'Van driver fined €500 for running over and killing nun'

whiskeyman · 10-03-2015 02:56PM #1

http://m.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/van-driver-fined-500-for-running-over-and-killing-nun-70-31054656.html

When I saw the headline, I couldn't believe it... but reading the facts, I feel for the poor driver here.
The nun walked out on the road, with no green pedestrian light.
The driver wasn't going above the limit.
Perhaps he could have reacted quicker, but the nun didn't seem right at all.
No doubt he has suffered huge emotional turmoil after this.

As expected, it's a pretty poorly written and bad headline by the indo...

Mint Aero · 10-03-2015 03:00PM

Looks like a nice guy, very sad for him as he has to live with that.

Tokyo · 10-03-2015 03:01PM

If anything, the driver shouldn't have been fined €500. Poor man was obeying every rule of the road, and the nun walked straight out in front of him in complete disregard to pedestrian lights and traffic.

I'm not sure how looking at the green light in the moments before the accident was deemed to be a "failure of observation". NOT looking at the light to check if he had right of way would be a failure of observation, surely?

Lollipops23 · 10-03-2015 03:02PM

I feel bad for the guy; obviously it's not nice that someone died, but shouldn't there be a case for reckless walking? Perhaps she wasn't in her right mind, but plenty of pedestrians saunter out in front of traffic without a care in the world.

Tearin It Up · 10-03-2015 03:03PM

If someone steps out onto the road without a care in the world, how is it always the drivers fault?

You need eight eyes while driving, two on the front, two on the back, two on either side of your head and its still not enough.

Tefral · 10-03-2015 03:03PM

So because he didn't see her he gets fined €500. Can someone explain this to me? How has this been his fault? The judge mentioned disqualification even (Even if he didn't disqualify him, it was still on the cards)

jimgoose · 10-03-2015 03:04PM

Unfortunately this kind of thing happens now and then and it's no-one's fault, just a horrible stupid accident. Be careful out there, kids.

O.A.P · 10-03-2015 03:04PM

That man has done nothing wrong and this will take him along time to get over if ever,
What has been achieved by giving him a 500 fine on top ?

bb1234567 · 10-03-2015 03:06PM

If I was yer man who killed the nun I would sue the independent for that headline, makes him sound like a criminal who got away with murder.

freelancerTax · 10-03-2015 03:07PM

jimgoose wrote: »

Unfortunately this kind of thing happens now and then and it's no-one's fault, just a horrible stupid accident. Be careful out there, kids.

er.... from reading it, its completely the nuns fault

Akrasia · 10-03-2015 03:08PM

It's a stupid decision. If it was the drivers fault, a 500 euro fine would be an insult, if it wasn't the drivers fault, then the fine and judgement against him is an injustice.

How do these judges get to the position they are in when they seem to lack any judgement skills

jimgoose · 10-03-2015 03:10PM

freelancerTax wrote: »

er.... from reading it, its completely the nuns fault

"...Sheehy was looking at the green light in the moments before the accident and had made a “failure of observation” to see Sr Power..."

Not completely. Pedestrians do stupid things. Elderly nuns do even stupider things. As I said, it was a horrible accident, and she's dead.

Ave Sodalis · 10-03-2015 03:14PM

Akrasia wrote: »

How do these judges get to the position they are in when they seem to lack any judgement skills

In fairness, it's Martin Nolan. He's made plenty of questionable decisions.

10-03-2015 03:18PM

Jesus that's awful

The poor fella. Bad enough that he has to live with seeing the image of knocking someone down who completely ignored the red light, but he's at a financial loss on top of it?

That's bloody sickening.

Skerries · 10-03-2015 03:19PM

He probably thought she was a zebra crossing

Tokyo · 10-03-2015 03:21PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Jesus that's awful

The poor fella. Bad enough that he has to live with seeing the image of knocking someone down who completely ignored the red light, but he's at a financial loss on top of it?

That's bloody sickening.

Indeed. It's not so much the money that bothers me (I'm sure the man doesn't care right now whether it's €5 or €5000), but rather it's the idea it's going to put in his head for the rest of his life - always dwelling on the fact that 'well if they fined me then maybe there was something I could have done to prevent it'. Not right to do that to a person in circumstances like that IMO.

Gongoozler · 10-03-2015 03:22PM

mike_ie wrote: »

If anything, the driver shouldn't have been fined €500. Poor man was obeying every rule of the road, and the nun walked straight out in front of him in complete disregard to pedestrian lights and traffic.

I'm not sure how looking at the green light in the moments before the accident was deemed to be a "failure of observation". NOT looking at the light to check if he had right of way would be a failure of observation, surely?

The failure of observation is not seeing her walking out in front of the traffic.

As a road user you have responsibility to be watchful for those things.

Tokyo · 10-03-2015 03:25PM

Gongoozler wrote: »

The failure of observation is not seeing her walking out in front of the traffic.

As a road user you have responsibility to be watchful for those things.

Officer: What colour was the light when you approached it?
Driver: I have no idea, I was looking at the road....
Officer: So you weren't paying attention to the relevant traffic signals then?!

Officer: What colour was the light when you approached it?
Driver: It was green - I distinctly remember looking up at it as I approached it.
Officer: So you weren't paying attention to the road in front of you then?!

It's seemingly all too easy to point the finger at the driver of the van, because he was the one with the vehicle. But the failure of observation here was the nun's - failure to observe the red pedestrian light, failure to observe the big van coming towards her, failure to observe what every other witness observed before the incident - that she was about to get killed if she didn't take care.

Drivers have a responsibility to be watchful for potential hazards. But so do pedestrians.

Ghekko · 10-03-2015 03:27PM

Nuns must think they are invincible. I witnessed one driving through a red light almost knocking down a school child. I stood screaming at her while she gave out to the child!! She claimed her light was green. It most definitely was not. After effing her out of it she left, the poor child was left looking green after it.

10-03-2015 03:27PM

Gongoozler wrote: »

The failure of observation is not seeing her walking out in front of the traffic.

As a road user you have responsibility to be watchful for those things.

The woman was a road user too and failed to take proper precautions, she failed to obey the rules of the road which resulted directly in her death.

arayess · 10-03-2015 03:28PM

i can't believe he is only 43.
looks loads older.

tayto lover · 10-03-2015 03:30PM

The article does not mention the age of the deceased nun.
I wonder was her age the cause of her walking out in front of the van?
She might have been elderly and not tuned in.

jimgoose · 10-03-2015 03:31PM

tayto lover wrote: »

The article does not mention the age of the deceased nun.
I wonder was her age the cause of her walking out in front of the van?
She might have been elderly and not tuned in.

It says she was 70, not that old.

Viper_JB · 10-03-2015 03:34PM

arayess wrote: »

i can't believe he is only 43.
looks loads older.

I'd imagine an incident like this would take a few years from you...

Tearin It Up · 10-03-2015 03:34PM

There should be jaywalking fines in this country.

There's fines for drivers and cyclists, why not pedestrians?

Gongoozler · 10-03-2015 03:35PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

The woman was a road user too and failed to take proper precautions, she failed to obey the rules of the road which resulted directly in her death.

And I'm sure everyone knows that it was her fault. No body is disputing that. my point was that road users have a responsibility to watch out for things like this. I agree they shouldn't have to but thing is they do.

One thing I hate about cycling through the city is having to watch for people walking out onto the road, but I have to.

ScumLord · 10-03-2015 03:37PM

That article is quite the roller coaster. Headline makes out that someone got away with a €500 fine for murdering someone. Then we find out it was an accident that was mostly the nuns fault and now we can rage about the driver being convicted over someone else mistake.

Mint Sauce · 10-03-2015 03:40PM

Unfortunately, the moment she stepped out, she had the right of way. I wonder was it his admission of guilt, or the above that drew the conclusion of 'failure of observation'.

Either way its a horrihle thing to live with.

10-03-2015 03:45PM

Gongoozler wrote: »

And I'm sure everyone knows that it was her fault. No body is disputing that. my point was that road users have a responsibility to watch out for things like this. I agree they shouldn't have to but thing is they do.

One thing I hate about cycling through the city is having to watch for people walking out onto the road, but I have to.

If everybody knows that it's her fault then the driver should not have been fined.

I agree that we need to take responsibility to observe the road we are using, of course we do - it goes without saying but it's absolutely impossible to see every single thing at all times and as such everyone needs to take responsibility for their own actions so when someone else's recklessness causes an accident like this, the other party should not be blamed.

10-03-2015 03:46PM

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Unfortunately, the moment she stepped out, she had the right of way.

I rarely ask anyone to back up their statements, but can you point me to legislation which makes this so?

biko · 10-03-2015 03:49PM

Trust the Indo to sensationalise the whole tragic accident. Blackards.

'Van driver fined €500 for running over and killing nun'

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