Iowa City Pedestrian hit by car

[CascadeClone]

I'm not trying to make Jack a victim, I'm just trying to be human here....he's gonna need some counseling.

I think we all knew it was him once he announced he won't be going to Iowa. It would be tough to see that intersection every day.

Off topic a bit... I have a friend who ran over and killed an little kid in post football game traffic. Absolutely wasn't his fault - kid slipped his dad's hand, friend was going like 5mph in bumper to bumper traffic jam. Never even saw him. Family told him that night "wasn't his fault". No charges filed.

He still had some guilt/trauma issues, as would anyone with a soul. But I think it changed him a bit. He is a pediatrician now.

 

[Al_4_State]

There is a such thing as awful accidents just happening though too and the law has to factor that in as well.

I'm not saying I know anything about the site of this accident but sometimes accidents happen because the sun blinds you temporarily or the landscaping bush impedes the ability to see what's behind it and approaching or a zillion other things that unfortunately are just really ****** luck.

The OWI thing is significantly different because as a society we have decided OWI is it's own significant penalty. I dont really think you can end up accidentally drunk and accidentally behind the wheel. You've undertaken a significantly higher level of negligence.

Now if the kid was speeding and texting there should be escalated charged and punishment.

Texting has proven to be more dangerous than being drunk, but the escalation in penalty is nowhere near the same, and it probably never will be (which has less to do with the actual danger of these activities and more about societal views on drug and alcohol use).

 

[qwerty]

I think in iowa law texting is considered reckless activity. I'm not sure if reckless is less bad than impaired though.

Probably because admit it, EVERY one of us has texted while driving. There has been enough education and push by now that maybe half have driven after drinking (especially older drivers in their younger days). And MOST of the time, there are no consequences for either activity. Most of the time.

 

[Al_4_State]

A real big question is why texting drivers are treated that differently than OWI. Probably harder to prove but in cases where they can prove it, I don't really see a difference.

Me either.

The reason for this is become a sizeable portion of Americans believe that alcohol consumption, period, is immoral and should be illegal. No one thinks that simply texting is immoral. Although the data is clear that texting while driving is more dangerous than driving drunk, I doubt we ever live to see it treated the same under the law.

 

[CascadeClone]

I have 2 questions about all this.

1. what are the different crimes for this situation? What is the definition of reckless homicide, or vehicular homicide, or manslaughter, etc vs "failure to yield"?

2. what was the exact nature of the accident? Unless there is video, we will never know for sure - and I think that's the situation. But it's a big difference if kid was driving speed limit and jogger crossed right in front of him without looking, as opposed to jogger was already in the crosswalk and driver was speeding or distracted and didn't stop in time.

 

[HFCS]

Probably because admit it, EVERY one of us has texted while driving. There has been enough education and push by now that maybe half have driven after drinking (especially older drivers in their younger days). And MOST of the time, there are no consequences for either activity. Most of the time.

I don't really text and drive...because I hate texting, especially the act of typing out things on a tiny crappy phone keyboard. I don't like doing it at home in a comfortable chair, I really hate the idea of doing it while I try to drive.

I have used my phone to look up something while driving but not recently because I can usually do it with voice commands now. You could say I've been guilty of using the internet and driving, but not really texting and driving.

 

[cyclonespiker33]

I'm assuming that is the case since the punishment is pretty light. More a question in general regardless of this specific situation.

He was cited for failure to yield. So he wasn't following the rules of the road.

 

[8bitnes]

What if Jack doesn’t have any money? I assume they can go after Fran’s?

They go after the owner of the vehicle. The owner extends permission to use the vehicle which is how they get connected

 

[keepngoal]

He was cited for failure to yield. So he wasn't following the rules of the road.

where was this at, exactly? Crosswalk in the area? No sidewalk?

 

[8bitnes]

Texting has proven to be more dangerous than being drunk, but the escalation in penalty is nowhere near the same, and it probably never will be (which has less to do with the actual danger of these activities and more about societal views on drug and alcohol use).

This will be entertaining ... Bring forth the research studies

 

[madguy30]

I don't really text and drive...because I hate texting, especially the act of typing out things on a tiny crappy phone keyboard. I don't like doing it at home in a comfortable chair, I really hate the idea of doing it while I try to drive.

I have used my phone to look up something while driving but not recently because I can usually do it with voice commands now. You could say I've been guilty of using the internet and driving, but not really texting and driving.

Using the phone in that manner is basically the same thing.

In many if not most/all states even eating or drinking water count in 'distracted' columns.

Kinda begs the question as to how cars have cupholders and products for phones on dash boards or windshields (which is also illegal).

 

[madguy30]

This will be entertaining ... Bring forth the research studies

Here's a start. There are others.

Texting While Driving: Is It As Dangerous As Drunk Driving?

Read the surprising answer and different penalties for each.

www.stewartlawoffices.net

 

[Al_4_State]

This will be entertaining ... Bring forth the research studies

I can't find the link to the actual studies, and obviously I'm not a traffic researcher myself, but this statistic is thrown around a ton. Here's a link to some. I'm guessing you're going to say that's not good enough, and that means you probably have a strong emotional stance here.

24 Texting and Driving Statistics (Updated for 2024)

Learn some of the most shocking texting and driving statistics that will urge you to become more careful while on the road.

carsurance.net

The point isn't that drunk driving isn't that bad, it's that texting and driving is really bad and we don't really acknowledge it in our legal system.

 

[HFCS]

Using the phone in that manner is basically the same thing.

In many if not most/all states even eating or drinking water count in 'distracted' columns.

Kinda begs the question as to how cars have cupholders and products for phones on dash boards or windshields (which is also illegal).

Mostly.

"Texting" requires two hands and eyes unless I'm missing something. It's that act of typing on a horrifically bad device that I have always hated and welcome never doing that while driving.

I got a ticket 3 years ago because I picked up a phone with one hand and held it to my ear for a conversation. I'd argue that's LESS distracting than having a burger, fries and coke on the road. Since then I've gotten better about having a way to pick up calls hands free.

On same stretch of road a coworker of mine got a ticket for ONE earbud in an ear.

It's all tradeoffs. People won't admit it but we agree it's worth the risk to be able to eat/drink in the car.

 

[ISUcyclones11]

where was this at, exactly? Crosswalk in the area? No sidewalk?

 

[cyclonespiker33]

where was this at, exactly? Crosswalk in the area? No sidewalk?

Based on the location in the report and assuming he was driving from the high school

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.com

 

[madguy30]

Mostly.

"Texting" requires two hands and eyes unless I'm missing something. It's that act of typing on a horrifically bad device that I have always hated and welcome never doing that while driving.

I got a ticket 3 years ago because I picked up a phone with one hand and held it to my ear for a conversation. I'd argue that's LESS distracting than having a burger, fries and coke on the road. Since then I've gotten better about having a way to pick up calls hands free.

On same stretch of road a coworker of mine got a ticket for ONE earbud in an ear.

It's all tradeoffs. People won't admit it but we agree it's worth the risk to be able to eat/drink in the car.

The eating/drinking thing I think comes down to having control of the car. Texting/browsing only takes one hand and an evasive maneuver usually requires more input.

 

[TClone99]

Turns out the driver of another vehicle was the one who caused it even though young McCaffery was operating the vehicle that struck the pedestrian.

 

[1UNI2ISU]

I mean, this sounds like the very definition of an accident, right?

They obviously got cell phone records to confirm he wasn't texting. That family is, for sure, driving cars new enough that there would be some black box info and cell pings would also be able to approximate the speed he was driving.

This is just awful for everybody involved.

 

[intrepid27]

So if I read the article correctly, Jack was just issued the citation very recently, like last couple days? If true, why did it take so long for him to be cited?

Well, my guess is at the time of the accident, he was still a potential Hawkeye recruit. Now he is just another teen driver.