Double fatal crash, Rotorua (29 April)

[Leong]

Very Sad..... RIP fellow riders and condolences to friends and family....

[HenryDorsetCase]

This is a kick in the balls:

Police appealed to the driver of a white car who was believed to have seen the crash but not stopped to come forward.

fucksakes!

[MotoGirl]

My heart goes out to the families of the people that the driver killed. I can't even fathom what this would be like (and God, I don't want to find out). The driver was just selfish and irresponsible. He obviously didn't place any value on the lives of those children, other motorists and his own when he hopped into the driver's seat.

The families of the motorcyclists aren't the only ones suffering. We should also consider the family of the driver - they will be having a hard time too. I'm not condoning his actions; I'm just suggesting that they must feel guilty about what he did as well as grieving his death.

My 2c.

[sunhuntin]

I understand that that may happen KATWYN.. but I am with marty below.. I have little sympathy for the driver!!!

agreed... im glad hes rotting. he would have got a fine and a slap on the wrist at best. i dont care whether his family come on here... if he was drinking with them, then they should have taken his keys and refused to let him take the kids. the obviously dont have any more respect for other people than the driver did.

also agree on the bike part. when i was without a bike for a few weeks [after accident and waiting for one to come in] i damn near went nuts. even having it in the shop for a day is enough to bug the hell out of me.
as someone else said... they died doing something they loved. and thats all any of us can hope for.

[KATWYN]

I have sympathy for the drivers family as well. They weren't the ones that were drunk behind the wheel, but as it was said they will probably live a hellish existance because of it. Why add to their pain.

Actually police say alcohol may have been a contributor

[eliot-ness]

According to the Herald report a police spokesman said a blood sample has been taken but the result won't be known for 10 days.
Maybe he was drunk and deserves to rot in hell.
But there again, maybe he wasn't and there was some other problem. Let's not curse the driver and his family for something that could have been a tragic accident until we know all the facts.

[Mrs Busa Pete]

I have sympathy for the drivers family as well. They weren't the ones that were drunk behind the wheel, but as it was said they will probably live a hellish existance because of it. Why add to their pain.

But they could of stoped him from driving the car they could of taken his keys from him. Instead they put seat belts on inocent children and sent him on his way.

[scumdog]

But they could of stoped him from driving the car they could of taken his keys from him. Instead they put seat belts on inocent children and sent him on his way.

Harsh call dude (or do you know more than I?).

Could have been the case where 'uncle' was baby-sitting for half a day, ran out of booze and thought he'd head off to the pub for more and didn't want to leave the little ones behind?? I dunno but there's a zillion scenarios and we know none..

[peasea]

Let's not jump to any conclusions about how drunk the driver was and simply offer our condolences to all concerned. The police Serious Crash Unit will probably be at the sharp end of the investigation and they're pretty thorough. It'll all come out in the wash, probably sooner rather than later.

All the reasons to not drink before operating any kind of machinery, whether it has wheels, blades or a trigger.

RIP fellow bikers.

[Mrs Busa Pete]

Harsh call dude (or do you know more than I?).

Could have been the case where 'uncle' was baby-sitting for half a day, ran out of booze and thought he'd head off to the pub for more and didn't want to leave the little ones behind?? I dunno but there's a zillion scenarios and we know none..

Fare call but who ever he was drinking with should shoulder some of the responsibility because they could of taken the keys.And didn't the papers say they where his grandkids.

[candor]

Let's not jump to any conclusions about how drunk the driver was and simply offer our condolences to all concerned. The police Serious Crash Unit will probably be at the sharp end of the investigation and they're pretty thorough. It'll all come out in the wash, probably sooner rather than later.

They are surprisingly not thorough and there is a 16% chance it will not all come out in the wash.

The Police claim they estimate 16% of fatal NZ crashes (ie 25% of fatalities) have drug intoxication as a main factor. Under half these drug related cases feature alcohol.

As Police and hospitals do not standardly test the crash deceased for alcohol (only three quarters of the time) or drugs (only once in a blue moon) there is a fair chance the cause will never come out in the wash.

If a Coroners inquest is permitted (Police may fight it as they currently are regarding my Mums crash death 3 years ago) it may come out whether the driver was drunk - or drugged (only on the off chance drug tests were ordered against usual protocols).

The acknowledged main cause of such crashes is alcohol &/or drugs (by all international experts), our serious crash unit does not automatically cover either of these bases via testing of deceaseds blood as that costs about a grand to check for ALL the 5 traffic risk drugs including alcohol ($250 EACH). So the cause may well remain a mystery.

Many many crashes are not gotten to the bottom of in NZ. If you are killed by a truck you will not get a fair investigation as - usually no breathalysing!

But whatever the cause we know this man was a suspect type to let drive your kids based on his past record. People need to be more realistic about their relatives achilles heels. And stop entrusting their kids to those who aren't up to it. Problem is - that DUI is rampant in some families, they're blase.

[MyGSXF:Me]

didn't the papers say they where his grandkids.

one was his 5yr old son, & the other 2 were his granddaughters.. aged 7 & 8!

poor little buggas...

[Hitcher]

Let's not be overly judgemental in the absence of any information other than what's been reported in the media. We all know how accurate that can be at times (e.g. Japanese allegedly buying poodles that were really sheep...)

[MD]

'Not trying to go off topic but I noticed how differently the Herald treated this story to the Dompost. I think the Dom has it in for bikes. They never print any of my letters to the Ed with the word motorcycle in it- oh bikes, trash that letter. Whereas the herald today painted a sympathetic and comprehensive story on the bike victims AND made no doubt who was at fault. Monday's Dompost "2 motorcyclists died when they crossed the centreline. Police suspect alcohol and speed may have contributed' The wording clearly implied the riders were at fault. Tuesday's Dompost, no correction I notice.

[HenryDorsetCase]

'Not trying to go off topic but I noticed how differently the Herald treated this story to the Dompost. I think the Dom has it in for bikes. They never print any of my letters to the Ed with the word motorcycle in it- oh bikes, trash that letter. Whereas the herald today painted a sympathetic and comprehensive story on the bike victims AND made no doubt who was at fault. Monday's Dompost "2 motorcyclists died when they crossed the centreline. Police suspect alcohol and speed may have contributed' The wording clearly implied the riders were at fault. Tuesday's Dompost, no correction I notice.

complain to the press complaints authority EVERY time if it gets up your nose. They are there to stop inaccuracy and bias etc.... eventually they PCA) will get a bus ticket and slap the D Post editor a good one with it. Itll be damp, too.