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[Mister Rog]

If this had been my child, I would be bloody furious.

LINK

Now maybe the accused wasn't a rabid boy racer or whatever, and of course the article does not provide details, but she still killed a toddler. If you look at the way many drive around supermarket car parks, you'd think they were a pedestrian free zone  in reality there's at least one pedestrian for every car.



 

[2boxerdogs]

Awful killed a child  & gets off Scot free virtually , in all honesty I'm surprised there are not more incidents in supermarket car parks some individuals drive much too fast in them, and of course visibility is restricted due to the volume of vehicles, a child just has to step out & their life is snuffed out by some idiot. I would be very angry if I was the parent & would want revenge I'm afraid.

[Sir Tigger KC]

I would be murderous if some idiot killed my child and was treated so leniently by the justice system!   

I would be furious if I had to pay those sort prices for fuel in ASDA!   

[Nick W]

So what should the sentence have been? Try to remember that the law, justice, revenge and vengeance are not the same things.

[Varche]

I think you cannot make a judgement without knowing the facts.

Was she speeding, did she drive off knowing she had hit a child? why was the child "loose"etc etc Every day we all drive and the difference between having an incident or not is very small.

 

[TheBoy]

Why is it worse when a child is killed? Is a child's life somehow more important than a teenager, or and adult, or a little old dear?

I think the media try to outrage us all when something involves a child, and its rubbing off on society.

[Bigron]

Varche, thank you for that unemotional summary; you put things into perspective.
The tabloids always use outrage and emotive language - it sells papers - but can be unfair on those involved. Parents also have a duty of care to their offspring and must make sure that they do not run wild amongst moving vehicles. They cannot make risk assessments for themselves and if they are too young to go around unsupervised the parents must always keep them safe and under control, preferrably by the use of reins.
Also, of course, drivers need to have eyes in their arses to spot potential dangers and do their best to eliminate those dangers.....like we do every day that we drive (BMWs excepted!) in these overcrowded and poorly maintained roads of ours.

Ron.

[Omega VT3000]

You have wonder about the accuracy of reporting. Unless VW and GM have merged, I don't believe Vauxhall make a Tiguan

[Kevin Wood]

Why is it worse when a child is killed? Is a child's life somehow more important than a teenager, or and adult, or a little old dear?

.. or indeed nobody at all. Plenty of utterly careless driving goes on with, mercifully, no consequences, but we can only be bothered to bring a conviction when someone gets hurt.

[Mister Rog]

Why is it worse when a child is killed? Is a child's life somehow more important than a teenager, or and adult, or a little old dear?

I think the media try to outrage us all when something involves a child, and its rubbing off on society.

Well, at the risk of appearing to be a "do-gooder", age increases awareness and the sense of self preservation. As you get older you learn not to walk out into the road, and not to put your finger in the fire, or whatever. Therefore, by definition, the young are more vulnerable.

The media will of course always try to grab the obvious headline. But very often the obvious headline is justified.

When I learned to drive (in a blue Ford Anglia), the instructor rammed into me always prepare for the unexpected. If you see an adult, it is reasonable to expect that he/she is old enough to know not to walk out into the road, not put finger in fire whatever. If you see a child it should be reasonable to expect that he/she has not yet learned not to walk out into the road etc. Yes of course the parents may be thick as whatever, but it is still the responsibility of the driver to expect the unexpected, and children are less able to deal with the unexpected occurance of an adult driver being unable to deal with the unexpected. Errrrrr . . . if you know what I mean. In conclusion if a driver hits something, it is almost always the fault of the driver, even if they walk out in front of you. And, that is the general view of insurance companies, and the law.

There are some incredibly thick people where I live. I watch parents walking across busy roads and crossings with prams, kids etc. But, if a driver were to hit and kill/injure one of them it would rightly be the fault of the driver for any one of a pile of reasons.

[Varche]

You cant generalise like you have in your last paragraph. Have you ever had a wild animal run out of the undergrowth across in front of you? Even with the fastest F1 driver reaction times and modernbrakes you have no chance.

I do agree that a lot of "accidents" could be avoided by better driving.

[Mister Rog]

You cant generalise like you have in your last paragraph. Have you ever had a wild animal run out of the undergrowth across in front of you? Even with the fastest F1 driver reaction times and modernbrakes you have no chance.

I do agree that a lot of "accidents" could be avoided by better driving.

Sure, but you don't normally end up in court facing a jail sentance for hitting an animal. If you hit and kill a human, almost regardless of curcumstances, you are highly likely to be at the very least investigated, in great detail.

[Lazydocker]

One thing that strikes me in this situation is how it happened. I read it that she was reversing because she "thought she had hit a trolley" so she has very limited vision. Not that it is an excuse. Then of course there's the question of how fast she was going... Hard to make a judgement without facts. Was it just unlucky that the child hit their head on a curb stone?

I'm not defending the driver and if it were my little girl I'd be livid! But we can't make a judgement without the facts... There's a reason she was treated with a degree of leniency because, generally, our legal system is fair.

[Mr Gav]

With the limited information that was in the OP`s link it`s wrong to make any kind of judgement.

She could have been reversing slowly into a parking space (unlikely given it`s a woman  ) or could have been driving like a loon looking for a parking space, we just don`t know.

[biggriffin]

If the the lady in question was reversing out of a space in a mummy bus or even a tigun, and a two year old was behind her, she would have struggled to see the child, it's a terrible accident that can happen every day were children are about.

We can all give our opinions, but we weren't there,.