79 replies to this topic

[supermom]

Mary56 I understand your rage and frustration when innocent people are harmed or killed by a deliberate act of over-imbibing; then not have the ability to reason, judge, react, or responsibly pilot a 1 ton lethal weapon.

A few things I would like to point out. The Folsom Police Department does proactively try to go after irresponsible and/or illegal driving. They have checkpoints on and around holidays and they have a volunteer force that gives free drives home on new Years day (I wish they would do that on 4th of July rodeo nights).

The Police Department actively is involved in a Federally funded Grant Project which targets selling alcohol to minors. (they need someone out on this same night for the teen-ager incident that happened that happened the same night as this incident--thank God there were only minor injuries with that)

The police Department also participates in a multi-departmental program that actually goes to Teenagers turf (highschool) and puts on a mock display from party through funeral; of what happens to young teens when they drink. They get to see the whole thing, helicopter lifeflight, "coding" a patient, tagging and bagging, contacting the families, etc. It is done by a huge group of volunteers. It has seriously altered the mentality of many people who thought alcohol was not a serious problem.

Folsom Police also have an annual event in which they invite parents of teens to a forum and they quite explicitly tell parents what to look for, where to look, and how to identify behavior that may be linked to drug and alcohol dependency or use.

Now, I know I'm not the dumbest brick in the world, but I do know that I do need help rearing my two teens in today's tough world of electronic gadgetry addiction, and dependency on electronic friends that can cause more harm than good when mixed with the hormonal imbalance of an inexperienced "super-man" mentality that seems to permeate the marrows of teenagers.

I know for a fact that my daughter can tween, facebook, e-mail, instant message, and text about 10 faster than my fingers can. I know she knows how to "hide" her history when she uses the cell phone, e-mail, and internet. I know she is electronically savvy. I know she even comes on here to see what I talk about every now and then (lol, the irony).

[ducky]

It's really nice but I hate it when people point and take pictures

Well-played, Dude.

[Robert Giacometti]

It's really nice but I hate it when people point and take pictures

Maybe it was because your robe didn't quite cross in the back!

[Carl G]

Maybe it was because your robe didn't quite cross in the back!

Actually it was because it didn't quite close in the front. People stopped, pointed, and laughed.

[Greenenergy]

I agree, not everyone is 100% perfect.

I have seen this happen as well, 16 year old girl in our family who just got her drivers license hit the DRIVE instead of reverse and did some damage to a brick wall, not drunk, just a stupid mistake.

[doj_gal]

I think that there are people who are better with paying attention to details and the small things and then there are those who do not. I take my time and drive safely because I am a wife and mother and do not want to risk my life or the lives of others with stupid, avoidable "mistakes". I haven't ever put my vehicle into reverse when I wanted to drive(or vice versa) but I have almost always owned manual vehicles.

As far as the intoxication aspect and driving when you are completely smashed, that is not forgiveable or excuseable. I will say that bars do need to take a more active roll. I haven't been to FLB in ages, honestly because it's too much of a risk for me. There are too many selfish people whom only think about their desire to party and get far to intoxicated, which puts many lives at risk.

Many people do not realize that drinking a beer or two puts EVERYONE at risk with drunk driving. I also agreee that there should a zero tolerance. There are so many options for a safe ride home and even a drink with dinner is dangerous. I also learned the hard way how little it takes for you to be arrested for driving under the influence. Financially it's not worth it and many people need to realize how selfish they have been with their actions.

[Devdave]

No one is perfect - but when you are behind a 1-2 ton killing machine - you have to be serious and pay attention, one time that brick wall or that other car you hit could be a Human, your child, a neighbor's child etc....

I still don't understand how people think "I'm going to reverse but click my gear shift all the way to drive to start"

And I agree with previous posters - how do you "stomp on it" when you are reversing? I only let off the break and crawl at all times....

I agree, not everyone is 100% perfect.

I have seen this happen as well, 16 year old girl in our family who just got her drivers license hit the DRIVE instead of reverse and did some damage to a brick wall, not drunk, just a stupid mistake.

[SunshineServices]

No one is perfect - but when you are behind a 1-2 ton killing machine - you have to be serious and pay attention, one time that brick wall or that other car you hit could be a Human, your child, a neighbor's child etc....

I still don't understand how people think "I'm going to reverse but click my gear shift all the way to drive to start"

And I agree with previous posters - how do you "stomp on it" when you are reversing? I only let off the break and crawl at all times....

Maybe she couldn't feel her feet! Never did hear what her BAC was.............

[momof1]

No one is perfect - but when you are behind a 1-2 ton killing machine - you have to be serious and pay attention, one time that brick wall or that other car you hit could be a Human, your child, a neighbor's child etc....

I still don't understand how people think "I'm going to reverse but click my gear shift all the way to drive to start"

And I agree with previous posters - how do you "stomp on it" when you are reversing? I only let off the break and crawl at all times....

I guess you never drive a stick. Yes, most times in an automatic I won't give it gas, but sometimes I do want to move faster than a crawl if I am going to back-up over quite a distance and I have probably driven as fast as 15 mph in reverse.

Now this lady was inebriated so there is no excuse for her getting behind the wheel, but I have on a couple of rare occassions accidently had my car in the wrong gear. It was a startling experience and I was fortunate to be able to react appropriately and not put a dent in my garage door.

So how a drunk person could acciently put their car in the wrong gear I find completely understandable. I also find it completely understandable that upon finding the car moving the wrong direction she may have meant to stomp on the brake but ended up stomping on the gas. I know I have heard of sober elderly people doing this and end up crashing into the diner they just left. so if a sober person can be in the wrong gear and crash into something stomping on the wrong pedal, I see no reason to question how a drunk might do the exact same thing.

Again, understanding how this could happen is completely different than excusing this drunks behavior. She is fully responsible for her irresponsible behavior.

[tony]

I guess you never drive a stick. Yes, most times in an automatic I won't give it gas, but sometimes I do want to move faster than a crawl if I am going to back-up over quite a distance and I have probably driven as fast as 15 mph in reverse.

Now this lady was inebriated so there is no excuse for her getting behind the wheel, but I have on a couple of rare occassions accidently had my car in the wrong gear. It was a startling experience and I was fortunate to be able to react appropriately and not put a dent in my garage door.

So how a drunk person could acciently put their car in the wrong gear I find completely understandable. I also find it completely understandable that upon finding the car moving the wrong direction she may have meant to stomp on the brake but ended up stomping on the gas. I know I have heard of sober elderly people doing this and end up crashing into the diner they just left. so if a sober person can be in the wrong gear and crash into something stomping on the wrong pedal, I see no reason to question how a drunk might do the exact same thing.

Again, understanding how this could happen is completely different than excusing this drunks behavior. She is fully responsible for her irresponsible behavior.

Well said. With no apologies for the drunk woman, my experience has been that stomping on the wrong pedal (or similar failure to appropriately use the gas and brake pedals in slow speed situations) is not uncommon for drivers in panic situations (like when the car is going the wrong direction). I have had two incidents with elderly women drivers, both of whom did completely ridiculous things, apparently because they panicked.

The first one was making a left turn out of a rural driveway onto a rural highway in Texas (speed limit 55 mph at the time) on which I was traveling the opposite direction at speed. It was early Sunday morning and she was on her way to church. At about the moment when it was too late for her to pull out, she pulled out; I honked and slammed on the brakes; she proceeded to make the left turn, and then cross back over the centerline into my lane and ultimately hit me head on on the right shoulder where I had moved to avoid her and stopped (so she crossed the road twice and ended back on the side she started on). She hit me at about 5 mph and apparently never hit the brakes. There is no explanation other than she froze (didn't stomp on the gas; just couldn't take her foot off of it). Did lots of damage to the front of my car, and she was charged with failure to stay in a single marked lane (the smallest offense that would guarantee her insurance would pay)...eventually. She was so shaken up that she did not get out of the car until after the Sheriff arrived, dealt with the situation and sent me on my way.

The second was about six months ago in Angels Camp where on a sunny Saturday afternoon, a car suddenly shot from a parking lot through a hedge into the middle of Hwy 49 right in front of me. Once in the middle of the road, she stopped, sat for a moment, then slowly turned into the through lane and continued on her way. The only explanation I can come up with is that she put the car in D and stomped on the gas instead of the brake when she realized the car was going the wrong way. Luckily, she didn't hurt anything except for some bushes. Clearly, it is not uncommon for people to lose control of their cars at very slow speeds. In my statistically invalid sample, they happen to always be elderly women.

[Devdave]

Yes I've driven my share of manual transmisions... Tony in your two examples, one could argue whether those drivers were fit to be behind the wheel.

Maybe this bad example of irresponsibility shown by this women will make us pause and think a bit and maybe prevent someone else from making the same mistake.

[The Average Joe]

The "driver freeze" is a real issue. TWICE I have been broadsided while completely stopped on a dirt bike in the middle of the freakin desert. Both times I could see the (different) guys coming from a long ways off. Both times I stopped so as not to confuse them. Both times they left the trail they were on and made a perfect arc to centerpunch my bike. One never hit the brakes, one hit them only at the last second.