Penalties from non-fatal accidents

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Thoglette
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Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby Thoglette » Fri Jan 19, 2018 10:52 pm

From the flogged-with-a-wet-lettuce-leaf files
Cyclist paralysed by distracted driver misses 'the simple things in life'
Ellie Sibson ABC online wrote: A cyclist who was paralysed when a distracted driver hit him while reaching for her ringing mobile phone says his life has "irreversibly changed forever".

Katherine Roche was trying to put the phone on speaker and her children were in the car when she hit Graham Walters at Burpengary in August 2016.

The mother was today given a wholly suspended two-and-half-year sentence for dangerous driving and was also disqualified from getting behind the wheel for two years.
....
Mr Walters said he accepted the sentence imposed by the court and wants to be the face of a campaign against the use of mobile phones while driving.
He's a much better man than I.

Perhaps this'd be a good place to track the penalties for non-fatalities. (The moderators may wish to move this to Advocacy)
Last edited by Thoglette on Sat Jan 20, 2018 3:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Flogged with a wet lettuce leaf

Postby AUbicycles » Sat Jan 20, 2018 12:21 am

I have moved as it makes sense and for a more permanent (or less abstract) title, can we change the title of the first post?
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Re: Flogged with a wet lettuce leaf

Postby Philistine » Sat Jan 20, 2018 1:09 pm

Thoglette wrote:
He's a much better man than I.
Is he though? You know what turning the other cheek gets you? - both cheeks belted!

This poor man has had his life changed for ever because of someone's totally irresponsible behaviour behind the wheel of a car. This case is crying out for a hefty jail sentence - partly to punish the offender, and partly to discourage others from behaving in a similar manner.

As I write, there is a flashing sign operating on the main road about a kilometre from my door, asking motorists not to use their mobile phones while driving. Do the geniuses responsible for this sign (probably RMS) believe for one moment that putting up signs like this will change even one person's behaviour? If the authorities are serious then they should try implementing $1000 fine for a first offence, 12 months jail for a second, and five years for a third.

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Renaming the salad

Postby Thoglette » Sat Jan 20, 2018 3:59 pm

AUbicycles wrote:I have moved as it makes sense and for a more permanent (or less abstract) title, can we change the title of the first post?
Thanks and done. If you'd like anything different, let me know.
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Re: Renaming the salad

Postby g-boaf » Sat Jan 20, 2018 5:48 pm

Thoglette wrote:
AUbicycles wrote:I have moved as it makes sense and for a more permanent (or less abstract) title, can we change the title of the first post?
Thanks and done. If you'd like anything different, let me know.
Renaming the salad? :?: :lol: Looked a bit funny seeing that on the forum list as the title.

I agree with the person earlier saying that fines/penalties for mobile phone use in cars by drivers needs to be increased dramatically. Make it very, very expensive, thousands of dollars and or loss of licence for a few years.

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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby Bunged Knee » Sat Jan 20, 2018 7:18 pm

g-boaf wrote: I agree with the person earlier saying that fines/penalties for mobile phone use in cars by drivers needs to be increased dramatically. Make it very, very expensive, thousands of dollars and or loss of licence for a few years.
Would be better to include the automatic confiscation of mobile phones???
Bad luck to someone who have those on contracts and if they buy another phone,then another confiscation again if used illegally.
Stupid drivers still don't care about it and won't listen about the dangers of using it while driving.
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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby Cheesewheel » Sat Jan 20, 2018 7:53 pm

Re. Mobile phones .... I think its been mentioned elsewhere that a major contributing factor to deterring crime is the risk assessment of being caught as opposed to heavy penalties (that are unlikely to be uniformly enforced).
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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby trailgumby » Sat Jan 20, 2018 9:19 pm

Cheesewheel wrote:Re. Mobile phones .... I think its been mentioned elsewhere that a major contributing factor to deterring crime is the risk assessment of being caught as opposed to heavy penalties (that are unlikely to be uniformly enforced).
Yep, with Melinda Pavey playing the "privacy issues" card I am not holding my breath for meaningful action anytime soon.

This is the new drink driving, along with drug and disqualified driving.The inaction on any of the three let alone all of them is reprehensible.

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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby madmacca » Sun Jan 21, 2018 4:53 pm

Cheesewheel wrote:Re. Mobile phones .... I think its been mentioned elsewhere that a major contributing factor to deterring crime is the risk assessment of being caught as opposed to heavy penalties (that are unlikely to be uniformly enforced).
I agree - heavy penalties have little dissausive effect in you think your chances of being caught are close to zero.

A better approach would be for police to routinely check phone records for activity if called to any accident, just as they breath test anyone involved in an accident. Accompanied by an ad campaign that this is routine proceduce, this may change perceptions of the probability of being caught.

I think at the moment police only check call & text records. As people can still be distracted checking FAcebook or what'sapp, ideally it would be combined with a Commonwealth communications law requiring any phone sold in Australia to retain the last 30 minutes (to allow for delays in police arriving on scene) of screen activity, with access keys to this history available to police. To get around privacy and security issues, it would only need to retain summary info like "17 screen swipes" and "12 button presses", not which app was being used or what part of the screen was being swiped.

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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby Philistine » Mon Jan 22, 2018 7:56 am

trailgumby wrote: Yep, with Melinda Pavey playing the "privacy issues" card I am not holding my breath for meaningful action anytime soon.
If someone is in a public place, performing an activity that, if improperly performed, can result in death or serious injury to innocent people, you would have to be a moron (not you TG - the minister) to blather on about "privacy issues".

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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby antigee » Mon Jan 22, 2018 12:45 pm

Philistine wrote:
If someone is in a public place, performing an activity that, if improperly performed, can result in death or serious injury to innocent people, you would have to be a moron (not you TG - the minister) to blather on about "privacy issues".
well put, I'd add .......is in a public place, breaking the law whilst performing an activity that, if improperly performed, can result in death or serious injury to innocent people...

Privacy argument looks very similar to claims that speed cameras are a Tax on motorists - no problem if don't break law.

back to OP last week the driver appealed sentence following the severe injury of a Ballarat cyclist:
A DRUG-affected Victorian woman who crashed into a cyclist and left him for dead wants a shorter sentence because her victim didn’t die.
Rebekah Stewart’s lawyer argued in the Victorian Court of Appeal on Tuesday that her victim, Christian Ashby, didn’t die, so her sentence should be reduced.............
http://www.news.com.au/national/victori ... c0502900cb

somewhere mixed up in all this is how charging and sentencing works and I've always been a bit puzzled by some of the arguments around cycling - in that a lot of traffic offences are what I'd call absolute and don't depend on the outcome of the action (pretty sure if I went looking for sentencing philosophy articles there would be a more correct term) - Red light running, Speeding, Using a mobile, Ignoring a traffic sign - doesn't matter what the consequence is or if there isn't any consequence then they are still an offence

When it comes to Dangerous Driving and for those that have it Close Passing of Cyclists then the focus seems entirely on the outcome - no injury = no offence?
Sometimes this even seems to degrade further to no intent to injure = no offence
All a bit puzzling to me :(

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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby Mulger bill » Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:29 pm

Philistine wrote:
trailgumby wrote: Yep, with Melinda Pavey playing the "privacy issues" card I am not holding my breath for meaningful action anytime soon.
If someone is in a public place, performing an activity that, if improperly performed, can result in death or serious injury to innocent people, you would have to be a moron (not you TG - the minister) to blather on about "privacy issues".
Does the minister drive much?
Is she issued with a taxpayer funded phone?
Am I being overly cynical by thinking that the minister may be part of the problem?
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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby trailgumby » Thu Jan 25, 2018 12:20 pm

Philistine wrote:
trailgumby wrote: Yep, with Melinda Pavey playing the "privacy issues" card I am not holding my breath for meaningful action anytime soon.
If someone is in a public place, performing an activity that, if improperly performed, can result in death or serious injury to innocent people, you would have to be a moron (not you TG - the minister) to blather on about "privacy issues".
Indeed. It's not like front windscreens - which *must* be clear - have blinds.

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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby find_bruce » Thu Jan 25, 2018 12:34 pm

As I recall when speeding cameras were first introduced in the early 90s the NSW privacy council were concerned that if you were caught speeding then your wife might find out about your girlfriend sitting in the passenger seat.

Fast forward to 2006 when Marcus Einfeld said his dead friend was driving his car, some of the many nails in his coffin were that Police were able to track his movements from the restaurant to his home via traffic cameras, his mobile phone and where he stopped for petrol. Remarkable what the Police can achieve when sufficiently motivated.

Since then there are cameras installed all over town in the name of terrorist prevention.

Privacy has always taken 2nd place to public safety, and yet somehow motorists should be a protected species.

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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby find_bruce » Tue Feb 06, 2018 5:45 pm

find_bruce wrote:Privacy has always taken 2nd place to public safety, and yet somehow motorists should be a protected species.
Or perhaps not

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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby madmacca » Fri Feb 16, 2018 5:17 pm

antigee wrote:
back to OP last week the driver appealed sentence following the severe injury of a Ballarat cyclist:
A DRUG-affected Victorian woman who crashed into a cyclist and left him for dead wants a shorter sentence because her victim didn’t die.
Rebekah Stewart’s lawyer argued in the Victorian Court of Appeal on Tuesday that her victim, Christian Ashby, didn’t die, so her sentence should be reduced.............
http://www.news.com.au/national/victori ... c0502900cb

somewhere mixed up in all this is how charging and sentencing works and I've always been a bit puzzled by some of the arguments around cycling - in that a lot of traffic offences are what I'd call absolute and don't depend on the outcome of the action (pretty sure if I went looking for sentencing philosophy articles there would be a more correct term) - Red light running, Speeding, Using a mobile, Ignoring a traffic sign - doesn't matter what the consequence is or if there isn't any consequence then they are still an offence

When it comes to Dangerous Driving and for those that have it Close Passing of Cyclists then the focus seems entirely on the outcome - no injury = no offence?
Sometimes this even seems to degrade further to no intent to injure = no offence
All a bit puzzling to me :(
I don't know - as a society, we punish murder more heavily than attempted murder.

However, in this case, she drove off and left him to die. The fact that he lived is no thanks to her. If she had stopped and rendered first aid until the paramedics turned up, then her argument might have more merit. But merit and justice have little to do with outcomes in our legal system.

I'm just annoyed that the Court of Appeal is wasting tax dollars on even hearing such a flimsy appeal.

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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby Cheesewheel » Sat Feb 17, 2018 10:45 am

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-1 ... fmredir=sm

Driver charged with using mobile phone after two police hit at RBT in Sydney

Will be interesting to see how the outcome of this compares to hitting a cyclist under similar circumstances
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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby Mububban » Tue Feb 20, 2018 12:28 pm

The victims are cops so I expect the full weight of the law to be applied.

Terrible that one of them lost part of his leg :(
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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby Scott_C » Tue Feb 20, 2018 3:57 pm

On the topic of cops as victims:
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/crime/ ... b88751053z
A MAN who had never held a driver’s licence and was affected by illicit drugs when he mowed down two cyclists during a charity bike ride in Esperance – and then drove away – has been jailed for [three years and two months].

Sergeant Roberta Richardson and Carla Martella were riding in the Tour De Freedom 1000, a five-day ride from Esperance to Perth, when they were hit by a car driven by 51-year-old Kevin Anthony Barton in October 2015.
Seems to be one of the harshest sentences I have seen for a non-fatal cyclist accident (higher than many fatal accidents) but the perpetrator seems to have hit the jackpot for- two victims, unlicensed, drug-affected, hit-and-run with continued efforts to hide the vehicle involved, a long prior criminal history as a bikie and an off-duty cop as a victim.

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2019-01 crash from close pass at Bridgewater in the Adelaide Hills

Postby Thoglette » Fri Nov 15, 2019 4:56 pm

Disqualified driver jailed for catapulting cyclist into road sign in hit-and-run crash
A South Australian District Court judge has told a disqualified driver, who struck and seriously injured a cyclist who was catapulted into a road sign, that he has "pretty much ruined his life" before jailing him for at least 10 months.

Key points:
Romano Andreucci was sentenced to at least one year and nine months in jail
He pleaded guilty to three charges, including aggravated driving without due care
The crash happened at Bridgewater in the Adelaide Hills in January
Judge Paul Muscat sentenced Romano Andreucci to one year and nine months' jail with a non-parole period of 10 months.
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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby find_bruce » Fri Nov 15, 2019 6:43 pm

More importantly banned from driving for 10 years

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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Sat Nov 16, 2019 8:47 am

find_bruce wrote:
Thu Jan 25, 2018 12:34 pm
As I recall when speeding cameras were first introduced in the early 90s the NSW privacy council were concerned that if you were caught speeding then your wife might find out about your girlfriend sitting in the passenger seat.

Fast forward to 2006 when Marcus Einfeld said his dead friend was driving his car, some of the many nails in his coffin were that Police were able to track his movements from the restaurant to his home via traffic cameras, his mobile phone and where he stopped for petrol. Remarkable what the Police can achieve when sufficiently motivated.

Since then there are cameras installed all over town in the name of terrorist prevention.

Privacy has always taken 2nd place to public safety, and yet somehow motorists should be a protected species.
Yeah, they did get him, all for the sake of a simple speeding fine. He had a habit of losing demerit points and of placing other people in the seat of his car when facing relatively minor traffic charges.

It goes to show what can be done if the police and others seriously go after some mongrel. He served time, destroyed a stellar legacy in good works and was unable to ply his legal skills any more.
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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby AdelaidePeter » Tue Nov 19, 2019 10:42 am

find_bruce wrote:
Fri Nov 15, 2019 6:43 pm
More importantly banned from driving for 10 years
I agree that is more important, but will it be enforced? He was disqualified at the time of the crash.

I have no idea how closely disqualified drivers are monitored, but I would like to see some system of randomly checking on them. It happens with some other crimes.

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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby Derny Driver » Tue Nov 19, 2019 12:12 pm

AdelaidePeter wrote:
Tue Nov 19, 2019 10:42 am

I have no idea how closely disqualified drivers are monitored, but I would like to see some system of randomly checking on them. It happens with some other crimes.
Disqualified drivers have their vehicle registrations noted onto the police system, and number plate recognition in Highway Patrol cars sounds an alert if the car is seen. Police can then choose to pull the vehicle over on the pretence of a random breath test or a cracked tail-light.
DQ drivers simply swap cars with their girlfriends or friends to avoid being caught.

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Re: Penalties from non-fatal accidents

Postby Bunged Knee » Tue Nov 19, 2019 12:38 pm

Some DQ drivers don't give a stuff of about laws and do keep on driving and thumbed their noses at law.

If there's a way to stop ignorant people from repeating to drive again while breaking the law is to warn them if they do it again and they will have their arms at the shoulder or their legs above the knees amputated to teach them a lesson in not to do it again.

Expect an outcry over it but then don't break the law again in the first place on purposes.

It won't happens on the amputation orders.
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