That Chap I was so fond of...

De Hipster · 12-01-2012 05:05PM

The statement in the ad always seemed weird to me...like it was scripted or invented rather than a real-life situation.

What really bothers me is the fact that so many on this thread are jumping at the chance to hold the driver responsible & suggest he 'may' have been speeding etc., when he clearly wasn't...garda reports, coroners verdict and the fact that the young 'lad' wwas drunk & stumbled out onto the road, ultimately resulting in his death.

De Hipster · 12-01-2012 05:05PM

DP

Riskymove · 12-01-2012 05:09PM

De Hipster wrote: »

What really bothers me is the fact that so many on this thread are jumping at the chance to hold the driver responsible & suggest he 'may' have been speeding etc.,

I think you are seeing things now

no-one has done anything like that

bruschi · 12-01-2012 05:19PM

Its an ad that made me wonder about it too. The impression I got off it, and because of the tag line to it, for the road safety authority, and that 'so many people are killed needlessly on the road' also seems to me to imply that the driver was also at fault for this. To me, an alcohol awareness tagline would be far more appropriate, maybe I take up the premise of the ad wrong, but I always got the impression that it was to drive more carefully and not to be speeding, as it seemd to be the cause of this death. But from reading the report above, the driver could not be faulted in any way, and even the point about trying to put blame on the nightclub, when they tried get the chap a taxi and he refused. its an awfully sad story, but one for alcohol awareness I think rather than road safety awareness

De Hipster · 12-01-2012 05:23PM

Riskymove wrote:

I think you are seeing things now

no-one has done anything like that

Really?!

Dudess wrote: »

As I already asked anyway, how do we know the car wasn't speeding?

Riskymove · 12-01-2012 05:24PM

Well, I just watched the video as I could not see from the details as to how the driver could be blamed

tbh I do not see anything in the ad to suggest the driver was at fault. There is only a brief mention of 'and he got hit by a car'

I would agree its a strange case for the current ad campaign which is generally around speeding, drink driving and so on. The story is about the Mother and her grief and little attention seems to be given to a particular message

although I did notice another case:

That night, on the N8 north of Fermoy, he was walking home in the dark when he was struck by an articulated lorry and instantly killed.

"Everything was coming right for him”, says his father, Jim, recalling that his son was training to be a chef. "If only he had worn a visibility jacket that night."

This one has a much clearer message

Riskymove · 12-01-2012 05:27PM

De Hipster wrote: »

Really?!

yes really

Dudess asks a hypotetical question in response to Cuddlesworth's point about personal repsonsibility being the key. She is not saying he was speeding or that he was to blame

any others?

You did say 'What really bothers me is the fact that so many on this thread are jumping at the chance to hold the driver responsible & suggest he 'may' have been speeding'

Chuck Stone · 12-01-2012 05:29PM

Both the driver and the family of the guy who were killed are victims here. We have no idea how much the driver is to blame. The driver may have been speeding - who knows?

I know when I drive through town at boozing times I am hyper-alert. When I see someone staggering up the footpath I slow down to the point where I could easily avoid them, or stop, even if they fell directly in my path.

Now if the guy was walking down a winding dark country road and fell out in front of a car then there's little the driver could have done.

De Hipster · 12-01-2012 05:35PM

Riskymove wrote: »

yes really

Dudess asks a hypotetical question in response to Cuddlesworth's point about personal repsonsibility being the key. She is not saying he was speeding or that he was to blame

any others?

You did say 'What really bothers me is the fact that so many on this thread are jumping at the chance to hold the driver responsible & suggest he 'may' have been speeding'

So now because the police & coroners reports do not specifically state that the driver was not speeding, on the wrong side of the road, travelling in the wrong direction, on two wheels whilst picking his nose & talking on the phone...it may be fair to assume or at least consider the possibility that he in fact was...:rolleyes:

As for the 'many others' ...read the thread or would you like me to multi-quote the entire contents?

Ellis Dee · 12-01-2012 05:38PM

To tell the truth, I think all those ads are too corny and yacky for words. Small wonder, when the Emperor of Smarm and Yack himself, Gaybo, has anything to do with it.:rolleyes:

I suppose they think the ads will touch a chord with drivers and make them more careful, more considerate, less eejity, but I suspect they are more likely to put people off watching and listening and the message will roll off their backs like water off a duck's.:)

What's really needed is to get real about penalties for drink driving, dangerous driving, speeding and all of the other stupid things that cost lives. I mean fines that are really felt in the pocket, because they are based on income, compulsory driving lessons at authorised schools, no provisional licences, guaranteed prison time for a second drink driving offence, a requirement to sit a driving test again at the end of a ban period for certain offences ---

Riskymove · 12-01-2012 05:39PM

De Hipster wrote: »

So now because the police & coroners reports do not specifically state that the driver was not speeding, on the wrong side of the road, travelling in the wrong direction, on two wheels whilst picking his nose & talking on the phone...it may be fair to assume or at least consider the possibility that he in fact was...:rolleyes:

As for the 'many others' ...read the thread or would you like me to multi-quote the entire contents?

its clear you want to stick with your interpretation, if you really think anyone has said that the driver was speeding or that he is to blame, go right ahead and knock yourself out

the fact you cannot quote anyone saying this speaks for itself

De Hipster · 12-01-2012 06:05PM

Ellis Dee wrote: »

To tell the truth, I think all those ads are too corny and yacky for words. Small wonder, when the Emperor of Smarm and Yack himself, Gaybo, has anything to do with it.:rolleyes:

I suppose they think the ads will touch a chord with drivers and make them more careful, more considerate, less eejity, but I suspect they are more likely to put people off watching and listening and the message will roll off their backs like water off a duck's.:)

What's really needed is to get real about penalties for drink driving, dangerous driving, speeding and all of the other stupid things that cost lives. I mean fines that are really felt in the pocket, because they are based on income, compulsory driving lessons at authorised schools, no provisional licences, guaranteed prison time for a second drink driving offence, a requirement to sit a driving test again at the end of a ban period for certain offences ---

Agree completely - ads where 'three dead in this vehicle...the guy without the seatbelt did the damage' would clearly be more hard-hitting if the BMW which hit them wasn't obviously driving on the wrong side of the white line etc.

These ads do not work as they are badly written, unrealistic (in most cases) & easily refutable.

gemma188 · 12-01-2012 06:16PM

No offence OP (and for the record I have found that line by the mother a bit odd as well) but Im actually surprised this thread hasnt been lock by a Mod. For all we know the mother, or some of her other children might use this forum and Im sure the last thing they need is a thread like this going around, especially when you have some idiots saying the poor guy deserved to be killed because he was drunk.

Jimmy Bottlehead · 12-01-2012 06:33PM

gemma188 wrote: »

No offence OP (and for the record I have found that line by the mother a bit odd as well) but Im actually surprised this thread hasnt been lock by a Mod. For all we know the mother, or some of her other children might use this forum and Im sure the last thing they need is a thread like this going around, especially when you have some idiots saying the poor guy deserved to be killed because he was drunk.

That's rubbish - if we were to follow your line of thinking, nothing would ever be discussed in case a party involved wandered on here and read it.

Plus I'd bet a sizable portion that the mother took part in those ads for one reason - so others learn from her son's mistake, through it being in the public sphere and up for discussion.

gemma188 · 12-01-2012 07:02PM

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

That's rubbish - if we were to follow your line of thinking, nothing would ever be discussed in case a party involved wandered on here and read it.

Plus I'd bet a sizable portion that the mother took part in those ads for one reason - so others learn from her son's mistake, through it being in the public sphere and up for discussion.

Exactly, she done the ad to help reduce deaths on our roads. She didnt do it just so a bunch of keyboard warriors could go onto a forum disrespecting her boy, saying that he cant have been a great son and that he deserved to die because he had had a few drinks.

Victor · 12-01-2012 07:32PM

sophieblake wrote: »

As a person whose sister was killed in a road traffic accident I find the ads very difficult to look at but very effective.

I'm sorry to hear this.

For me the emotional telling of the stories far outweigh any oddness in the scripts

I'm sure you didn't meaning anything by the word, but I suspect that while the people will have their own notes as to what they want to say, that there is no 'script' as such.

Caraville · 12-01-2012 07:41PM

ash23 wrote: »

Haven't read the replies but when I hear the line "this chap that I was so fond of" I think what she is trying to convey is that not only did she love him, but she liked him as a person, a character, an individual.
We all (generally speaking) love our children but some of us really like them and who they are too. I always think of someone who was genuinely happy to see their son come up the path, of a man who looked after his mammy, took her shopping etc.......someone she was really fond of, not just someone she loved because of biology.

That is almost exactly what I was going to post.

Most people love their families- liking them is another story altogether. I actually like the phrase the mother uses and think it shows a real love between a mother and son, a kind of softness that goes beyond the assumed love between them.

orl677 · 12-01-2012 10:18PM

Im actually baffled as to how people find that line cold. I completely understand her turn of phrase, and again, its as ash23 and caraville above have said. The pure and profound love and affection of a mother is in that phrase, put simply and poignantly. The very first time I saw the ad that line hit me deeply, and it has done the same every time since

Lollipops23 · 12-01-2012 10:25PM

Have to say that line always seemed a little of kilter to me too!!

Having said that, she seems extremely genuine in speaking about her son and it's a terrible thing that no mother should ever have to go through.

dxhound2005 · 12-01-2012 10:57PM

De Hipster wrote: »

The statement in the ad always seemed weird to me...like it was scripted or invented rather than a real-life situation.

What really bothers me is the fact that so many on this thread are jumping at the chance to hold the driver responsible & suggest he 'may' have been speeding etc., when he clearly wasn't...garda reports, coroners verdict and the fact that the young 'lad' wwas drunk & stumbled out onto the road, ultimately resulting in his death.

Like others here it struck me as odd and I wondered whether it was scripted to make a memorable impression. I'm sure a lot of work goes into advertising copy and a phrase like that would not just be inserted without any thought. It seems to have done the trick anyway regardless of peoples opinions of the behaviour of the person who died.

Jimmy Bottlehead · 12-01-2012 11:34PM

gemma188 wrote: »

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

That's rubbish - if we were to follow your line of thinking, nothing would ever be discussed in case a party involved wandered on here and read it.

Plus I'd bet a sizable portion that the mother took part in those ads for one reason - so others learn from her son's mistake, through it being in the public sphere and up for discussion.

Exactly, she done the ad to help reduce deaths on our roads. She didnt do it just so a bunch of keyboard warriors could go onto a forum disrespecting her boy, saying that he cant have been a great son and that he deserved to die because he had had a few drinks.

What are you on about?!
Only one poster has alluded to anything close to what you said, and even then I don't think he meant it that way.

Also, it wasn't a "few drinks", he was so drunk he fell asleep at the bar, was ejected from the club, and opted to walk home in such a dangerous manner that a call was made to gardai before he staggered out in front of a taxi, killing him.

That's not a few drinks - that's being dangerously dorunk and to say otherwise is to disrespect and ignore the message that the ad is trying to convey.

arybvtcw0eolkf · 13-01-2012 11:00AM

whydoibother? wrote: »

I agree with the sentiment of your post and sorry to be pedantic, but if the part in bold were true no pedestrian would ever be obliged to wait for a safe space to cross the road and drivers would just have to slam on the breaks every time they chose to walk out in front of them. We wouldn't need zebra crossings.

Check your rules of the road, its really very simple. Pedestrians have the right of way.

Try knock one down and test the rule!.

_feedback_ · 13-01-2012 11:03AM

Ryleigh Yellow Vaccine wrote: »

Check your rules of the road, its really very simple. Pedestrians have the right of way.

Try knock one down and test the rule!.

Of course you are technically correct. But you seem to be alluding in some way that every person that is hit by a car is not at fault, which isn't true.

I'm not talking about this case btw, just replying to your comment in general.

Plumpynuter · 13-01-2012 11:03AM

I was beautiful that day

Reloc8 · 13-01-2012 02:40PM

ash23 wrote: »

Haven't read the replies but when I hear the line "this chap that I was so fond of" I think what she is trying to convey is that not only did she love him, but she liked him as a person, a character, an individual.
We all (generally speaking) love our children but some of us really like them and who they are too. I always think of someone who was genuinely happy to see their son come up the path, of a man who looked after his mammy, took her shopping etc.......someone she was really fond of, not just someone she loved because of biology.

^ This

orl677 wrote: »

Im actually baffled as to how people find that line cold. I completely understand her turn of phrase, and again, its as ash23 and caraville above have said. The pure and profound love and affection of a mother is in that phrase, put simply and poignantly. The very first time I saw the ad that line hit me deeply, and it has done the same every time since

^ This

gemma188 wrote: »

Exactly, she done the ad to help reduce deaths on our roads. She didnt do it just so a bunch of keyboard warriors could go onto a forum disrespecting her boy, saying that he cant have been a great son and that he deserved to die because he had had a few drinks.

Caraville wrote: »

That is almost exactly what I was going to post.

^ This

Most people love their families- liking them is another story altogether. I actually like the phrase the mother uses and think it shows a real love between a mother and son, a kind of softness that goes beyond the assumed love between them.

^ This

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Also, I don't see the point of the ad...

The message in the ad for me is perfectly clear. Look after yourself on or near the road, when you're having a few drinks. Don't drink to excess when you're out and about on the road. You don't have to be a driver to be an alcohol related road fatality. People are not invulnerable and not everyone who leaves their house to socialise will come home if they don't look after themselves.

The particular scurrilous part of your post where you say the deceased 'might not have been that good of a son' because he was drunk is a disgrace in any context but particularly by reason of trying to explain the use of the word 'chap' by the bereaved mother in question.

whydoibother? · 13-01-2012 04:04PM

Ryleigh Yellow Vaccine wrote: »

Check your rules of the road, its really very simple. Pedestrians have the right of way.

Try knock one down and test the rule!.

Could you provide a linke please? According to the Rules of the Road I've been reading, there are specific, narrow instances where the pedestrian has the right of way. It's not a general thing every time they step off the pavement and onto the road.

Canard · 13-01-2012 05:18PM

I agree with the OP, I find it hard to watch that ad so I muted it and when I put the sound on near the end and heard 'that chap i was so fond of will never walk in the door again' I actually thought she was talking about a neighbour. even my chap/boy would be more fitting but as has been said, i'm sure she has her reasons for it.

Dudess · 14-01-2012 06:23PM

De Hipster wrote: »

What really bothers me is the fact that so many on this thread are jumping at the chance to hold the driver responsible & suggest he 'may' have been speeding etc., when he clearly wasn't...garda reports, coroners verdict and the fact that the young 'lad' wwas drunk & stumbled out onto the road, ultimately resulting in his death.

I'm not seeing "so many" people "jumping at the chance" to hold the driver responsible at all. I put forward the suggestion that they might have been speeding as I didn't know that they weren't. It was not nice to read stuff like the kid killed himself and may not have been much of a decent son and that kind of awful vitriol, so I simply suggested another angle to ensure all bases were covered before throwing out recriminations.

Now that I know he was drunk and stumbled in front of the car, I just think: the poor, poor driver. And the poor lad (which he was - don't see the need for quote-marks) who got drunk like so many others do (have my doubts those who claim here they drink in moderation, and always have done, are telling the truth - you can say any auld shyte about yourself to be self righteous) and made a stupid mistake that cost him his life.
I don't think people are saying he wasn't responsible, but seeing as he's dead and not coming back, are recriminations appropriate? Some of us just don't see the point in being clinical - instead, we recognise that his mother has lost her 19-year-old boy, yeah, due to his error, but that doesn't mitigate in any way her grief and loss.

sophieblake · 16-01-2012 01:05PM

Victor wrote: »

I'm sorry to hear this.

I'm sure you didn't meaning anything by the word, but I suspect that while the people will have their own notes as to what they want to say, that there is no 'script' as such.

Of course I didn't mean script. I meant it in the context of the words that form part of the ad.
As a person whose sister died in an accident I find some of the posts particularly cold and heartless. accidents are just that, nothing that anyone intended to happen. Yes very often someone was not as careful as they should be but are we not all at some time heedless.

I am particularly upset about cuddlesworth's insensitivity ( I can't think of a word stronger than this) to say such a thing as maybe if he got dunk and died he was not much of a son. This did upset me. Hope all his/her children are as perfect as he/she expects others to be

That Chap I was so fond of...

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