Dumbass driver blocks ambulance, patient dies

[Haruko]

You know, just yesterday I read the story reposted in the Hall of Shame about a couple of sociopaths who baked a kitten in the oven. Well, here is another sociopath for you (a picture of her with a big grin on her face included on the BBC page):

A judge told a driver she displayed "moronic stupidity" by deliberately and repeatedly blocking an ambulance which was carrying a dying patient.

Annika Avery, 20, of Leicester, was given a five-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. She had already admitted dangerous driving.

The court was told that Avery overtook the ambulance at speed and slowed down, causing the vehicle to brake suddenly.

She did this even though the siren was on, Leicester Crown Court heard.

Avery, of Tatlow Road, Glenfield, was said to be under stress at the time of the incident in July 2008, although no other reason was given for her behaviour.

Obscene gestures

In the back of the ambulance a paramedic was giving heart compressions to an elderly patient.

Such was the force of the braking that the paramedic was flung the length of the vehicle, the court heard.

The driver of the ambulance said at one stage Avery pulled alongside him and she was travelling at 60mph (96km/h) in a 40mph (64km/h) area.

The paramedic said he looked across and saw Avery and a male passenger laughing and making obscene gestures.

Judge Howard Morrison called Avery's driving "disgusting and dangerous".

The patient in the ambulance died and the judge said if Avery's driving had played any part in that death, she would have been facing a very different sentence.

He added that ambulance crews did a difficult job, telling Avery: "Your moronic and anti-social behaviour is exactly what they cannot tolerate."

Speaking after Friday's sentencing hearing, Nick Arnold from East Midlands Ambulance Service said: "We are deeply disturbed at the actions this woman took.

"She purposely obstructed our ambulance which was clearly dealing with an emergency.

"People who commit this type of crime must think of the consequences - one day because of the mindless actions of someone else they, or their loved one, might not get the urgent medical care they need."

I really don't know why BBC put apostrophes between the word stupid in the article's title.

Am I missing something here, or is it OK that I think this woman got off way too easy?

Avery and her passenger were laughing and making obscene gestures? Doesn't really sound like she was under stress. But you know who undoubtedly was? The now dead patient.

[Stark]

The story suggests that while she was a comlpete dumbass, there was no way to link her driving or interference to the death of the patient. It may have been determined the patient was doomed anyway and she was just a fucking cockface.

Ironically, simply never giving her a driver's licence again might have been a more appropriate punishment.

[Haruko]

The story suggests that while she was a comlpete dumbass, there was no way to link her driving or interference to the death of the patient. It may have been determined the patient was doomed anyway and she was just a fucking cockface.

Yeah, I read that, but I still felt she got off way too easy.

[Feil]

Why isn't this assault with a deadly weapon (a car most certainly is a deadly weapon)?

[Flash]

Why isn't this assault with a deadly weapon (a car most certainly is a deadly weapon)?

Presumably because they determined that her driving was not at fault for the patients death.

The patient in the ambulance died and the judge said if Avery's driving had played any part in that death, she would have been facing a very different sentence.

Disqualifying her from ever driving again is a good start, the problem is that I doubt that it will stop her. People who demonstrate this level of callous disregard for the safety of others aren't going to let a little thing like a lack of a licence stop them from driving.

[Stark]

If only the penalty for 'driving while disqualified' was significantly worse than the penalty for 'driving unlicenced'.

[Kanastrous]

Why isn't this assault with a deadly weapon (a car most certainly is a deadly weapon)?

Presumably because they determined that her driving was not at fault for the patients death.

Assault-with-a-deadly remains the same act whether anyone is killed (or even injured) or not.

Disqualifying her from ever driving again is a good start, the problem is that I doubt that it will stop her. People who demonstrate this level of callous disregard for the safety of others aren't going to let a little thing like a lack of a licence stop them from driving.

How about disqualified-from-driving, with the addendum that the first unlicensed-driving offense will be sentenced as 25-to-life?

[Feil]

Why isn't this assault with a deadly weapon (a car most certainly is a deadly weapon)?

Presumably because they determined that her driving was not at fault for the patients death.

Assault is the threat of harm, not the inflicting of it.

[Stark]

And if you can prove 'cutting of an ambulance' is a threat, rather than simple negligence or stupidity, then maybe you'd have a case. It's not like she was sideswiping the ambulance or pointing a gun at it.

People cut you off every day. Are they all assaulting you?

[White Haven]

The thing I question is why the sentence was suspended. The judge rips her apart verbally and then says, basically, 'But naah, we won't actually do anything to you.' As for whether the driver's actions caused the death of the patient, that's not at all relevant to their actions. Why is acting in a manner that delays a patient getting to a hospital any better just because they didn't kill the patient? They had no way of knowing whether or not they'd cause a patient harm. The intent is the same whether a patient dies of it or not.

[FSTargetDrone]

As an aside:

I really don't know why BBC put apostrophes between the word stupid in the article's

The reason is:

Quotations

There are many factors to be taken into consideration when making a quotation. Punctuation varies in this case between the US and Great Britain, and printers' conventions are different again.

In British English: Quotations are displayed with a single inverted comma: 'Thou, Nature, art my goddess; to thy law my services are bound'. Speech marks are double inverted commas, like this ".

In American English: Here, conventions dictates that both quotation and speech are displayed using double inverted commas. Increasingly, British printers choose to use the American convention in order to appear more global.

In General: One final point. To quote speech, do this: '"Your punctuation is atrocious," he said'.

[Haruko]

As an aside:

I really don't know why BBC put apostrophes between the word stupid in the article's title.

The reason is:

<snip explanation>

I should have done a better job at expressing my sarcasm.

[PeZook]

I also wonder why the sentence was suspended. The actual sentence I understand: in Poland, she could've gotten from 6 months to 8 years from art. 174 "Who causes a direct danger of catastrophe in land, air or sea traffic...", but why suspend it?

P.S.

I like how some people in such threads would like anything to be "assault with a deadly weapon" if they don't like the particular perp's behavior

[weemadando]

I see this kind of behaviour nearly every day. "Oh look everyone is pulling over - I'll take this opportunity to drive past them. Never mind the ambulance/fire engine that I've just cut off and am now blocking because I want to make a turn up here - I'm more important than whatever they could possibly be doing."

This kind of arrogant douche-o-pathery rates very near the top of my "things that make me the misanthrope that I am" list.

[Darth Wong]

I see this kind of behaviour nearly every day. "Oh look everyone is pulling over - I'll take this opportunity to drive past them. Never mind the ambulance/fire engine that I've just cut off and am now blocking because I want to make a turn up here - I'm more important than whatever they could possibly be doing."

This kind of arrogant douche-o-pathery rates very near the top of my "things that make me the misanthrope that I am" list.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: certain driving styles are red flags for a narcissistic personality. It's too bad the authorities seem to take little interest in going after such people except in extreme cases. You're far more likely to get pulled over for speeding alone at night on an empty road than you are for driving aggressively in heavy traffic.

[Starglider]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: certain driving styles are red flags for a narcissistic personality. It's too bad the authorities seem to take little interest in going after such people except in extreme cases. You're far more likely to get pulled over for speeding alone at night on an empty road than you are for driving aggressively in heavy traffic.

Unfortunately, from a policeman's point of view, the lone speeder will probably be far less hassle. Most of them will just pay up, while the narcissists will curse and fume and possibly cause trouble.

[Stark]

I see this kind of behaviour nearly every day. "Oh look everyone is pulling over - I'll take this opportunity to drive past them. Never mind the ambulance/fire engine that I've just cut off and am now blocking because I want to make a turn up here - I'm more important than whatever they could possibly be doing."

This kind of arrogant douche-o-pathery rates very near the top of my "things that make me the misanthrope that I am" list.

I saw it just the other day in the city; an ambulance was trying to burn through the maze of controlled, one-way streets in the CBD and everyone was moving out of the way... except some wanker in an H3 who was jockeying for position turning the corner. The ambulance had to drive around him in the mall walkspace (because everyone made space) because of some fat middle-aged cunt who wanted to shave 20s off his lunchtime commute.

Seriously, if ambos had time I'd support them ID'ing cars that do this shit and reporting them. Course, they got better things to do like 'save lives' and 'drive fast but safely in a massively unstable vehicle'.

[Haruko]

I see this kind of behaviour nearly every day. "Oh look everyone is pulling over - I'll take this opportunity to drive past them. Never mind the ambulance/fire engine that I've just cut off and am now blocking because I want to make a turn up here - I'm more important than whatever they could possibly be doing."

This kind of arrogant douche-o-pathery rates very near the top of my "things that make me the misanthrope that I am" list.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: certain driving styles are red flags for a narcissistic personality. It's too bad the authorities seem to take little interest in going after such people except in extreme cases. You're far more likely to get pulled over for speeding alone at night on an empty road than you are for driving aggressively in heavy traffic.

Heh; where I live, that is because they are too busy being the ones driving aggressively in heavy traffic. Perhaps half the time I see a cop, he is the one going 20 or so miles over the speed limit going from lane to lane to pass motorists. No sirens, of course; or, when they do, it is only to get a car or two out of the way before turning them back off. I would think perhaps they have an important destination, but the lack of sirens, the tailgating, and other signs make me suspect otherwise.

[Starglider]

Seriously, if ambos had time I'd support them ID'ing cars that do this shit and reporting them. Course, they got better things to do like 'save lives' and 'drive fast but safely in a massively unstable vehicle'.

Still too expensive to be worthwhile ATM, but I expect that eventually every public service vehicle will have fore+aft video cameras with a 24hour+ recording loop and wireless downloading. The per-vehicle cost is already under $1000, will be below $100 in another few years. It won't be worth the time to sift through on a regular basis, but it would be nice if after a shift where a particularly idiotic driver gave them hassle, fire or ambulance crew could spend 5 minutes looking up the relevant section of log and emailing it to the traffic police. Expect the usual round of 'oh noes privacy nanny state waah!' whining from the 'I have a right to be an asshole' crowd over that.

[Big Orange]

You know, just yesterday I read the story reposted in the Hall of Shame about a couple of sociopaths who baked a kitten in the oven. Well, here is another sociopath for you (a picture of her with a big grin on her face included on the BBC page):

The bitch seems to be a sociopath more along the lines of Homer J. Simpson, with her childishly asinine behaviour threatening (arguably ending) life and then grining about it afterwards in a brainless manner. Quasi-psychopathic fuckwits have an automatic tendency to project their asshollishness farther and wider from behind the wheel of the car, with very selfish and reckless driving, and randomly shouting expletives at pedestrians, so this should be taken more seriously.

[Kamakazie Sith]

When firearms are misused or used in a crime they become the property of the state and in nearly many cases destroyed, or in the case of some police departments they were refurbished for use as a department weapon. The same should be done with vehicles.

See how big her smile is when you take her drivers license away forever, along with her vehicle, and her freedom.

[aerius]

Unfortunately the most you can charge her with is reckless endangerment and reckless driving. And that's the problem, pretty much every crime you can commit in a motor vehicle short of running over a dozen kids at a bus stop is a misdemeanor, and even if it isn't you'll likely get out of jail in a year, if you even go to jail. If I wave a gun around and fire it into the air I'm going to the slammer for a hell of a long time, if I drive like a complete asshole and bump other cars & pedestrians around, I'm getting a fine and my license taken away for a month.

[Oskuro]

And here I was, under the impression that when an emergency vehicle has it's sirens going, you must move out of the way. Harsher penalties might help reinforce this notion, I'd say.

I saw something similar yesterday, when a police car, with sirens blaring, turned into a main street, and a couple pedestrieans who were at the time crossing the street just kept walking with the usual "I don't give a fuck about anything" face, instead of, you know, stopping for 10s to let the car go through.

[Losonti Tokash]

And here I was, under the impression that when an emergency vehicle has it's sirens going, you must move out of the way. Harsher penalties might help reinforce this notion, I'd say.

Up until this year in New Jersey, an ambulance's lights and sirens were more of a request for the right of way. Only recently have they actually gotten some weight behind them. Dunno how it is everywhere else, but since ambulances are primarily run by private companies and not the city/state/whatever it's not all that surprising.

[Darth Wong]

And here I was, under the impression that when an emergency vehicle has it's sirens going, you must move out of the way. Harsher penalties might help reinforce this notion, I'd say.

Up until this year in New Jersey, an ambulance's lights and sirens were more of a request for the right of way. Only recently have they actually gotten some weight behind them. Dunno how it is everywhere else, but since ambulances are primarily run by private companies and not the city/state/whatever it's not all that surprising.

Section 159 of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, as quoted from http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statut ... 0h08_e.htm

Fire department vehicles, etc., approaching

159. (1) The driver of a vehicle, upon the approach of a police department vehicle upon which a bell or siren is sounding or upon which a lamp is producing intermittent flashes of red light or red and blue light, or upon the approach of an ambulance, fire department vehicle or public utility emergency vehicle upon which a bell or siren is sounding or upon which a lamp is producing intermittent flashes of red light, shall immediately bring such vehicle to a standstill,

(a) as near as is practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway and parallel therewith and clear of any intersection; or

(b) when on a roadway having more than two lanes for traffic and designated for the use of one-way traffic, as near as is practicable to the nearest curb or edge of the roadway and parallel therewith and clear of any intersection. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 159 (1); 2007, c. 13, s. 19.

Following fire department vehicle

(2) No driver of a vehicle shall follow in any lane of a roadway at a distance of less than 150 metres a fire department vehicle responding to an alarm. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 159 (2).

I don't know about the laws in your particular region, but these are certainly legal rules where I live. When the ambulance is coming, you're supposed to stop and get out of the way.

Here's another interesting one from the same act:

Headway

Headway of motor vehicles, generally

158. (1) The driver of a motor vehicle or street car shall not follow another vehicle or street car more closely than is reasonable and prudent having due regard for the speed of the vehicle and the traffic on and the conditions of the highway. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 158 (1).

Headway for commercial motor vehicles

(2) The driver of a commercial motor vehicle when driving on a highway at a speed exceeding 60 kilometres per hour shall not follow within 60 metres of another motor vehicle, but this shall not be construed to prevent a commercial motor vehicle overtaking and passing another motor vehicle. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 158 (2).

Apparently, drivers of commercial vehicles such as transport trucks and buses must maintain a following distance of 60 metres (that's roughly two hundred feet, for you Yanks) if they're traveling at highway speeds. It seems to me that cops should be able to drive out on the highways around here and nail hundreds of truckers in any given afternoon, given the number of times I've seen those fuckers tailgating people. Obviously, it doesn't count when people zip in front of them because that's not their fault, but I've seen plenty of these guys come right up behind you, sometimes so close that all you can see behind you is truck grille. I actually think they get a kick out of scaring you.