I don't believe you will ever be able to convince the driving majority to change their attitudes about their own behavior. For the past year or so, I have been engaging commenters on the channel3000.com comments section on stories involving crashes. Generally, I point out how the stories are written in a way that deflects responsibility for the crash to the vehicles rather than the operators (unless the operator is a bicyclist, pedestrian, or substance abuser). I point out that out Secretary of Transportation is on record saying that the vast majority of serious crashes are the result of poor driver behavior, and I point out what drivers can do to reduce the possibility of similar incidents occurring the future.
The result is that commenters perceive me as an outspoken advocate for always blaming drivers. No matter how frequently I state that my intention is to help prevent similar future crashes, commenters tend to prefer to see me as a blamer, and sympathize with the drivers in the stories. It is the Jessica Bullen scenario over, and over, and over, and over, and over. Recently, channel3000 changed their commenting policy, and won't even allow comments on serious traffic crash stories because they feel their viewers will perceive C3K badly if they see comments on their site that are critical of driver behavior when drivers maim or kill. To be fair, stories involving serious bicycle crashes also get (10 times the number of ) negative comments, so it is not entirely a pro-driver policy. I have pointed out to Channel3000 staff that because of the need to publish stories in a timely fashion, there is a no-fault bias in their reporting because the police generally have not completed enough of an investigation to assign fault at the time of their story deadline. Channel3000 doesn't seem to care, and would rather keep themselves in high esteem with their viewers than tackle this issue. At this point, I am wondering how effective it would be to encourage law enforcement to use more active language when describing the actions of drivers during an interview about a crash. The problem is that police generally regurgitate the information found on the MV4000 form that they are required to fill out, and so the biases of that form end up influencing what gets in the news. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of STRAWSER, Charles Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2014 10:48 AM To: Michael Rewey; [email protected] Subject: Re: [Bikies] FYI - Motorist charged for 2012 death of bicyclist It really shouldn't matter whether a driver was texting or sleeping. If he could not or would not pay enough attention to the road that his operation (or lack of operation) of a motor vehicle resulted in the death of another road user, the driver should suffer the consequences. I'm sick of seeing drivers kill other road users and facing little or no consequences so long as they are not proven inebriated. Paying adequate attention to what you are doing when you are operating a motor vehicle, like most of life, requires more than mere sobriety. If it's true that "falling asleep" is the best form of defense against serious traffic charges, as you attest, that just shows how far we have to go before we take seriously everyone's constitutionally protected right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Michael Rewey Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2014 10:36 AM To: Bikies Subject: Re: [Bikies] FYI - Motorist charged for 2012 death of bicyclist I'm sticking with "alleged". "Falling asleep" is the best form of defense against serious traffic charges. Texting, among other things, can cause the same sort of drifting that occurred. And really did he fall asleep within a mile or so of his home on Woodland? Mike On 17 Apr 2014 at 15:04, STRAWSER, Charles wrote: > > I'm not a lawyer, Mike, but since the article quoted the driver as telling law enforcement > that he fell asleep, I'd guess "confessed" is a more appropriate term than "alleged." > > "Grulke told Dane County Sheriff's Detective Mary Butler that he had worked from 9:30 > p.m. the night before until 6 a.m., went home and ate breakfast and then went to a gym > to work out. > > Grulke said he left his workout because he felt tired, stopped at home, then went out to > get crickets for his lizard to eat. He said as he drove on Highway M he fell asleep and > was awakened by a loud "clunk." He said he saw a bicycle fly through the air and it took > a couple of seconds for it to "sink in" that he had hit a bike." > > http://bit.ly/1iqGu9K > > > chuck > > From: Michael Rewey > Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 5:41 PM > To: Bikies > Subject: Re: [Bikies] FYI - Motorist charged for 2012 death of bicyclist > > > > Allegedly fell asleep,,, > > > > On 16 Apr 2014 at 17:15, Robbie Webber wrote: > > > > > see link below. This is the crash from Hwy M on the north side of Lake Mendota where the > > motorist fell asleep. > > ---- > > http://host.madison.com/news/local/crime_and_courts/college-students-targete d-in-rent- > > scam/article_7da05b2e-2b12-5232-875a-25cb9a7cfcf4.html > > ---- > > Shared via my feedly reader > > >
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