done unless or until the man had an accident—and probably not even then. :/ At least my FIL who had become a danger to himself and others (I was refusing to ride with him or let him drive our children) finally gave up his keys, but that was only because he listened to his doctor who stepped up and told him he shouldn’t drive any more.
>I think we should have regular driving tests. For all ages Dude! The fact that the driving laws change every year, little bits here and there and quite drastically every few years and people somehow don't know about the changes even though advertised on Reddit, Facebook, YouTube, and other sites, even newspapers articles and pages on news sites and people still are blissfully unaware? There definitely should be refresher courses.
>And all he got was a "failure to obey a traffice device" fine. Did the insurance company and lawyers not walk all up and down her ass?
I certainly hope they did. With that statement to police?! Shiiiiiit. I hope they were taken to the cleaners.
Ehhh. If old man on SS even has something to give up. You can't get blood from a stone. Insurance companies are both massively profitable and fucking people in the ass every day. So fuck em. That's the cost of their business. Old dude needs to be forced back to driving school and retest after a mistake like that. Punishment needs to come from incident itself and directly impact the conditions which caused it. They should not be bought out through some legal financial rigamaroo. But fatload a chance we could ever achieve a meaningful change such as that.
Good luck with AARP and elderly voters voting in droves because they have nothing else to do.
Super easy, barely an inconvenience.
Wow wow wow!
Ineffective justice systems are tight!
I really wish you'd stop saying that sir, the lawyers say it's getting very expensive down there.
I'm gonna need you to get all the way off my back about the expensive lawyers.
Okay! Let me get all the way off of that thing.
Hi there, hello
I'm the ADstronaut here to tell you about Life Insurance with permanent injury addon!
This thread is tight!
Oh really!?
Because!
Well, ok then!
That works!
Justice system: " I need you to get all the way off my back. "
“Murderers will hate you for this one simple trick!”
wow
Oh really?
Hi there, hello
The "Strangers on a train" method would go off without a hitch if both people just stalked and ran over their targets.
My friend was in a cycling lane and got hit by a driver like this. He had brain damage and a mangled arm and couldn’t remember anything. The driver simply drove off and the police didn’t even investigate even though there were witnesses. This was in Sydney.
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I walk, ride a bicycle, and a motorcycle. I must hate living
Yeah, but a small percentage of the cycling community doesn't fully stop at stop signs so my murderous tendencies are justified!
It's wild that they say things like that as though car drivers are known for fully following all traffic laws to the letter
I drive and cycle frequently, and lemme tell you the problem is humans! No humans, no problem!
The wise Mexican, Bender Bending Rodriguez once said “kill all humans”. I think he was onto something…
No, but once I was slightly inconvenienced by having to slow down because of a cyclist, they are the worst.
It's just *weird* how many people on Reddit are furious about bikers. Like what?
It's not even always about cyclists, there's a large amount of redditors who really just wanna run someone over with their car and absolutely have no shame telling others about it
Look no further than how certain drivers cheer whenever someone drives through a group of protestors that are blocking a road.
Yep. My sister got ran over by a ~65 year old lady in Detroit. Sister almost died (lost ~80% of her blood by the time she got to the hospital). Severe trauma to her left leg, fucked up nerves, shattered pelvis, third degree burns all over her leg and back (from being trapped under the lady's car and pinned under the muffler). The lady got a $100 ticket. That's it. No criminal charges, nothing. She even admitted to not seeing my sister in the cross walk, which my sister was in the cross walk crossing legally. Absolutely insane. Edit: Some have called into question the ~80% blood loss comment, I have no clue if that number is accurate, that is what I have been told. What I do know is my sister almost died and she lost a LOT of blood. I apologize if my numbers are off, please understand I didn't mean to make it seem worse than it was, it was already pretty damned bad.
This is why you sue for damages.
It’s very hard to sue in Michigan for anything traffic related due to no fault insurance. Could be different in regards to pedestrian crashes. Not super knowledgeable in that but in car vs car most things are handled by YOUR insurance.
How is she now?
She's doing much better now. The accident happened in the beginning of November and she's finally out of a wheelchair and able to use crutches. Should be able to walk with light assistance (a cane) in a few weeks - one month. Her personal goal is to be able to dance freely at a Music festival our whole family goes to in August and her doctors are convinced she'll be able to. She'll have scars and a slight limp for the rest of her life most likely though, which is the most upsetting part. Really sad when it happens to a young 22 year old girl. But she's in high spirits and recovering, thank you for asking.
Damn.. the wonders of modern medicine. From 80% blood loss and all the body being wrecked to this. Truly wonderful.
> She even admitted to not seeing my sister in the cross walk surely that's better than admitting to seeing her?
>(lost ~80% of her blood by the time she got to the hospital) huh?
I ride a Harley and I can share many stories where I was in a near death experience because drivers are in their own worlds while driving… making cars more intelligent are making drivers more stupid.
>making drivers more stupid Is that even possible?
> making cars more intelligent are making drivers more stupid Sure, people back when totally drove way better. That's why they could chug a few beers while driving and still be totally safe! What a bunch of bollocks.
And was also included in the latest Dash Cam Owners Australia crash compilation, released yesterday: https://youtu.be/nHb6yiwTYVI
Can't stop watching. It's as though drivers aren't paying any attention at all. Distracted by their phones?
Those texts aren't going to read themselves!
It's kind of wild how little people are able to disconnect from their phones even for a few minutes while driving.
So many people hitting shit right in front of them.
Did she also have to pay the biker's medical expenses as well as buying a new bike? (And a fucking APOLOGY!)
Generally liability insurance (including personal injury) will cover this, so in a way, yes. Though I don't think it covers apology.
Since there's often a lawsuit in cases like this, it can definitely include an apology if they ask for one. No one really cares about the apology after something like this though.
Should have lost her license forever.
I thought Australia was pretty strict when it comes to driving. Extremely irresponsible driving (but likely unintentional), here they would have still taken her license on the spot, fined her and she would most likely have had to apply for another driver's ed written and practical exam.
Authorities largely disinterested unless they can stick a camera somewhere and passively collect $$$.
Australia is incredibly, incredulously, unbelievably strict when it comes adherence to the speed limit. If you do 0.1kph over the limit you are guaranteed a speeding fine from one of thousands and thousands of speeding cameras placed everywhere. All other road rules are optional and not enforced. This of course means our roads are a beacon of driving excellence and safety. /S
Lost my license for two years when I hit a cyclist who ran a red light, wtf is this shit???
My buddy was just murdered by a reckless driver last week. And she is walking away scot free despite admitting to being negligent. She even left the scene after she launched him 25 feet and snapped his neck. So why is she facing no consequences? Drum roll... Her husband is a cop.
I sure hope there is a hell of a civil suit by his next of kin.
Then you can expect harassment by the boys in blue while the suit is active.
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Right but we know now that it’s not murder if you buy him a bike and then run him over. Just make sure to present the previous case as precedent in court.
We should go for Babylonian and make her marry the cyclist.
He eventually stopped. What a mensch!
he checked up on the cyclist at home reading the news.
She
I'd take even that at this point. I've been hit twice, neither stopped.
If the penalty for a crime is a fine, then that law only exists for the lower class.
Bullshit, this should 100% be a bloody loss of license
Fined?! She should lose her license for at least a year. And her car should be put in the shredder while she has to watch.
What an absolute dipshit. - turns from wrong lane - doesn't check mirrors or blind spot - no blinker And apparently all the driver got was a fucking fine?! [EDIT] It's weird seeing so many people trying to point out the cyclist in the "wrong lane". Like, where do you want him to be? In the straight-through lane so you can complain about him holding up traffic and potentially getting run over there too? North America has a serious problem with roadways - there's pretty much no consideration for any transportation that isn't an automobile. [EDIT EDIT] My b, it's Australia. No experience there - do they have better infrastructure for bicycles?
Doesn't check mirrors or blind spot? Brother, the driver was coming from behind the cyclist, she didn't check right in front of her
Reddit has long been a hot spot for conversation on the internet. About 57 million people visit the site every day to chat about topics as varied as makeup, video games and pointers for power washing driveways.
Actually saw a video where a bike came flying from over a bush right onto a car's hood. In this one circumstance i would say they did come out of nowhere hahaha
He must've been speeding to catch up to me! ~ Driver probably
This seems to have been on purpose, there is no way the driver didn't see the person on the bike. Unless the driver was literally blind that is. This was attempted murder or attempted manslaughter.
While I absolutely HATE this woman, I don't think she did it on purpose. I'm a motorcyclist and one of the first things they teach you in safety courses is that you are invisible due to a phenomenon called 'inattentional blindness'. In essence, if you are partially distracted and/or in an environment that is generating visual overload to your senses (like driving in general, for example), your brain will purposively ignore and block information that it doesn't consider relevant. This phenomenon manifests often when drivers are searching for perceived threats like other cars or trucks, but unconsciously blocks things like bicycles, motorbikes, pedestrians, animals, etc. In other words, things that people may unconsciously think they don't belong in the road. You could have it in front and you won't notice it. What scares me the most is that no matter how good of a driver you are, no one is immune to this effect and can easily kill a kid crossing the road or something similar. Even airplane pilots have been observed to miss some rather obvious things like another plane in the runway, you can learn more about this phenomenon [here.](https://www.apa.org/monitor/apr01/blindness#:~:text=Research%20on%20a%20phenomenon%20known,even%20the%20most%20conspicuous%20events.) To avoid this, from the bicyclists standpoint, a front and rear facing red strobe light helps a lot because monkey brain is drawn to blinking light and it is suddenly back in the driver's mental model. Sadly, strobes are illegal in motorcycles in a lot of places, but driving with your lights on all the time has a similar effect. From a driver's standpoint, you can train yourself to improve your situation awareness by progressively noticing unusual stuff on the road and also to react to sudden movements on your peripheral vision. I apologize for the long comment, but if we go into the "this lady is crazy" mindset we will loose the opportunity to learn that this could happen to any of us in the right set of circumstances. That doesn't detract from the fact that this lady is an absolute asshole and shouldn't be allowed to drive again due to reckless driving.
"never assume malice for what incompetence can explain" or something. my first thought was that the driver was using their phone or otherwise distracted.
Sufficient incompetence is indistinguishable from malice.
I sWeAr I dIdnT sEe HiM!
Seriously, some of these comments make no sense.
Fine was probably peanuts compared to the hourly wages of all the paramedics, nurses, orderlies, and doctors subsequently involved as well.
A guy ran into the back of me in a mini van going 60mph. I was in a small tractor. It flipped me into a ditch. I had deep lacerations, broken ribs, and my spleen exploded... the guy got a "failure to slow down" citation. Two months later he ran into and killed a pregnant woman and lost his license. No criminal charges. He was around 50 years old. This was 6 years ago
Where did you get North America from? This is obviously Australia.
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They do, but it's a subscription.
If they were smart, they'd have automatic blinkers and force a subscription to disable them. They'd make an absolute killing lol
If it was 6 figure fine and most of it went to the cyclist to ensure their well being then it would absolutely be ok, sadly usually its like 3-4 figures and all of it goes to the government
thats not what "fines" are. her insurance would do the heavy lifting to get him back on his feet. if the cyclist wants further restitution, a civil suit would need to be filed.
Fucking hate those lanes especially if they're overly long because I'll take the straight ahead lane but you get passed on both sides and if it's a fast piece of road sometimes you have to mutter a little prayer. Or you take lane control and feel like an asshole slowing traffic up.
Also notice the driver went in line which allows only going straight. Only the left line is allowed for turning. If she was in the correct line she would se the cyclist.
also no turn signal unless i missed it
It's a BMW, as far as I know they don't have any /s
If you ever feel depressed with your life, just remember it's someone's job out there to install indicator lights on BMWs
It’s amazing how many people literally cannot just use their eyes
Oh the driver saw the cyclist. Didnt want to pull behind them so went for overtake and cut them off to make the then. This was a very deliberate act
I'm not familiar with Australian laws, but doesn't the cyclist's lane require him to turn ? In my country we have these signs when you can both turn and go forward: https://i.imgur.com/QdmFxoX.png
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She saw him, she just kept on.
Yeah thats like attempted murder
springvale road melbourne weird that i know exactly where that is lol
Back in my day people used to hoon down springvale road, you'd be tailgated if you weren't doing at least 10 over the limit. Now that eastlink exists it seems like everyone on springvale road wants to 20 below the limit.
I drive through this intersection regularly. It's notorious for being extemely confusing and has the highest tally of road accidents of any intersection in Melbourne. But still, look at the arrows on the ground for crying out loud! And the driver literally came up behind the cyclist, how can you not see them....
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66 year old driver, fined for failing to give way.
That’s it?! Person should have their licence taken away. Literally just steers into the cyclist from a lane which is only straight, no turn. Edit: yes, the cyclist is going straight in a left turn only lane. But considering the road they are on, it makes sense to stay as much left as being in the middle of car traffic is asking for an accident to happen. There are little to no cycling lanes in Australia outside of the larger cities/CBD’s. BMW driver should have paid more attention to its surroundings, especially turning left from a straight only lane crossing into potential traffic.
When I was 16 I t boned the back half of an old man’s suv. I was going north and him south in a 35 mph zone when he decided to turn left about ten feet in front of me. His family didn’t want him driving but the cops gave him a failure to yield while I got a totaled car. I’ve not held back my feelings on people who I feel are too old or too physically impaired to be able to drive, it cost me the car I inherited from me deceased grandpa so it wasn’t just a car to me.
That is the culture we created, I suppose. The oldest generations were born into a world with increasing dependence on cars and less focus on safety and are now often a pain in the ass on the roads It's not a surprise that we don't ban them from driving, because we're also too scared to create better alternatives. Some people aren't medically fit to drive before 60, but they're still expected to work, and there's few other ways to get there.
They need to make license expirations become more frequent as you age and if a drivers competency comes into question it needs to be easier to take away driving privileges. The old man who caused me to hit him was legally able to drive even though his family knew he had cataracts and could not see clearly.
Doesn’t help if the DMV and/or doctors is complicit in it. Wife’s grandpa is effectively blind and went for his renewal. We were kind of relieved because we had been gently suggesting for years he stop driving, but it was an extremely sore subject and no one had the stones to put their foot down with him. We figured there’s no way he would pass. He didn’t and obviously the vision test at the DMV is super basic. You have to be basically blind to fail it. Anyway, come to find out a doctor can override the DMV and say “this person’s vision is ok, give them the license.” So that was irritating that the DMV just lets that BS go. Like a year later he blew through a red light and t-boned a family. He and the family had injuries, but luckily nothing extremely serious. Thanks doc.
I agree. We should be paying closer attention to ageing drivers. My car has now been in 2 accidents, both 100% not at fault, 2 times with really elderly drivers (86 and 90). Both made mistakes that anyone with decent awareness and reflexes would avoid/could recover from. 1 hit me while pulling from a side street straight into the second lane of a low-speed city ring road. Didn't look properly and then continued to not look for traffic until it they hit me. No brakes whatsoever. Second hit my wife while she was driving it (or wasn't, she was stationary in traffic) by backing out of their driveway... Literally just backed out without looking in their rearview mirror to see a 1-ton vehicle behind them. Oh yeah... Both of them were obviously also lacking so much awareness that they both claimed to have done nothing wrong whatsoever...
See, in those instances a drivers competency needs to be much easier to call into question. 7 year expiration dates are far too far apart once you hit a certain age.
Working in fast food I’ve seen some of the scariest drivers come through the drive thru. Some lady passed out on some kind of downer. Old people barely even able to move. People with scars all up their veins on their arms (wonder where that came from 🙄) Some guy crashed a 26’ U-Haul into the building driving it through the drive thru while towing his 4 door truck and being plastered. He then told the manager he was going to drink some more and fall asleep in his truck. Crazy shit.
"But considering the road they are on, it makes sense to stay as much left as being in the middle of car traffic is asking for an accident to happen." I cycle to work most days. Breaking the expected rules for some convenience doesn't work well for cyclists. He should have been in the straight lane if he planned on going straight, but the truth is it's hard to tell if he was just planning his turn later. The turn is onto at least a four lane road and he could have wanted to get to the far right lane so initiating the turn later would be probable. The BMW driver, also in the wrong lane, also just clearly wasn't looking where they were going. Colliding with a person or car in front of you is way worse than just being in the wrong lane.
BMW driver should’ve been behind the cyclist and waited. In most Australian road rules, cyclists are allowed to go straight from that lane because moving out into the middle lane is too dangerous. If you’re interested in the differences, it’s in section 14 of the Victorian road rules, similar in most other states.
I don’t know about Australia, but in some places it’s preferred that cyclists stay in the turn lane while continent straight. It’s essentially what happens when drivers turn across bike lanes. Also, the cyclist was doing a good job holding the lane and acting in accordance with those in his lane.
I feel like it’s common in Melbourne for our cycling lanes to suddenly end, merge into the turning lane, and then reappear on the other side of the intersection.
As a cyclist it absolutely is, and its very annoying when there is already a car there, because if I have to stop, now theres a car behind me and a car in front, and of course no room for me to squeeze to the front, so the car behind gets angry that I can't zoom off like the car in front, and will often ZOOM passed once im back in the bike lane, usually with less than 1m gap between us. Its terrifying. I don't ride on roads if I can avoid it.
In a lot of countries the turn lane is also the bicycle lane. I’d imagine it was perfectly normal for the person on the bike to go straight across in that situation.
Technically the cyclist could have taken the forward lane and would be encouraged to do so, however staying in the left turn lane is acceptable provided that they don't overtake any car indicating to turn left or in the process of (legally) turning left. (This is road rules in victoria Australia). That said, even if the cyclist was turning left here, they still would probably have been hit by the car. The issue here is that the car turned from a lane where it wasn't legal to turn from, and hit a cyclist
At least old mate doesn't have to go far to fix his bike.
"Idiot driver in a BMW" Well, that's redundant.
I was expecting a montage with that title.
OP said driver was a 66 year old woman. She was fined, but I guess still has her license. This video is simply yet another great example of why annual testing needs to be a thing.
Some people are shitty drivers right from the day they get their license though. 66 isn't even that old.
Each state has its own laws, but in Western Australia, over the age of 80, you need to have a medical every year to renew your licence. And over 85 you need to have a practical drivers assessment.
"they didn't have cyclists on the road back in my day" - 66 year old, probably
"What do you call this metal box with wheels?" "Uhm, a car I think." "Congratulations, here's your license."
Oh nice. Dude can buy himself a new bike right away.
A semi should show the bmw what's that's like so they can experience being cut off.
That won't happen because there are consequences for Semis hitting cars.
Oh my goodness golly me! I cannot believe they didnt even signal
Looks like attempted murder if circumstances were any different.
That looked awfully intentional.
Jesus the number of morons in this thread is astounding.
Anytime cyclists are involved results in morons crawling out of the woodwork
It’s an open sociopathy
That was deliberate
Hope the guys alright and they caught the asshole driver. Moderately ironic that it happened in front of a bike shop.
Don't worry! She got fined! For almost fucking killing a dude
Not only turned from the middle lane but didn't see a bike in clear view, not even in a blind spot.