Old school friend of mine goes to prison for death by dangerous driving

[rickchild]

I've always wondered who has right of way though, someone overtaking or someone pulling onto the major road, does it switch depending on how far through the manouevre the cars are?

Always wondered on this one myself, not in relation to the thread as we don't know how all the cars were, but say I am already overtaking and somone pulls onto the other side of the road to head towards me who has right of way?

The other car as I am driving on the wrong side of the road, or myself as I am on the main carriageway which he is pulling into from a side road, and he should be checking all clear both ways before pulling out?

 

[Vibez]

You would have right of way. The person in the side road should wait until you have passed before pulling out if you have already committed yourself.

Think of it like this, something every driver experiences everyday.

If there's a car parked on the other side of the road and you see an oncoming vehicle but you will reach the car on his side first, you carry on as it is your right of way and the other driver should slow and wait to pull out. However if there's a car parked on the other side of the road and you see an oncoming vehicle which has reached the car before you and has pulled out and committed himself to the manouveur then it is his right of way to be on the wrong side of the road and you should slow and allow him to pass the car on his side and wait for him to pull back in.

 

[Durzel]

Is there anywhere that says the cars he overtook were doing 60?

They could have been doing 50.

And IMO its much safer to get as past and back into the right lane as quick as possible, Passing someone and sticking to the speed limit is over exposing your self in the wrong lane for too long

What difference does it make if he was going over 60 or under it? He was (according to this latest information) overtaking dangerously and went into the back of someone who was - one presumes - actually following the Highway Code.

The guy shouldn't have overtaken in the first place, clearly he was too impatient and someone else paid the ultimate price.

If the facts of the case are as they are being presented here then he definitely deserves a prison sentence, which he's got.

Sorry if this sounds like trolling - but the bizarre empathy that people seem to have with drivers who take other peoples lives into their own hands is unsettling. If you do things like thsi guy did on the road then you are gambling with other peoples lives - it's as simple as that. It doesn't matter how modern or well-equipped your car is, you have to allow for the lowest common denominator of driving and car technology.

 

[mark66]

Is there anywhere that says the cars he overtook were doing 60?

They could have been doing 50...

Yep, taken from the 2nd new paper article that I quoted earlier:

...the defendant decided to overtake before the junction. There was a motorbike and two cars travelling at 60mph but this man, who knew the junction was dangerous, decided to overtake anyway. Unfortunately Philip Daniels was waiting at the junction to turn right and as he did so the defendant was overtaking and straddling the middle of the road. There was an almighty crash.

 

[mark66]

Sorry if this sounds like trolling - but the bizarre empathy that people seem to have with drivers who take other peoples lives into their own hands is unsettling. If you do things like thsi guy did on the road then you are gambling with other peoples lives - it's as simple as that. It doesn't matter how modern or well-equipped your car is, you have to allow for the lowest common denominator of driving and car technology.

I completely agree. There was a thread on here a couple of years ago, about 3 Policeman who had been killed on duty when a drunk driver ploughed into their stationary car at well over 100mph. The guy got 7 years in prison, which means he would have probable served, what 4 or 5, anyway without wanting to name people, I was amazed how many people thought this was too harsh a sentence and that people were just being 'emotional'!

 

[Conanius]

edited.
overtaking is by definition a risky manoevure, and having more power doesn't mean squat if the peanut inside your skull has told you to attempt it at a bad place/time on the road.

quite, im assuming it was done on a clear, open road.

I overtook probably 3-4 cars at a time when I took out the VX220 Turbo on one stretch of road. Safest overtaking ive ever done.

 

[Sagalout]

Always wondered on this one myself, not in relation to the thread as we don't know how all the cars were, but say I am already overtaking and somone pulls onto the other side of the road to head towards me who has right of way?

The other car as I am driving on the wrong side of the road, or myself as I am on the main carriageway which he is pulling into from a side road, and he should be checking all clear both ways before pulling out?

Theres nothing to wonder. You MUST not overtake near a junction. Simple as that. There should be no right of way issue because you shouldnt be there.

 

[Ex-RoNiN]

I completely agree. There was a thread on here a couple of years ago, about 3 Policeman who had been killed on duty when a drunk driver ploughed into their stationary car at well over 100mph. The guy got 7 years in prison, which means he would have probable served, what 4 or 5, anyway without wanting to name people, I was amazed how many people thought this was too harsh a sentence and that people were just being 'emotional'!

Theres a case on BBC just now about how a drunk lorry driver killed a family of 4 who were on the hard shoulder with a blown tyre, by smashing into their car and the family, trapped in the car, burned to death. Yet he only got 6 years. 6 years for wiping out a family because he can't stomach an argument with the missus and has to booze himself up.

 

[Dolph]

edited.
overtaking is by definition a risky manoevure, and having more power doesn't mean squat if the peanut inside your skull has told you to attempt it at a bad place/time on the road.

I would also argue that overtaking 3 cars doing only 10mph over the speed limit is really rather dangerous if they were all in a group. Way, way too much time on the wrong side of the road. Single carriageway overtakes are something where the slower you perform the manouver, the more risk you frequently add.

 

[Tommy B]

Obviously I wasn't there, but I doesn't seem fair to label him a lunatic.

Although without seeing the stretch of road in question it'd be difficult to pass judgement, but I don't think it's that bigger deal if you go above 60mph to overtake a few cars in a NSL road. Providing, of course, they weren't already doing 60mph. I could understand had they been doing 40mph or 50mph.

 

[The_Dark_Side]

I would also argue that overtaking 3 cars doing only 10mph over the speed limit is really rather dangerous if they were all in a group. Way, way too much time on the wrong side of the road. Single carriageway overtakes are something where the slower you perform the manouver, the more risk you frequently add.

all true, but the biggest factor of them all when it comes to overtaking is the decision the driver makes as whether to do it or not. how quickly you perform the manoevure or not is irrelevant if you've made the wrong decision in the first place which the driver in the OP clearly did.

 

[Jonny ///M]

After reading some of the latter posts i understand the 'accident' a bit better. That move was just damn stupid,i dont like the fact hes in prison and he didnt mean to kill but he has to pay for the act of stupidity that ended with an innocent party losing his life.

From what i understand the dead guy was in the left lane,stopped and waiting to turn right. The accused overtook a car and two bikes that were approaching the junction? and by the time he had overtaken them the dead guy had already moved to the other side of the road(after checking his mirrors and seeing nobody).

Somebody has to pay the price or else there would be outrage that he got off with it as there usually is.


(the bint that indicated right and then turned left is just as bad imo,thank god i wasnt in a hurry and sped past on her left)

 

[The_Dark_Side]

i dont like the fact hes in prison

so in your opinion his punishment should've been...???

 

[Jonny ///M]

so in your opinion his punishment should've been...???

Well i dont wish anybody to be in prison but i also dont wish losing a dad,brother,husband or a son on anybody.

The guy made a mistakes and should pay. I think two years is actually a very good term for him.

 

[Dolph]

all true, but the biggest factor of them all when it comes to overtaking is the decision the driver makes as whether to do it or not. how quickly you perform the manoevure or not is irrelevant if you've made the wrong decision in the first place which the driver in the OP clearly did.

Totally agree.

 

[The_Dark_Side]

Well i dont wish anybody to be in prison but i also dont wish losing a dad,brother,husband or a son on anybody.

The guy made a mistakes and should pay. I think two years is actually a very good term for him.

the problem is people forget how dangerous a car is in the wrong hands.
we're numb to that fact as, after all, there are around 24 million of the things on our roads and most of us can drive so we remove the risk from driving in our minds.
why people in here are obsessing about how many cars he overtook or at what speed is quite frankly beyond me.the accident happened because he was overtaking in the middle of the road when he collided with another car. period.if he'd only passed one car and he was nicely under the speed limit the accident would still have happened and he'd almost certainly have been jailed for it.
the guy thought what he was about to attempt was perfectly safe...he was wrong, and it's for this reason he's been charged and found guilty.

 

[Jonny ///M]

the problem is people forget how dangerous a car is in the wrong hands.
we're numb to that fact as, after all, there are around 24 million of the things on our roads and most of us can drive so we remove the risk from driving in our minds.
why people in here are obsessing about how many cars he overtook or at what speed is quite frankly beyond me.the accident happened because he was overtaking in the middle of the road when he collided with another car. period.if he'd only passed one car and he was nicely under the speed limit the accident would still have happened and he'd almost certainly have been jailed for it.
the guy thought what he was about to attempt was perfectly safe...he was wrong, and it's for this reason he's been charged and found guilty.

My dads forever telling me how to drive and im not even driving yet. Most of the accidents that i've saw happen or nearly happen wouldnt have happened if both drivers had anticipated what was gonna happen.

If im flying down a road on my bike i anticipate somebody pulling out from a driveway,i dont take indications at roundabouts as where they are actually going and i dont overtake cars when theres a junction.

If he didnt know the road then fair enough but junctions are usually signposted......even if it wasnt then if he couldnt see the junction then he couldnt see where he was gonna be during his overtake so it wasnt save.

 

[The_Dark_Side]

My dads forever telling me how to drive and im not even driving yet. Most of the accidents that i've saw happen or nearly happen wouldnt have happened if both drivers had anticipated what was gonna happen.

treat every other road user as a stupid unpredictable idiot and you'll do well.

 

[rickchild]

Theres nothing to wonder. You MUST not overtake near a junction. Simple as that. There should be no right of way issue because you shouldnt be there.

Don't worry I don't do it, as I was never sure if it was legit and it's obviously risky, it was just theoretical as I have seen people in that situation.

And here is someone who got full marks on the theory test!