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

[paragon]

I find this difficult to believe given he was actively drinking still while driving.

You've never done anything drunk and thought I never would have done that if I was sober?

 

[swiftwin]

Completely agree, but the US can't even come to terms on gun reforms when children get gunned down every year in school shootings, so it's looking pretty bleak.

Yup. IMO, the question of how lax we treat driving is just as serious as gun control.

Brace yourselves, this is going to become an incredibly contentious topic in the coming decades as self driving cars become the norm.

 

[Skeletorrr]

North America and Europe are designed completely different.

When it comes to the cities, yes. When it comes to the rural areas, no.
Here's a screencap of the road I used to cycle to school when I was 10 years old. Doesn't seem too different from the NJ roads now does it?

 

[TheBeard]

It's already messed up that a person can be sober at the time of driving, but can be charged with DWI/DUI if they smoked days before. Giving people DWI/DUI for drinking days before is just continuing a messed up practice. We aren't going to solve this problem by making people criminals despite not actually violating the spirit of the law. Impaired driving laws are intended to prevent people who are impaired from driving in that condition, and to outline punishment for those who are caught doing it. They aren't intended to keep someone from doing something completely legal only to be charged with a crime a couple of days later.

This was a story in Vegas just yesterday.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1829266573250748527

 

[Three On Zero]

The laws are designed for cyclist safety in mind. If a cyclist is killed by someone disobeying these laws, it's their fault, not the fault of the road. Stop passing the blame around. We as a society treat driving like a joke. We need harsher punishments for those who drive recklessly, even when nobody gets hurt.

False

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

This is awful

 

[Oilslick941611]

I wish I could see his face when he gets sentenced. They never expect to spend years in prison. Reminds me of Stephanie Melgoza, she was laughing it off after killing two people and asking the cop when she could leave because she has school the next day. Hopefully this guy gets at least the same 14 years as Melgoza got.

it takes time to process it... I actually felt bad for that woman, her mind was so twisted by being under the influence she had no idea what she did. Imagine waking up one day in jail awaiting sentencing for something you don't remember. I don't think the punishment should be any less, but North American has a substance abuse issue that we are not dealing with at all and its loading the prisons and killing people (both in active addiction and innocent bystanders) Drinking is a huge problem and not enough are talking about it.

 

[swiftwin]

This doesn't mean all of these roads are safe for cyclists at all.

I don't get why you think that acknowledging that we can build safer roads for cyclists is blaming cyclists for these types of incidents.

We can and we should build safer roads and bike lanes where it's warranted. But, it's simply not realistic on rural roads that get very little traffic. Those roads are perfectly safe for cyclists if people follow the law.

 

[fasterthanlight]

I took for granted that Dutch cities were always like this but actually they under took a massive project in the 60's/70's after they started mimicking North America to reverse course and reclaim cities for pedestrians/cyclists.

As I mentioned, you can't entirely replicate the results here in North America but you can at least try a little.

The pic below is from the city I live in. Really incredible what happens when you at least try to make cities more human friendly.

View attachment 904080

I haven't done much activism in my life, but in my mid thirties I've started to work towards making my city less dangerous towards people outside of cars. Change is possible. There are groups making safer and more efficient streets one block at a time in the US. At least for the projects I've helped with a bit, the biggest barrier is often not funding, but status quo bias. Ironically, when projects are implemented, people generally love them.

 

[swiftwin]

False

Please elaborate

 

[Three On Zero]

We can and we should build safer roads and bike lanes where it's warranted. But, it's simply not realistic on rural roads that get very little traffic. Those roads are perfectly safe for cyclists if people follow the law.

False again, they are adequate but far from “safe”

 

[dlocal]

RIP.

 

[WhataKnight]

If you drive a car, don’t drink and drive. And also, NEVER tailgate. If you tailgate, you’re being a shitheel and potentially endangering lives.

ALWAYS give an extra car length + worth of space. When a driver isn’t being a self-absorbed prick riding a bumper, a driver has more time to acknowledge and react to the state of the road based on the actions of the vehicle in front, allowing space to see any objects, cyclists or pedestrians that the lead car may be avoiding.

 

[snag]

The laws are designed for cyclist safety in mind. If a cyclist is killed by someone disobeying these laws, it's their fault, not the fault of the road. Stop passing the blame around. We as a society treat driving like a joke. We need harsher punishments for those who drive recklessly, even when nobody gets hurt.

When a cyclist on the right has the right of way on the rear of a car turning right....I call bullshit

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

No it’s not. Biking on a sidewalk is much safer for both the cyclist and the pedestrians.

Drivers actively look for pedestrians and see the cyclist on a sidewalk. Cyclists should be on the sidewalk more than they should be on a road with motor vehicles

No it's not. It's less safe for both because of the likelihood of collision.

There's a significant difference in speed between cyclists and pedestrians. Even a casual cyclist could be doing 10 mph past a pedestrian walking 2 mph. And at intersections drivers may be looking for pedestrians in a crosswalk, but a cyclist arrives into the intersection much quicker than a pedestrian.

In many places cycling on the sidewalk is in fact illegal for all those reasons.

The road doesn't belong solely to motor vehicles. If drivers actually obeyed traffic laws cyclists would be safe on the road except for circumstances that were truly an accident (the Gaudreaus getting killed was no accident. It was the result of drunk and unsafe driving). But many drivers don't want to deal with the inconvenience of having to wait a few seconds to pass a cyclist safely.

 

[swiftwin]

This was a story in Vegas just yesterday.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1829266573250748527

This shit is absolutely sickening. Anyone caught driving drunk a second time needs to be behind bars for a long time.

 

[LordBacon]

People and their outrage these days. Is it really so bad to suggest that could be a lesson if it's the case? Lesson number 1. Don't drink and drive. 1b. Don't drive recklessly/aggressively 3. Do what you can to protect yourself from reckless drivers when on the road, especially if you're on a bike/motorcycle.

By the sounds of the story, they were heading in the same direction, so the impact would be limited.

*IF* is a key word in my statement. If they weren't wearing helmets and they died due to head injuries, it's a really tough reminder.

If they were wearing helmets and/or it wouldn't have mattered, my statement is null and void.

It's a tragedy regardless. I don't get what's so insane/evil to suggest that there's lessons to be learned from all perspectives about how this can be avoided. In fact it's really the only thing that can be done., pick an appropriate moment before you bless us with your wisdom.

Kindly, do choose a better time to bless us with your wisdom.

 

[jetsforever]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1829531307254440260

That's so sad - I bet JG was one of the main reasons Monahan signed in Columbus

 

[fasterthanlight]

Please elaborate

One of many examples: most other advanced nations have safety regulations for car design that take into account people outside of the car. The US's NHTSA has no such consideration.

 

[Youngguns1380]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1829586287038513498

Just paying tribute to the person he was on and off the ice. He was just such a good person.

 

[swiftwin]

When a cyclist on the right has the right of way on the rear of a car turning right....I call bullshit

What? They do not have the right of way on the right.

 

[TheBeard]

This shit is absolutely sickening. Anyone caught driving drunk a second time needs to be behind bars for a long time.

Dude had two DUIs in THE SAME MONTH.

 

[JPT]

This was a story in Vegas just yesterday.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1829266573250748527

What does that have to do with me not wanting to see people who weren't impaired while driving charged with an impaired driving crime?

 

[swiftwin]

One of many examples: most other advanced nations have safety regulations for car design that take into account people outside of the car. The US's NHTSA has no such consideration.

Fair, maybe I'm just basing it on where I live (Calgary).

 

[snag]

What? They do not have the right of way on the right.

Tell that the the dumb asses in charge in Alberta