7180 replies to this topic

[davek]

^ But if the person in the vehicle that was hit decides it is not worth the risk, then society loses when the drunkard hits someone and kills them.

Here are a few things to consider;

As it stands, the alleged drunkard now has a year to hit and kill someone.

If the case is so weak the victim doesn't think it's worth the risk, the state itself is also unlikely to prosecute.

Allowing citizens to use private courts would go a long way towards alleviating current backlogs. Even if the alleged victim in this case in unwilling to try a loser-pays private court, her case would be heard earlier than now, as many would have taken the private option.

In all respects, access to a private judiciary would be a win for society.

[VicHockeyFan]

Here are a few things to consider;

As it stands, the alleged drunkard now has a year to hit and kill someone.

I don't think there is any doubt the alleged drunkard is about to undergo an Administrative Driving Prohibition for 90 days.

Granted, taking away someones license doesn't mean they won't drink and drive even under suspension.

[sebberry]

Impaired and Distracted

A 27 year old Saanich woman found herself driving head-on into a power pole in the early morning hours of November 13th. She was driving north on Maplewood Road near the intersection of Camrose Crescent when her blue 1993 Nissan Pathfinder left the roadway and crashed into a power pole. The pole was snapped in half and her car was demolished. Luckily though, the woman suffered only minor facial injuries.

As the investigation into the cause of the crash progressed, police found that the woman was impaired, with a blood alcohol level well over twice the legal limit.

In addition to this, officers determined that the woman was text messaging at the time of the crash and was travelling over the speed limit.

She now faces several charges pertaining to her actions which put not only her safety in jeopardy, but also compromised the safety of the public.

On October 21st, the BC government announced legislation preventing drivers from using hand-held cell phones, portable electronic devices and text messaging while driving. This change to the Motor Vehicle Act is set to take effect in January 2010 with enforcement beginning in February 2010. The ticket will cost drivers $167, with an additional three penalty points if they are caught texting or emailing while driving. Only hands-free, one touch electronic devices will be permitted for use by drivers.

Drivers in the Graduated Licensing Program however, will not be permitted to use even these hands-free devices and will receive not only the fine but also the three penalty points for any violations.

I bolded the part about speed. Once again, the police will be recording this as a speed related event in an attempt to over-inflate the need for extra revenue-generating speed enforcement. Statistics like this are collected and used to target speed and other traffic enforcement.

In this case I would say that speed was not a contributing factor to the collision but rather part OF the collision, brought on by alcohol and text messaging.

[VicHockeyFan]

Not Victoria, but pretty brutal, 4 lives wiped out quick, and a 6-month-old survives. No speed, alcohol or poor conditions, yet the northbound car with 3 women in their 20's crossed all the way to the curb lane opposite to make impact.

That's sound like a fall-asleep situation.

http://www.timescolo...1973/story.html

[martini]

Vehicle hits power pole; two Saanich roads closed as precaution
http://www.timescolo...2194/story.html

Times Colonist November 26, 2009 12:02 PM

Saanich Police are concerned power lines will fall after a commercial vehicle hit a hydro pole in Saanich late this morning.

As a result, Tennyson and Kelvin roads in Saanich are currently closed, just before noon, to pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

Saanich Police Traffic Safety Unit members are on the scene and BC Hydro were called.

Businesses in the area may experience power outages or an interruption in vehicle traffic, said Saanich Sgt. John Price.
© Copyright © The Victoria Times Colonist

[VicHockeyFan]

Two rescued, one found dead in boating accident on Gorge Waterway

http://www.timescolo...3330/story.html

By Joanne Hatherly, Times Colonist
November 26, 2009

Vermette said the search was seriously hampered by the lack of a helicopter with searchlights, noting police tried to obtain one from the RCMP, military police and Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre. “It would have made a big difference to have that overhead light,” Vermette said.

Hmm, wonder where the closest helicopter is...

[Bingo]

Where are the night vision goggles for the rescuers?

Bright searchlights can often impede looking for someone as it destroys your night vision temporarily.

[Holden West]

Why do people treat life jackets like they were pink tutus with a giant sign on them saying "I'M A WEAK LOSER"?

Every boat has them, they take no time to put on, they don't hamper movement...but even if a PFD is sitting right there and the person is elderly and/or a poor swimmer about to get into a tiny dinghy far from shore they won't put them on. They probably spent more time that morning thinking about what colour slacks to wear.

Baffling.

[piltdownman]

So that was going on last nigh. As for Night Vision, in my experience the laser illuminated type while giving you better vision in very low light conditions really hampers your ability to see details. And in a mixed lighting situations you get flashes of brightness which result in being unable to see anything. If the police had IR-Night vision the details are amazing at any light level, and as they don't pick up light in the visible wavelengths they are no effected by scene lightings. Flir makes some products that are simply amazing. However those systems are really big and expensive so I can't see them being used. If they where looking for a boat on the open ocean this would defiantly be the way to go; however in the known confined space of the gorge a spotlight might have been the best option.

[VicHockeyFan]

Why do people treat life jackets like they were pink tutus with a giant sign on them saying "I'M A WEAK LOSER"?

Every boat has them, they take no time to put on, they don't hamper movement...but even if a PFD is sitting right there and the person is elderly and/or a poor swimmer about to get into a tiny dinghy far from shore they won't put them on. They probably spent more time that morning thinking about what colour slacks to wear.

Baffling.

I agree. Some jackets are very trendy and very warm too.

[Mike K.]

I was wondering what that was all about. I was coming home at around 8 and saw the police boat scanning the shore for something. I figured they were looking at the homeless camps setup in the bushes just north of the Bay St. bridge.

[victorian fan]

Public tip leads Sidney/Saanich RCMP to handgun, drugs and alleged criminals in stolen truck

http://www.timescolo...7419/story.html

A search of the truck found a handgun and ammunition, auto parts stolen from the same Nanaimo business as the truck, illegal drugs, including a quantity of methamphetamine, a suitcase containing a machine and other supplies used to make fraudulent credit cards, replica firearms and ID not belonging to occupants of the truck.

[VicHockeyFan]

17-year old female driver dead in that crash last night on West Saanich. 22-year-old female passenger in hopsital doing well.

[sebberry]

17-year old female driver dead in that crash last night on West Saanich. 22-year-old female passenger in hopsital doing well.

I wonder what happened.

[martini]

I wonder what happened.

Teenage girl dies in crash on West Saanich Road this morning
By Joanne Hatherly, Times Colonist November 30, 2009
http://www.timescolo...5345/story.html
A 17-year-old North Saanich female died after the van she was driving left the road early this morning in Central Saanich.

Cpl. Janis Jean of Central Saanich police said just before 2 a.m. , police responded to a report of a loud crash. Police, firefighters and paramedics arrived to find a red van had gone off the road in the 8100 block of West Saanich Road, just north of Mt. Newton Cross Road. The van appeared to have been travelling south. It struck a utility pole, snapping it in half, before coming to rest in a bushy area adjacent to the roadway.[...]

[Holden West]

Some poor kid wrapped his LeBaron around a cement pole just past Colwood Corners at 3 am this morning and was killed instantly. Not a happy new year for his parents I'm sure.

[VicHockeyFan]

Some poor kid wrapped his LeBaron around a cement pole just past Colwood Corners at 3 am this morning and was killed instantly. Not a happy new year for his parents I'm sure.

Looks like it's the only major crash last night. They have not said if the driver was male or female. With a LeBaron, I'd say it's still 50/50.



Only as gay guy would own a convertible LeBaron. That'd be like a guy driving a Miata.

.

[Bob Fugger]

Only a gay guy would own a convertible LeBaron.

Or George Costanza or John Voight...the periodontist, not the actor.

[Holden West]

It was a teenage male. When you're that age you often don't have a good choice in cars--you take what you can get. Where you do have a choice is how fast you drive. Unfortunately, his choice to go double the speed limit on a dark slippery road was a poor one.

[sebberry]

Only as gay guy would own a convertible LeBaron. That'd be like a guy driving a Miata.

.

I tried to sit in a Miata once just to see how small it was. I simply could not fit. The Outback is barely big enough for me as it is.

No, I didn't want a Miata, my friend was signing papers for another car at the time and I was looking around the showroom