Trinity

iTrader: (28)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-29444823

We've all driven a little fast, we've all had a little race here or there, but when someone takes it too far, this is what happens.

Thoughts to their friends and families, a sad day

neil-h

I'm sorry but that's just a glowing example of prats being prats.

There's a sizeable difference between a bit of a play on a country road and 'racing' in a 30mph zone in a built up area.

Trinity

iTrader: (28)

Yes of course there is, I agree, and we are all aware the media will of course turn it in to a 'street racing blah blah' especially the hideous BBC, but at the end of the day, three people lost their lives, be it if they where prats or not.

If you choose to do silly things and kill yourself, personally I think that is fine, but its when someone else , an innocent party loses theirs because of your actions. He should of got more than what he did in the slammer.

JDM_Stig

iTrader: (3)

he should have got longer because a car he wasnt in control of had a accident ?
I understand he shouldnt have been racing but on both occasions he didnt actually hit anyone,
quote from the Judge,
"The judge said Parker's driving was not the sole cause of the fatal accident, but a "substantial part".

He said that although Miss Learoyd's Fiat had faults, these would not have been a problem if she had not been travelling so fast."

How was that Parkers fault ? He egged her on, we all get that at the lights, just look at the recent posts on here to see it is always happening,
But we CHOSE not too, if I was to race it would be my fault for choosing to do so, not someone elses for revving their engine at the lights.

Trinity

iTrader: (28)

Thats a really good point, agreed, I missed that completely. So was his sentence potentially too harsh, because they needed someone to punish to 'keep the peace' because the actual person who killed the innocents, died herself, and she was the one who had the choice?

Blue by You

iTrader: (23)

This fella Jak is in the wrong, as would anyone be for this kind of driving, myself included.
However I don't see why he has been held to account for the actions of someone else, i.e. the unfortunate people who have been involved in accidents as a result of their decision to 'race' him. Surely the drivers who actually caused the deaths are the ones who should be held to account.
If he had told these race opponents to stick their heads in a gas oven and they had died as a result, would he still be sent to jail?

jameswrx

iTrader: (4)

Sounds like they've made an example of him. Not condoning his behaviour in any way, but the sentence seems quite strong when you consider he overtook a girl who then chose to race him and she lost control and hit the lady, killing the girl, her passenger and the innocent lady. Surely that's strong considering the girl caused the collision by racing and losing control.

And again, this..

Again, the other party caused the accident.

I know it can be argued he was a contributing factor, but it wasn't actually him that directly killed the innocent lady, or struck a pedestrian. What he's done is overtaken a car in a 30mph zone and driven at 70mph. If he'd been caught by the police he'd have been given a ban and fine, like hundreds of other ***** that do this sort of thing, but that's what he has done. Isn't it the choice of the other drivers to actually race him? If nobody had raced him, the three girls would still be alive and the pedestrian wouldn't have been struck.

He's running around dangerous driving, effectively threatening people with a lethal weapon.

We're all driving around in these potentially lethal weapons. I sort of liken it to us all carrying guns, walking around carefully (equivalent to driving carefully in a 30mph zone for this example) on our way to the safe shooting area (open roads where we can open up our cars safely) Difference is this chap is running around with his gun while we're all walking carefully with our guns. We all stand back, and hope he manages to run where he's going without tripping up or bumping into someone. Then someone else sees him and thinks, I'm gonna run after him, we'll get to the shooting area quicker. She then trips over and shoots herself and two other people.

It sounds like a good thing he's off the roads, but does rather seem a big "watch out" from the justice system.

Trinity

iTrader: (28)

Definitely, I think the poor woman they hit is the complete innocent party, Ms Peachy, got to sixty years of age and then killed by some muppets 'playing'

.. and maybe the passenger of the girls car - we don't know if she was comfortable in what her driver was doing etc..

But, if this dude had not acted in the way he had, none of this would of happened.

Tough call?

thenewgalaxy

Crass behaviour and hugely irresponsible actions by the drivers of the cars trying to "race". And there is also the issue that one of the cars that crashed had a number of faults.

The tragedy is the loss of the passenger and the driver of the other car who were not in control of the situation.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

I find myself agreeing with the sentiments above, as in he is not responsible for the actions of others, no one forced them to become involved in a "Race" if they had not followed his actions then there would have been no "Race" just a speeding motorist.

I think he needs to get himself a decent lawyer and appeal.

53

iTrader: (41)

I thought death by dangerous was maximum 5 years ?

neil-h

Does anyone else find this statement a bit odd?

'He said that although Miss Learoyd's Fiat had faults, these would not have been a problem if she had not been travelling so fast'.

Bearing in mind at the time of the crash she was travelling around 70mph, a speed which can be legally achieved on motorways/dual carriage ways.

As for all the talk about responsibility, i have the feeling there's a significant chunk of information missing that would explain what actually happened because I don't see how you can overtake a car (doing 30mph) at 70+mph and goad it into a race.

Lunchmoney

14 years http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/s...erous_driving/
Plus 3 counts.....

gazney101

iTrader: (5)

I know jak quite well and rebecca was my girlfriends cousin, i believe if rebecca was still here it would be her going to jail and a much lesser sentence for jak.

Very sad for all the families

Reef

iTrader: (2)

My thoughts are with the families at this difficult time.

There's some good points raised above though.

A few years ago I was traveling along an A road I know well, overtaking cars when it was safe. I came up behind a Range Rover which then decided to boot it and started overtaking. I backed off but kept up with him and I wasn't racing him but just following him. At the junction at the end of the road he didn't stop and ran into the car infront of him. luckily no one was hurt.
This is worrying as it looks like I could have been prosecuted even though i wasn't racing, or even speeding.....

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Live by the sword, you die by the sword.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Problem is in this case that they've taken people who weren't living by the sword with them!

wrxyz

iTrader: (2)

Aye,

RS_Matt

James May was jailed for five years and three months.

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.u...girl-1-6841895

Fonzey

iTrader: (5)

An Ex-Colleague of mine (STI owner, as it were) was overtaken by somebody trying to encourage him to race. The overtaker then went head on into an off-duty copper and was killed (copper was injured, overtaker was killed).

My Ex-Colleague did very well to dodge any kind of manslaughter/death by dangerous driving charges - as he was in a WR Impreza with Gold Wheels. He was not racing, and anybody that knew him would know he wouldn't have been... just victim of the usual "I'm gonna beat this Scooby" crowd.

It can easily go both ways, but 70 in a 30? Pfff - throw the book.

RS_Matt

Another lad, from Havercroft I believe, has just hit a man at circa 80mph in a 30 and pinned him into a tree.

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.u...-pub-1-6868589

TBH there are lots of people dying in the Havercroft area in car related accidents.

Carnut

Obviously there is sometimes more to these cases than meet the eye but I struggle to find consistency.

I was watching a old episode of police interceptors the other night where they were pursuing some **** for about 20mins or more at high speed through heavy motorway traffic and villages and I am sure that the 70mph this guy was doing falls into insignificance compared to this guy. It eventually ended with him hitting a broken down car on the hard shoulder with some force, the police were then able to arrest him but when it got to the end of the programme where they tell you who got what he lost his licence (that doesn't really matter anyway when you steal cars) and a £300 fine that me and you will probably be paying for him anyway.

There are tv series on a daily basis with examples of this where after a long high speed chase that involves helicopters and about 5 or more police cars then ending in a crash they get of next to scot free.

hodgy0_2

Pond life - society is best rid

Double tap to the head IMO

LUCKO

iTrader: (3)

this guy has been rimmed totally and deserves a punishment for his actions but its his own fault for admitting the charges imho

how can they prove he caused the incidents had he gone not guilty as the third parties chose to press the accelerator and race him

5 or 6 years yes (same as Lee Hughes footballer received accident with fatality) but 10+ years for this kid come on

Berks-Jack

iTrader: (10)

That article must have left a few salient points out as the punishment seems to far outweigh the crime, especially considering how lenient judges normally are.

LuckyWelshchap

This seems to be quite bizarre imo.

******** overtakes dangerously/breaks speed limit etc. etc.
Plank takes said ******** on, isn't as good (bad) a driver, has car that isn't capable of enabling her to take ******** on and consequently kills herself and others.

SHE decided to make a race of it.
SHE fcuked up.
And as a result SHE was DIRECTLY responsible for the deaths of 3 people.

******** was indirectly responsible for this absolute tragedy, yet he gets 12 years.

I pray that the next Grade 1 plank in his stupid little Fiesta ST that I have to put in his place doesn't wrap himself around a lampost trying to keep up.

All that said, some young people have not lived to fulfill their potential and others have had their lives blighted and their time on Earth wasted/destroyed, certainly not fulfilled.

If only eh?

Blue by You

iTrader: (23)

Why would you feel the need? Are you unable to remain aloof and detached from the 'lower' classes' from within your vantage point of motoring superiority?

LuckyWelshchap

It's not about who has the 'best car' or who is 'the best driver'.
I'm probably in a minority but to my mind any idiot who cuts people up, breaks red lights, hedge-hops and all that type of thing needs to be reminded that they don't have a 'better car' or that they are not a 'better driver', to bring it home to them about how fragile we are and that perhaps one day they'll overdo it.

Hopefully it stops them frightening less experienced or able drivers and causing accidents. How often does the innocent party come off worst?

I'll be brutally honest.
We have a light-controlled junction not far from us, main road is straight and partly dual. Cars are always crashing through, well after amber. Most of them couldn't stop because they deliberately accelerate to the lights.
A few have found me at the head of traffic, red & amber and the foot's down, green and it's take-off time. The look on their faces when they realise they could have been T-boned says it all.

I like to think that the next time they approach lights they'll remember 'the mad bstad in the Subaru' and think twice.

Blue by You

iTrader: (23)

I think missed a word out.

Trinity

iTrader: (28)

Did you mean I think 'YOU' missed a word out? lol


No need to start a scrap on this one boys, people died, whoever was to blame, it happened and there are people that got left behind who will live with it forever.