At 02:35 PM 8/2/2006, Robbie Webber wrote:
In case you hadn't already seen/read the news, the DA feels he can't get a
conviction in a retrial of Tracy Sorum, so he will be charged with
inattentive driving and will plead no contest. Sentencing still to be
determined. I can't believe they are debating whether to take his license
away for - A WHOLE YEAR!
Yeah, that's about right for killing someone.
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=93317&ntpid=5
--
Robbie Webber
Bicycle Friendly Communities Coordinator
Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin
Ultimately, it probably doesn't matter whether (or for how long) they take
away his privilege to drive. It won't keep him from driving.
On 04/23/2002 charges against Tracy J Sorum were filed for "Operating while
Intoxicated (2nd), Operating with PAC of .10 or more (2nd), Operating While
Suspended, and Operating w/o Carrying License."
The way I read the court records (full disclosure: I am not an attorney),
he plead "Guilty/No contest" to "Operating while Intoxicated (2nd)" and
"Operating While Suspended", and the charges of "Operating with PAC of .10
or more (2nd), and Operating w/o Carrying License" were "Dismissed/PR motion".
Since Mr Sorum's license *was already suspended* when he was caught driving
drunk in 2002, this shows that it is nearly impossible to get dangerous
drivers off the road whether they are caught breaking the law or not.
Last year an employee of the Department of Motor Vehicles came to a meeting
of the Governor's Bicycle Coordinating Council (at the Council's request)
at which I was present, and said as much during a discussion about
educating motorists of the laws regarding bicycles.
A member of the Governor's council who lives in Milwaukee described
municipal court judges there who would come to the bench in the morning,
ask everyone who was there because of a moving violation to raise his/her
hand, and then dismiss all of them without hearing the case, because the
court was overloaded (presumably with cases where defendents were being
tried for violence committed with some other weapon than an automobile).
What we have here is a complete failure of our legislative, judicial, and
police powers to prevent people from literally causing mayhem with their
cars (whether the acts or intentional or not). And the tragic results are
ignored by everyone, until someone they know dies or is seriously injured
(and even then many deny the truth because they can't handle the fact that
someone they know and love was killed or seriously injured because someone
else couldn't be bothered to give more attention to piloting a multi-ton
projectile than they give to their cell phone, cigarettes, (or, if you
believe him, the back of the throat).
Between 1996 and 2006, I counted 13 charges in Wisconsin against Tracy J
Sorum, and that's just for his bad driving behavior - doesn't count the
court cases against him in small claims court, or for drugs, underage
drinking, or operating a snowmobile on private property (which he was
charged with just this March - so he was out playing in the snow this
winter, after having killed Jess Bullen with his car).
When are we going to wake up? We need to recognize that nationally, motor
vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children and adults age
3 to 34, and the leading cause of long term physical disability for all age
groups? (Fatal Analysis Reporting System, NHTSA, 2000). Crashes - not guns
- are the leading killer of young people and the leading maimer of everyone
(although in some places the behavior of motorists has gotten so
antagonistic that crashes are immediately followed by gun violence).
Based on 2001 data, the National Safety Council estimates that 1 out of
every 78 people living in the US will be killed in a transportation-related
crash during his her or lifetime. Almost all of these deaths will take
place on US roads. (For comparison, only 1 out of 4,023 Americans will die
in a plane crash). And 1 in 20 people living in the US will be seriously
injured on US roads during his or her lifetime. 1 out of 20 people. As I
wrote this, I started making a list of all those I know personally who have
been killed or seriously injured by cars, and it's too depressing, so I
won't share it. But I will say this:
The 14th International Conference on Walking and Biking (aka
ProWalk/ProBike 2006) is coming to Madison September 6-8.
And on Tuesday, September 5, one of the special events associated with the
conference will take place:
The Traffic Justice Institute, 11am-5pm, See
http://www.bikewalk.org/conference/tji.html for details on the Traffic
Justice Institute.
Details on the conference in general can be found at that website as well:
http://www.bikewalk.org/conference.php
Chuck Strawser
Madison Project Coordinator
Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin
106 E. Doty Street, Suite 400
Madison, WI 53703
voice: 608-251-4456
fax: 608-251-4594
www.bfw.org
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