A life is only worth €500

L.T.P.

Saw this article earlier and cannot believe the person involved was fined a measly €500:

http://www.live95fm.ie/news/news-item/provisonal-driver-who-killed-an-elderly-woman-convicted-of-careless-driving/a19a6e4c-6414-46b7-8ca6-494c5d1ebf4a

She shouldn't have been driving in the first place as she was only on her first provisional, she also knocked someone down before, also left the scene of an accident.

The justice system in this country stinks to high heaven. :mad:

irishproduce

Why wasn't she banned from the road. The dirty ******! Twice is a bit of a joke. Surely the judge has the power to ban her from the road!

munstergirl

Driving alone on provisional licence can get fines up to of €1,000.

Shocking that she has not even lost her licence.

I think she deserves jail time or at least be banned from driving.

Its not like its her only offence, previous leaving scene of accident, struck someone lit, kill person + dog. RIP

Irish justice what a joke. €500.

baldbear

In the article it states, In court she accepted there was nothing obscuring her view but added 'I wouldn't have driven into the woman if I'd seen her.'

Then why the f*uck did she hit this woman? Did this driver Mary McCarthy not get banned from driving? It's obvious she does not have the competency to drive so should be banned.

I wonder if she was an unemployed youth rather than a 52 year old teacher would she be in jail????

johndaman66

baldbear wrote: »

In the article it states, In court she accepted there was nothing obscuring her view but added 'I wouldn't have driven into the woman if I'd seen her.'

Then why the f*uck did she hit this woman?

Nothing may have being obscuring her vision but her vision may have being impared. Or else she was not concentrating on the road which is dangerous driving I'm sure. In fact either or would amount to dangerous driving I'd imagine.

baldbear wrote: »

I wonder if she was an unemployed youth rather than a 52 year old teacher would she be in jail????

I'm with you on that thought. The overall punishment seems absolutely minimal relative to the severity of the offense. In particular that she had hit a pedestrian before and absconded from the scene of the accident. Article does not draw reference to her showing any signs of remoarse either. Certainly something wrong with the justice system alright.

In court she accepted there was nothing obscuring her view but added 'I wouldn't have driven into the woman if I'd seen her.'

Oh well THEN, that's ok. Off you go.

MarkR

FFS. What more do they want. I think you get bigger fines for speeding. She should be off the road permanently.

1. Leaves the scence of an accident. Pretty bad
2. Hits someone. That's worse.
3. Kills a lady and her dog

I'm not sure what else she could do at this stage. Line up some kids outside a creche and see how many she can get? I wonder is she still driving, is she still on a provisional?

Jofspring

I know who this lady is. She is a very small lady and can barely see over the dash of her car. She has had two cars over the years, both are absolutely destroyed from hitting into other cars and driving off. I do not leave my car outside my drive for fear she will hit it as we live in the same neighbourhood and I have seen her driving. This lady should not be on the road for personal reasons she has that I will not mention here. I actually can't believe she has been allowed to continue to drive. Since this accident and long before it was evident she was not fit for the road. The funny thing is I bet she gets cheaper car insurance than me or any other young male drivers for that matter even though I have never had an accident.

A mate of mine got fined 300euro about 4 years ago for not having a full licensed driver with him. How the two punishment, one for not having a full licensed driver and the other for killing someone is so similar is ridiculous. This lady is actually a very nice lady but that is no excuse for not being taken off the road either. This lady should have been told long ago she was not fit for the road. As far as I'm concerned the people that allow her to continue to drive with a provisional license and be totally unfit and uncapable to drive are as much to blame for that ladies death.

langdang

General comment only, separate from this tragic (for the deceased, her family, and potentially for other limerick road users) case:

Driving is seen, even by our own judiciary, as an entitlement (don't we all love that word) rather something you should only be allowed to continue to do if you are competent and respectful of other road users.

There's the usual "oh I need to drive for a living/commute to work" pleas used to reduce punishments - Oh yeah? you need to drive to earn your living - shudda thought of that before driving like a gimp ha?
I have no doubt in my mind (again this is a general comment) that there are many people wandering erratically around our roads in denial of the fact that they badly need glasses (oh they don't suit me) and in denial of the fact that their medication is incompatible with responsible driving (ah sure, doesn't every little pill now say you can't drive..) Many people are only passengers in the drivers seat, they are not active, aware, and actively anticipating other road users behaviour.

nathan184

Who wants to start a petition? This makes my blood boil.

If anyone else has more of the details behind this event please let us know.

jmch81

Am I the only one thinking of the ad on tv about doing drugs and driving, where the driver hit a woman on a pedestrian crossing? Only difference is, she got the dog as well.

Casperbhoy

stupidity is no defence wtf

I feel sorry for the old ladies family, our justice system is a joke

source

Casperbhoy wrote: »

stupidity is no defence wtf

I feel sorry for the old ladies family, our justice system is a joke

It's not a justice system, it's a legal system.

I think this quote sums it up pretty well

"This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice." ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Dante

She should be jailed.

nathan184

Alright so we all agree, we are angry. The question is what are we going to do about it?

wingnut

The mind boggles. What kind of message does this send out!!! Third offence FFS.

DUB777

Its demeaning to call our 'system' a system. Its a farcical joke, the entire country. We should develop an equivalent to The ops team BLACK WATER & send them after every politican who's corrupt, all the bankers regardless & especially all the developers/ builders. Clean the country out from top to bottom.:cool:

tof2006

nathan184 wrote: »

Alright so we all agree, we are angry. The question is what are we going to do about it?

Unfortunately nothing apart ranting
Actually I am a bit surprised that the old lady family does not appeal the verdict (can they ? ), and I absolutely don't understand the judge, how can you at the same time state she "did not drive with the appropriate care and attention." and allow her to be on the road .... Did the prosecutor ask for a road ban ?

nathan184

tof2006 wrote: »

Unfortunately nothing apart ranting
Actually I am a bit surprised that the old lady family does not appeal the verdict (can they ? ), and I absolutely don't understand the judge, how can you at the same time state she "did not drive with the appropriate care and attention." and allow her to be on the road .... Did the prosecutor ask for a road ban ?

That's what I want to know. Was this case just an appeal made by the auld bat against her conviction or was it the entire case around the incident of her murdering someone?

L.T.P.

Check out this story and the the sentences those involved received:

http://newswire99.blogspot.com/2008/07/two-men-jailed-over-emma-woodland-death.html

The woman at fault in the Corbally death should've gotten a similar sentence in my opinion

baldbear

There are alot of inconsistincies in the law. In a similiar case, a bad driver etc. a judge handed down a 10yr ban and a suspended sentence. That female driver wasn't punished IMO.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0330/1224293359653.html

Insect Overlord

Just deleted 3 silly posts from this thread. Nothing too serious, they were just getting a bit too personal and a bit too far off-topic.