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

[MuckOG]

It surely is. I was just questioning openly if justice is served by killing or life imprisoning the person who is responsible for this.

I think it’s the people calling for his head that want to feel better

I would take solace, however insignificant, that he never has another opportunity to do this again.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

I no longer have any patience for people who intentionally misrepresent my posts as trying to defend or remove blame from the drunk driver. It's annoying and I'm sick of it. Ask for clarification if you don't get it.

Maybe then don't make so many posts positing other reasons for their death other than the drunk driver who killed them.

If that many people are misunderstanding your posts, maybe that's a you problem.

 

[AKL]

Maybe then don't make so many posts positing other reasons for their death other than the drunk driver who killed them.

Thought you were done? Maybe stick with that.

 

[NotWendell]

The thing is that the U.S. is a big country in size. It equals MANY European countries. So we're always going to need a car to get where we are going.

That said, most of our travel is still close enough that we could get there by bike, or a combination of train and bike. We need protected bike lanes.

 

[Hanji]

Hockey, hell, sports culture, has a real beer culture. Hell, the recreational circuits are named beer leagues. Crushing some beers in a locker room or parking lot is a thing, a real common thing. Ostrich head in the sand is just ostrich head in the sand.

I do think it is slowly changing. It’ll take generations.

I’m not condoning it, but Shaner is right, it’s not at all uncommon. Unfortunately.

Correct. Unfortunately it's all too common still.


From the Traffic Injury Research Foundation’s (TIRF) 2022 report and survey:

• The percentage of U.S. drivers who reported being “very or extremely concerned” about drunk driving fell from 65% in 2021 to 59% in 2022.
• The number of drivers who drove when they thought they were over the legal BAC limit decreased from 22.5% in 2021 to 19.6% in 2022.
• Of these respondents, 9.3% thought they wouldn’t get caught, and 30.7% thought that despite being over the legal limit, they were still okay to drive.
• Men were 67.8% more likely to report driving when they thought they were over the legal limit than women. Men were also 61.8% more likely than women to report driving impaired often or very often.
• 13% of respondents aged 21-29 reported driving under the influence often or very often, compared to only 7.8% of those aged 50-59 years

 

[TheBeard]

Im going a dozen easy. Buddy was still crushing them while driving by some reports.

I’m gonna sound insensitive and don’t think I’m picking on you, but there’s something weirdly funny about using the phrase “still crushing them” when talking about a guy who killed two people. I sorta laughed in a weird, perverse way.

 

[MuckOG]

Correct. Unfortunately it's all too common still.


From the Traffic Injury Research Foundation’s (TIRF) 2022 report and survey:

Considering the number of motorists out there on the road, these are scary numbers.

 

[T REX]

Honestly drinking and driving should be punished more severely imo. You can plan ahead. You know what you are doing when you get behind the wheel after drinking. You should be punished accordingly.

Getting a bit sick and tired of some of these posters in here who probably dnd all the time trying to justify the act via victim blaming.

I feel so bad for their family right now, I usually don’t get overly emotional about things like this because death happens all over the world at all times but the day before his sisters wedding? This drunk driver just ruined the lives of so many people

To be brutally honest...this guy...only my humble opinion...would have done the same thing sober.

These road rage drivers are a scourge on this country. I have cameras set up on my vehicle.

3 months ago...I had a large truck swerve right at me...I stopped and he then began cursing at me bc there was a car on his side of the road and I didn't slow down(bc I had right of way). He was screaming at me...I asked him why he swerved at me...he said bc I didn't let him go first(in his big 4X4 truck). He admitted to swerving into my lane at me.

Once I told him it was all being recorded and calling the cops he hauled ass. Freaking chicken bleep. They always back down. I don't trust anyone. But once you tell them they are being recorded...they sure do lose a lot of their bravado. I'm gonna find a bumper sticker that says...I have cameras recording your every road rage move. They are scared to get caught. They can't claim..."but I was afraid for my life". Chicken bleeps.

 

[93LEAFS]

Those are all very reasonable points. Ultimately, as a city dweller, I’ll be biased towards decreasing car usage as much as possible.

I'm a city dweller who doesn't own a car and relies on public transit and ubers. I will say the amount of reckless cycling I see on sidewalks here is pretty alarming (they tend to be uber eats guys on motorized bikes). Even in areas with designated bike lanes.

Either way, in communities like where Gaudreau lived getting people off car dependence is likely not viable. We have comparable exurban and suburban communities, but even people who make an effort to use public transportation are driving from their house to the local regional train station, parking and going into the city.

 

[Jack Straw]

For the tragedy in question though it's pretty tough when you're talking about an old country/rural road (I haven't seen the specific details on it). If its a place people walk/cycle though about the only thing to do is have a path segregated from the road.

I’m a cyclist and that’s what the roads are like where I live. Country roads with no shoulder, lots of hills and curves. Even a 2 ft shoulder would make me feel more comfortable. The truth is, I felt safer riding my bike in downtown DC when I lived there. Fortunately now I can do most of my cycling indoors.

 

[Youngguns1380]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1829565016850256005

 

[Bleedred]

There’s Horton, and Lindbergh was the reigning Vezina winner, he was not small potatoes, but be damned if we are ranking them. All first class shitty.

That last sentence I meant that he’s the biggest name to have died while being an active NHL player since Lindbergh. I didn’t mean ever, just to make that clear.

And yeah, definitely all first class shitty.

 

[esks123]

I just saw the video of the judge reading the defendants charges, and he faces a maximum of 10 yrs for 2nd degree vehicular homicide, he is charged with 2 counts. So a worse case scenario for him would be 20 yrs, maybe 10 yrs if the sentences run concurrently.

Absolutely pathetic. Drunk driving charges/sentences need to be much harsher in North America.

 

[Maurice of Orange]

Imma take a ride to Stumpy tomorrow to pay respects, it’s not far.

State Police are out on full alert tonight…

 

[K1900L]

Considerung a bike-friendly environment, I think it is more of a cultural change, not just adding some bike lanes. I grew up in Germany, where in most places there weren't any bike lanes and often there still aren't any today. Yet, Germany and most of Europe are bikefriendly places, where you can expect to be relatively safe (of course, there is a higher risk when being this unprotected).
Many people in the US (especially children and teenagers) don't know how to participate, act and react in traffic when driving a bike, whereas in many places in Europe children get taught very early on (we actually went to a bicycle-school in elementary school, you basically learn how to navigate through traffic, read some of the most important road signs etc and do some basic first aid training). Everyone also learns how to swim and before graduating high school you basically had three first aid trainings already, whereas in the US this kind of knowledge usually depends on your state or school even.
And of course, these children become car-drivers as well and know exactly how to react when coming into contact with cyclists. You basically create a culture of understanding if you teach people very early on.

 

[Three On Zero]

Perhaps. But that would at least show clear deliberation.

We had a client who kept a can of compressed air and a piece of rubber hose to fake the breathalyzer.

 

[Sol]

I know it used to be in certain Eastern European countries, that drunk drivers were actually executed.....at the very least he better be locked up for a long long time....this is the greatest tragedy in the NHL since when Pelle Lindbergh was killed....and sadly in his case, Pelle had been drinking and it cost him his life.....

I wouldn’t be against something drastic against drunk drivers. You’re driving a 2 ton hunk of metal with no control. The consequences should be great

 

[Nogatco Rd]

Absolutely pathetic. Drunk driving charges/sentences need to be much harsher in North America.

Zero chance he does the full 20 years either.

TBH I would be shocked if there are any western democracies that imprison people for close to that long for vehicular homicide, so it’s not like the US is an outlier in that regard.

 

[Three On Zero]

Have to wonder how many of the people condemning this man as evil and saying he should spend his life in prison or be killed are huge hypocrites who have drank and drove before.

More people have driven under the influence than will admit it. Drinking a few drinks and then driving is a pretty big societal norm in North America

 

[KJoe88]

Unbelievable. RIP

 

[BlueSeal]

This is insane. I can't find the words... RIP.

 

[Sol]

Considerung a bike-friendly environment, I think it is more of a cultural change, not just adding some bike lanes. I grew up in Germany, where in most places there weren't any bike lanes and often there still aren't any today. Yet, Germany and most of Europe are bikefriendly places, where you can expect to be relatively safe (of course, there is a higher risk when being this unprotected).
Many people in the US (especially children and teenagers) don't know how to participate, act and react in traffic when driving a bike, whereas in many places in Europe children get taught very early on (we actually went to a bicycle-school in elementary school, you basically learn how to navigate through traffic, read some of the most important road signs etc and do some basic first aid training). Everyone also learns how to swim and before graduating high school you basically had three first aid trainings already, whereas in the US this kind of knowledge usually depends on your state or school even.
And of course, these children become car-drivers as well and know exactly how to react when coming into contact with cyclists. You basically create a culture of understanding if you teach people very early on.

I forgot what documentary I watched but it was an engineering documentary that took a deep dive into access of vehicles in the US. Long story short one of the main points made by the documentary about why the US can’t really adopt biking as well as Europe is due to the sheer size of the country and the physical commute of many people. Long story short it just doesn’t work here

 

[Drake1588]

What an awful series of events, and it's shattered that family and beyond. My condolences to all affected by it.

As someone who lived in central New Jersey and is familiar with how drivers on winding roads act in the hillier parts of the state, I quickly developed an innate distrust of everyone driving on the roads there. Biking at dusk sounds benign in a city, even the responsible thing to do from a climate point of view. In rural New Jersey... man, I don't think there's any way I'd do it around vehicles at dusk. I'm not sure there's much more dangerous than a winding and hilly rural road, in a forested area, with a 45mph speed limit. Give me a well-lit, eight-lane highway straightaway any day.

That's no place for a cyclist unless it's on designated bike paths (and not just "bike lanes" painted onto the shoulder of the road). The drivers are too reckless. In this kind of matchup, it doesn't matter if you have the right of it. You're losing any collision you're involved in with a vehicle larger than you are... it's the same reason why if it's late at night and you're pulling up to a light in a deserted rural area, and you see a semi coming perpendicular to you, you take 5-10 extra seconds, yield, and just let him go. It doesn't matter if you have the light. You can be right and still end up a skidmark if the other vehicle dwarfs yours. Bikes and motorcycles take one bump and it's all over.

Area residents know there are so many nasty car accidents and worse in highly populated central NJ, from inexperienced student drivers to drunk drivers to, hell, just the sheer volume of accidents involving cars and deer.

It's an awful story. You hear far too many like it. Whether it's for deterrence or just to get them off the road, I'd harden punishments for this kind of crime. Far too many people consider drunk driving to be no big deal but it's devastating far too frequently.

 

[Hippasus]

Hell! I'd be distraught for running over a squirrel, or rabbit, or whatever. I even stop for those annoying Canada geese.

A little while ago, when I had to do community service one of the workers abruptly stopped in the middle of a forest preserve road, because there was a little water turtle in the middle of it. He let me be the one to take it back to the marshy aquifer down the valley. Where was that turtle trying to go?

 

[Nogatco Rd]

I just saw the video of the judge reading the defendants charges, and he faces a maximum of 10 yrs for 2nd degree vehicular homicide, he is charged with 2 counts. So a worse case scenario for him would be 20 yrs, maybe 10 yrs if the sentences run concurrently.

Are those the only two things he’s charged with? If he gets hit with DUI, reckless driving, etc he could face additional time for each of those charges if found guilty.

In most federal cases the judge has the discretion to choose whether the sentences are served concurrently or consecutively. Not sure what the NJ law is but wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same.