Is 6 months all a biker's life is worth? In the news today!

[James Deuce]

So, what purpose would a gaol sentence serve?

Perhaps better would be fine for life. Every week , for the rest of your life you pay x% of your income . A constant reminder and one that is more likely to make others stop and think. Though, a poor suggestion at best, I fear.

Any sentence in such a case is really shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. Efforts would be better focused on prevention, than on retribution.

Which is always the argument trotted out with a road death.

I come back to my original point.

If you drive on the road in NZ your life is worthless.

No one cares enough that anyone thinks should be a punishment for the crime.

If she bludgeoned someone to death we'd all think it natural that there was a prison sentence involved. Kill someone with a vehicle? Meh. Someone is still dead. People should be worth something. It isn't vengeance but a sense of natural justice that inspires my ranting.

I wonder what the point of road rules and Policing them actually is if all that is going to happen is a fine and maybe a loss of license for killing someone. The punishment for potentially killing someone is far greater than actually doing it. Most DIC and Careless/Reckless charges and boy racer laws result in a punishment far greater than actually going ahead and killing someone.

It does send a message to that girl's family that NZ society doesn't think that your daughter/sister was a worthwhile person.

[Ixion]

I am no proponent of liberality in punishment. I just don't see gaol as achieving very much in such a case. We may distinguish the bludgeoning case, since that involves intention, and probably premeditation. Therefore the deterrence factor of a gaol sentence may make others, tempted to the same offence, to hesitate and decide it's not worth it.

Which is not a factor in the road death case. Especially as the driver was probably not even being reckless, but genuinely , though mistakenly, thought she was doing everything correctly.

Punishment should fit the crime. In this case I do not see gaol as a good fit. Though I am somewhat at a lack as to suggest what would be a better fit.

[Forest]

banned from driving for 18 months

This is the bit that gets my goat.

I believe that anyone who takes a life through negligence on the roads should lose their driving license for life.

[Swoop]

yeah i knew that....just winding you up...seein if you would bite!

You are really brave...

i am reminded of my numerous tootles up into the waitak's..some Asshat takes a racing line into my lane..50%-60% of their car is hanging over the line..

There does seem to be an abundance of that recently.
The "1200cc engine + baked-bean-can exhaust" people are out there.

[James Deuce]

Punishment should fit the crime. In this case I do not see gaol as a good fit. Though I am somewhat at a lack as to suggest what would be a better fit.

I do, if only for wasting court time for claiming to initially be an uninvolved incorrectly identified perp, and then claiming to be a confused perp.

Ignorance is no excuse, however it was in this case and the reason simply seems to be that it was only a motorcyclist's pillion killed.

[SARGE]

You are really brave...

There does seem to be an abundance of that recently.
The "1200cc engine + baked-bean-can exhaust" people are out there.

nah.. its usually the ones in the Barina's, Hilux's toyotas...matter of fact.. i try and stay far to the left as i can on that road because EVERYONE cuts the corners




and yes... i have been known to bite

[Brooke]

What I do disagree with, is the womens attitude to the situation. If she'd have come clean and apologised from the start, it'd be totally different.
Was she doing something blatantly dangerous, other than slipping into the habit of driving on the wrong side of the road?

With you on this one. Could have been community service thrown in or something as well. But then again I don't know the whole story...

[Forest]

With you on this one. Could have been community service thrown in or something as well. But then again I don't know the whole story...

She did get sentenced to community service as well as the home detention.

As well as home detention, Blair must do 200 hours' community work and has been banned from driving for 18 months. She also agreed to pay $5200 - in weekly instalments of $100 - to the family as reparation. Smith's parents said they would donate the money to their sport-fanatic daughter's former Pakuranga Indoor Sports Club.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10544551

[pritch]

Well you made the fatal assumption that New Zealand has a FAIR justice system.

We don't actually have a Justice system fair or otherwise. We have a court system which is designed to make money for the people that work it. Sorry, work in it...

[wbks]

Is it just me or has the world gone to the dogs????

[/URL]

Name a time the world hasn't been 'to the dogs'
And sarge, why don't you whip out the EEV, hack into their CDI and shut the ignition off?...


Damn I've been playing too many video games.
I'm with who ever said that if you take a life through negligence on the road then you should have your license revoked for life. Wasn't there a story aaages ago when someone drink driving killed another driver, then after being convicted he ran over a pedestrian on the side of the road about 2 years later?
.

[wbks]

ok.. lets put this in perspective for a moment

(DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT DEFENDING THIS WOMAN)

lets just say for a moment..that you are driving to the shops with the kids in the back of the car and you become distracted by something they do and ACCIDENTALLY cross the line and hit a bike head on, killing the rider,


how long are you going to volunteer to go to prison for?..

there was no malice in this womans actions.. no premeditation.. just an accident.... being from the States..i'll let you know that it IS very easy to end up in the wrong lane.. much like its going to be easy for a kiwi to end up on the wrong lane in the States...hell..i've been here since 01 and sometimes STILL do it..

you've made some haven't you?

You bring up a valid point but the fact is she did the crime, she should do the time...Not some watered down version of it because of what she did afterwards or the intent in it.

[Quasievil]

The driver didnt go out that day to intentionally Kill another Motorist, I travelled alot and particulary on small country roads in Europe I ended up on the wrong side, didnt even realise it, its not as easy as you think people, not all the time, I would have been pissed if I killed someone in my stupidity but getting 5 years for it would be about reasonable, what do you want blood ?

The fact is if you come from a country that drives on the wrong side simply you should be banned from gettting behind a wheel here in NZ, SIMPLE SOLUTION thats what needs to happen. Locking up people wont change a fucking thing.

[dipshit]

1: It was a tragic road accident.

2: Tourism is a big part of the NZ economy and I'm sure the government doesn't want to scare off any potential tourists with stories of long prison sentences for road accidents.

[Paul in NZ]

Hold on - good people screw up every day, sometimes the consequences are tragic..... Perhaps the judge saw something or knew something we didn't... Statistically WE screw up more than anyone else, that just makes us dumb, not bad...

Truely - its when people are deliberately dumb and bad that my blood boils...

[Coyote]

Don't want to upset the tourism industry do we? Not in this harsh economic climate.

It's ok. National won the election. Everything is going to be fine.

With any luck. With the gap between Upper and Lower classes getting bigger, hopefully poorer people won't be able to afford having cars on the road.