In Memoriam Johnny Gaudreau & Matthew Gaudreau killed by drunk driver while cycling (MOD WARNING. No Flaming, Trolling, or Politics.)

[Empoleon8771]

Do you not see the inherent contradiction here in your first sentence?

It's putting the focus on the legal activity the two dead young men were engaged in and not the illegal, dangerous, and lethal activities of the driver. The goal should be to keep drivers from killing and injuring people.

And as someone who bikes frequently, TRUST ME no cyclists needs a lesson in how dangerous drivers are. But some of us choose to live our lives and do something we legally enjoy in as safe a manner as possible.

There's a difference between idealism and pragmatism. The idealism is that cycling on roads is completely legal and should be safe. The pragmatism is realizing that drivers in this country are aggressive assholes that give no regards for the safety of cyclists, pedestrians and even other drivers.

The Gaudreaus have absolutely no fault in this accident, the only thing "at fault" here is the asshole driver and the general messed up driver culture in this country. But you can pragmatically look at those and reasonably say "the lesson for cyclists is to bike as far away from cars as you can" while not blaming the Gaudreaus for the accident.

Most North American roads simply aren't designed for cyclists. I've never understood the laws forcing bikes onto busy roads and off the sidewalks. Most bikes are going at most half the speed limit of the road. Why are we forcing them into traffic, which is both a dangerous and hostile environment.

A very likely result of a collision between a vehicle and cyclist is death. What happens if a bicycle hits a pedestrian? Maybe a broken bone or two.

Absolutely 100% agree. I bike a ton and it's just mind numbing when people bitch at me for going on the sidewalk rather than staying on a busy road. I'm concerned with my safety, not your comfort.

 

[TheBeard]

Where do we have HIS lawyer chiming in? We do not have the entire picture--we do have the cops and DA building a slam dunk case. Before the statements given was his rights read to him. Did he suffer any injuries at the time of the accident that could have affected his mind--like a concussion? I was in an accident a few years ago and suffered a concussion that caused me some harm. Has the doctors released the drivers medical results.

So no we do not have all the information. We have only one side

Gonna be hard to get any info from the deceased I would think, but then again I'm not a mortician.

 

[tarheelhockey]

No, but by bringing up these things, you are implicitly assigning some blame to him.

No, you’re reading that into it. There's no implicit blame in saying “X is a dangerous place to be, I would avoid it because of incidents like this one”.

 

[PuckG]

Can't say I'm surprised. I was going 100 on the highway where the sign clearly says 100 is the maximum a driver can go on the highway.

I look behind me and the driver passes me; guess he didn't like that I was going 100.
As he passes me he gives me the middle finger.

Yep some drivers out there.

There’s absolute nut jobs out there. Now you put a little liquor in them…

I had a guy yelling turban comments/slurs and motioning at his head while passing me on the highway (he slowed down to make sure I acknowledged him) in a similar situation when I was going 10 OVER the 100 speed limit.

I don’t even wear a turban, I’m just brown…

 

[Fish on The Sand]

can you post the interview where the driving admits to all these details?

He admitted to it at the scene and it's in the criminal complaint.

Why are you looking to defend this guy?

Also, even if he was stone cold sober he was driving so egregiously recklessly that he's still a giant piece of shit.

 

[hockey diva]

Just a very sad day. The pain that the family is going through is unfathomable. Prayers for all involved.

 

[njdevils1982]

Where do we have HIS lawyer chiming in? We do not have the entire picture--we do have the cops and DA building a slam dunk case. Before the statements given was his rights read to him. Did he suffer any injuries at the time of the accident that could have affected his mind--like a concussion? I was in an accident a few years ago and suffered a concussion that caused me some harm. Has the doctors released the drivers medical results.

So no we do not have all the information. We have only one side

what?

try again

 

[Soundwave]

Just gutted hearing this news and I'm an Oilers fan. Always respected Johnny's talent, what a player.

My condolences to his family and friends, I can't even imagine how they are processing this, I just feel awful about it.

Please don't drink and drive, get an Uber, a taxi, take a nap in your car, whatever.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

It was only 6 weeks ago that Johnny hockey was at Mangiapanes wedding.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

Can you kick rocks?

Woah, woah, what if that rock suffered a concussion prior to being kicked? Can you release the interview by that rock? What about the rock's lawyers perspective?

 

[CycloneSweep]

My dad always said you can be right and dead at the same time.

Riding a bicycle on the roadway is so f***ing stupid I can’t wrap my head around it. There are many terrible drivers out there doing all kinds of stupid shit. Just because they may be at fault does not mean that you want to be the one in their way.

This sucks , but life sucks

Waking up in the morning is so damn stupid I can’t wrap my head around it. There are so many dumb and dangerous things happening around you.

This happened because of one persons dumb choice. That’s it.

 

[johnnybbadd]

We should all just give respect to Johnny and Matthew offer our condolences. There will be a time and a place to investigate and have opinions on what exactly were the causes of the accident. RIP.

 

[Monsieur Miz]

America needs to start treating Driving like it's a privilege again, like it was initially intended to. At least 40% of the people on the road have no f***ing business operating a motor vehicle because they have zero regard for the lives and safety of others and it shows time and time again according to the statistics.

I can't tell you how many close calls I had over the years when I was driving 8+ hours a day for work. Just 3 days ago we had a drunkard with previous DUIs on his record drive 5 miles the wrong way on Highway 85 here and took out a mother and her kid in a head on collision. It's f***ing disgusting and it needed to be addressed decades ago.

I live in Quebec and a kid got killed on his first day at school while getting off the bus because of an impatient reckless idiot. That person is going to get a $300 fine and 9 pts off his permit (you have 15 before losing it). An absolute joke.

 

[Video Nasty]

Always sad to have these reminders come through to reflect on and appreciate your loved ones more, as well as to treat your fellow humans out there with respect and consideration by not getting behind the wheel drunk, and also when sober, that also means not being so agressive on the road. Terrible story to hop onto these forums and hear about.

 

[LemmyUlanov55]

Ugh, that's awful, RIP.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

RIP to the Gaudreau brothers.

I don't know why I bothered to read some of the takes here and got myself angry. You don't have to share your thoughts on everything people, sometimes keeping your mouth shut and showing some respect to the deceased is the right thing to do.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Most North American roads simply aren't designed for cyclists. I've never understood the laws forcing bikes onto busy roads and off the sidewalks. Most bikes are going at most half the speed limit of the road. Why are we forcing them into traffic, which is both a dangerous and hostile environment.

A very likely result of a collision between a vehicle and cyclist is death. What happens if a bicycle hits a pedestrian? Maybe a broken bone or two.

Where I grew up in Europe, I remember stories of kids walking home on rural roads after parties and getting hit by cars..because unsurprisingly rural roads there don't have sidewalks either. The simple reality is that economically speaking the frequency of bike and pedestrian use vs vehicle use on rural roads does not justify the investment on bike lanes or sidewalks.

 

[TheBeard]

I mean.. This all came from a dude saying

"I will say that biking at night is never a good idea. This is a lesson to have lights on your bike and reflective high-vis vests."

So yes, seems like they were blaming the brothers for biking at night.

YEah I don't see it like that at all. I see it as there are risks involved so take every precaution you can to minimize any possible risks. Would it have made a difference? Don't know. Fact remains 100% of the blame falls on the shoulders of the shitbag driver.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I mean.. This all came from a dude saying

"I will say that biking at night is never a good idea. This is a lesson to have lights on your bike and reflective high-vis vests."

So yes, seems like they were blaming the brothers for biking at night.

Biking at night in a rural area is a terrible idea. It puts your life completely in the hands of strangers, and raises the likelihood that they make a bad choice compared to day/urban biking.

That doesn’t assign the outcome of the driver’s bad choice to the cyclist. The driver is still 100% responsible for a) being sober b) driving like a sane person c) avoiding manslaughter.

Both things can be true.

 

[Jumptheshark]

what?

try again

Did a medical check him out before he made these statements?

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Right. Nobody ever said they were to blame.

Sure thing.

My dad always said you can be right and dead at the same time.

Riding a bicycle on the roadway is so f***ing stupid I can’t wrap my head around it. There are many terrible drivers out there doing all kinds of stupid shit. Just because they may be at fault does not mean that you want to be the one in their way.

This sucks , but life sucks

 

[Byron Bitz]

 

[joestevens29]

What the f*** are you talking about. How would having a concussion sustained in the crash effect the crash.

This is some real stupid shit and you should be ashamed for posting it.

I think it's more so if he got injured in the accident that when he talked to police he might not know what he is talking about.

But the poster is reaching as always with everything

 

[BRobMint]

Johnny scored 609 points in 602 games as a Flame. One assist away from 400 as a Flame

 

[JKG33]

There's a difference between idealism and pragmatism. The idealism is that cycling on roads is completely legal and should be safe. The pragmatism is realizing that drivers in this country are aggressive assholes that give no regards for the safety of cyclists, pedestrians and even other drivers.

The Gaudreaus have absolutely no fault in this accident, the only thing "at fault" here is the asshole driver and the general messed up driver culture in this country. But you can pragmatically look at those and reasonably say "the lesson for cyclists is to bike as far away from cars as you can" while not blaming the Gaudreaus for the accident.



Absolutely 100% agree. I bike a ton and it's just mind numbing when people bitch at me for going on the sidewalk rather than staying on a busy road. I'm concerned with my safety, not your comfort.

Yup. It's also a lot easier as a cyclist to avoid hitting a pedestrian. Much greater sight lines, much more control of a tiny bike, and much slower speeds than a vehicle.

The first half of your post is bang on btw.