I came across an interesting piece of news yesterday. A driver got her license suspended by knocking down and killing a pedestrian. Now, that itself is nothing out of the ordinary, because there have been harsher punishments for homicide before.
But the full story is that the pedestrian was jaywalking on a busy street. In other words, he was crossing the street illegally. The driver saw him, honked, tried to swerve the car, but he paid no heed and continued to jaywalk, and the driver tried to avoid him but still could not.
In this case, who was the one at fault? No doubt the driver had killed someone very unintentionally, but the pedestrian brought it upon himself by crossing the street so dangerously. To put it very bluntly, he jaywalked knowing full well the street was busy and there was a chance a car could just come and knock him down. So now that he is dead, the driver who tried to avoid him has to bear the brunt of his carelessness.
I am not saying that he deserves to die. Nobody deserves to die. It is a very unfortunate accident, and I imagine the driver is very guilty about it, and the deceased family members very upset and sorrowful. But still, it could have been avoided if the pedestrian took more care.
Some of the public opinions were that in many cases of hit and run or accident, many a times it were the pedestrians' fault. They chose to cross the street illegally, chose not to look out for traffic, so when the accident happened, why should the driver always take the blame?
Driver's licenses would be suspended, and in more serious cases, banned from driving for life, yet why is there no laws or rules imposing penalties for people who jaywalked in dangerous areas of heavy traffic?
Come to think of it, it is true. Many of the pedestrians brought it upon themselves by crossing the street dangerously. Of course, people all want to save time and go by the shortest way. They all find it a hassle to walk further where a pedestrian crossing, zebra crossing or overhead bridge is.
Afterall, who in the right mind will want to take a big round when one can just go across the street instantaneously? Who would want to spend another few minutes crossing the bridge or going to the pedeatrian crossing, when it saves more time just going across the street like that?
But from my friends who drive, they get really irritated by people who suddenly dash onto the street without any warning. They told me that it is really dangerous because when the car is moving and something just comes out without any warning, in many cases they have no time to stop at all. It takes someone with very fast reflexes to stop the vehicle on time, as most will just panic and not stop.
So before we cross the street, think of our lives. Think of the poor drivers. Think of our families. Why some people want to play punk with their lives, I really cannot fathom.
But the full story is that the pedestrian was jaywalking on a busy street. In other words, he was crossing the street illegally. The driver saw him, honked, tried to swerve the car, but he paid no heed and continued to jaywalk, and the driver tried to avoid him but still could not.
In this case, who was the one at fault? No doubt the driver had killed someone very unintentionally, but the pedestrian brought it upon himself by crossing the street so dangerously. To put it very bluntly, he jaywalked knowing full well the street was busy and there was a chance a car could just come and knock him down. So now that he is dead, the driver who tried to avoid him has to bear the brunt of his carelessness.
I am not saying that he deserves to die. Nobody deserves to die. It is a very unfortunate accident, and I imagine the driver is very guilty about it, and the deceased family members very upset and sorrowful. But still, it could have been avoided if the pedestrian took more care.
Some of the public opinions were that in many cases of hit and run or accident, many a times it were the pedestrians' fault. They chose to cross the street illegally, chose not to look out for traffic, so when the accident happened, why should the driver always take the blame?
Driver's licenses would be suspended, and in more serious cases, banned from driving for life, yet why is there no laws or rules imposing penalties for people who jaywalked in dangerous areas of heavy traffic?
Come to think of it, it is true. Many of the pedestrians brought it upon themselves by crossing the street dangerously. Of course, people all want to save time and go by the shortest way. They all find it a hassle to walk further where a pedestrian crossing, zebra crossing or overhead bridge is.
Afterall, who in the right mind will want to take a big round when one can just go across the street instantaneously? Who would want to spend another few minutes crossing the bridge or going to the pedeatrian crossing, when it saves more time just going across the street like that?
But from my friends who drive, they get really irritated by people who suddenly dash onto the street without any warning. They told me that it is really dangerous because when the car is moving and something just comes out without any warning, in many cases they have no time to stop at all. It takes someone with very fast reflexes to stop the vehicle on time, as most will just panic and not stop.
So before we cross the street, think of our lives. Think of the poor drivers. Think of our families. Why some people want to play punk with their lives, I really cannot fathom.
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