Crossfire in the Crosswalks
There’s been a lot of news about conservative commentator (e.g., Crossfire) Robert D. Novak’s recent (non-fatal) striking of a pedestrian in Washington, D.C. There’s a lot to mull over there: The victim, for example, was 86, and it’s older people who disproportionately get struck on foot in traffic. The driver is himself 77, and older drivers (drivers over 65 will number 40 million by 2020) are right up there with teens for risk factors on the road (for different reasons).
The fact that Novak claimed not to have known he struck the man would imply he was either distracted by a cell-phone conversation, or perhaps lacks the sufficient situational awareness to even be on the roads.
In either case, Novak walked away with a $50 fine — and it’s unclear if this would have been any different had the man been killed (it often doesn’t matter under “accidental” deaths — some mystery writer once used this in a book as the perfect way to murder someone). One thing that stands out is a story from last year about D.C. Councilwoman Mary Cheh’s attempts, in the wake of a rash of pedestrian fatalities, to raise the penalty for striking a pedestrian to $500 (not that this would have much difference for Novak). Ironically, this was just touched upon again last week, with a plan as well to raise the number of points added to one’s driving record (and please do note the earlier “traffic school” entry).
![[del.icio.us]](http://www.howwedrive.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://www.howwedrive.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://www.howwedrive.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[Google]](http://www.howwedrive.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/google.png)
![[MySpace]](http://www.howwedrive.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/myspace.png)
![[Slashdot]](http://www.howwedrive.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/slashdot.png)
![[StumbleUpon]](http://www.howwedrive.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/stumbleupon.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://www.howwedrive.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 4:20 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
| 
July 24th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Mandatory retesting for all drivers every 5 years, commercial drivers every 2 years (to include anyone driving a business vehicle). To include theory classes and practical assessment.
And if I was a benevolent dictator:
For a fee ($2000) you may place a concrete trash can anywhere on the roadway for a month, subject to limitations on blocking the entire road. For the first 2 weeks it must be covered by reflective material, after that anything goes. That should get them off their phones.
July 29th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Now we find out that Novak shouldn’t have been driving since he had a brain tumor. According to an AP article:
Dr. Lynne Taylor, a neuro-oncologist at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, said residents at the hospital are taught to check for brain tumors in patients who report having a recent car accident in which they didn’t realize they struck something.
“People get spatial and visual neglect of a certain part of their bodies and they don’t realize they’ve done what they’ve done,” said Taylor, a fellow with the American Academy of Neurology.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-novak-brain-tumor,0,7911999.story