Re: Cyclist killers in local paper.

I submit that on or about Sat, 30 Jul 2005 12:59:31 +0100, the person
known to the court as "Robert" <robert@xxxxxxxx> made a statement
(<eMadnSb7INq193bfRVnyjg@xxxxxxxxx> in Your Honour's bundle) to the
following effect:

>Thank you. I do wish people would stop trying to change the language.

Nobody is trying to change the language, but the word "accident" is
emotive, implying that an event could not be foreseen or prevented
(and yes, the formal definition does allow for a foreseeable but
undesired event, but we're talking here about what is understood by
the man on the Clapham omnibus, as it were).

Most fatal road traffic casualties are the result of negligence and it
is now common practice to use terms like "incident", "collision" and
"casualty" (e.g. the road traffic casualty stats have been renamed
Road Casualties Great Britain). This is slightly more acceptable to
victims and families.

In the specific case cited, though, the drivers drove without regard
to life. The standard of driving fell so far below normal and
acceptable standards as to stretch the definition of the word
"accident" well beyond breaking point, in my view. They had gone
beyond simple negligence and into recklessness.

Reckless conduct is an extreme departure form ordinary care; careless
to the point of being heedless of consequences. If a shotgun had been
involved instead of a car, the charge would almost certainly have been
manslaughter. Actually I think the charge should have been
manslaughter anyway, as in "The unlawful killing of a human being
without malice or premeditation, either express or implied".

The worse of the two was disqualified, uninsured, racing on a public
road at double the limit, and failed to stop after killing someone.
Accident, you think? Honestly?


Guy
--
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

"To every complex problem there is a solution which is
simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Cyclist killers in local paper.
    ... I do wish people would stop trying to change the language. ... she was saying it wasn't an accident when clearly it was. ... > Most fatal road traffic casualties are the result of negligence and it ... > manslaughter anyway, as in "The unlawful killing of a human being ...
    (uk.rec.cycling)
  • Re: KILL A PEDESTRIAN WITH YOUR CAR IN NYC: GET A TICKET
    ... at all since this particular language change occurred so why do you ... If the term "accident" prejudices people to ... accident when that collision was clearly a non-criminal occurrence. ...
    (rec.bicycles.misc)
  • Re: economizing with functions that do the same thing
    ... I expect an apology from you once you have confirmed my innocence -- ... I now accept that it was nothing more than an accident. ... language. ... Back to the C programming language. ...
    (comp.lang.c)
  • Re: Female Language
    ... their language would put an old time sailor to shame. ... ranting for near an hour about a minor accident where she was at fault. ... Nothing about the female anatomy would prevent them from saying ... Hmmm...sounds like you have a lot of first hand experience with whores. ...
    (rec.autos.driving)
  • Re: Cyclist killers in local paper.
    ... I do wish people would stop trying to change the language. ... Thus all cycling accidents could be forseen and prevented by simply not cycling. ... country is quite capable of understanding that an accident does not imply any ... Please, Guy, learn the difference between culpability and intent and stop ...
    (uk.rec.cycling)