Dog killed by car, family billed for the damages

[aslan]

well i choose to believe that the police that were on scene know more about the situation than someone reading an article on the internet and condemning someone without all the information. You cannot predict every possible scenario that could occurr while you're driving, even at 10kms an hour, if something runs out onto the road right infront of you, you are going to hit it. period plain and simple.

[LavenderRott]

Originally Posted by Wolff-jigs

Actually you don't need to know what the weather or conditions were, it doesn't matter, legally the DRIVER is bound to safely operate their vehicle and avoid obstacles and obey the basic rules of the road, especially "expect the unexpected and be prepared" it could save your life or someone else's.

Plain and simple, the driver was not operating her vehicle in a way that would allow her to stop for an unexpected event, if it wasn't a dog it could have been a falling tree, a cow wandering across, a deer, a toddler wandering away from the front yard, a boulder that rolled down the hill into the lane, countless things. You as a driver are supposed to LOOK far enough ahead for your speed to be able to avoid collisions and the unexpected.

Not doing so means that when you are driving on the freeway and suddenly there's a ladder in your lane that fell off a truck earlier, if you were paying attention and driving safely, you would see that and take evasive action.
If you are diddling witht he cell phone or radio, or yacking with the inlaws in the back seat and not paying attention, you WILL hit that ladder in the road.

In that case then, was it the ladder's fault for falling off, or yours for not watching the ROAD?

I drive for a living and I am here to tell you - operating your vehicle in a safe manner, without talking on your cell phone or chatting with a passenger, ACCIDENTS can still happen. That is why they are called ACCIDENTS.

And if you can't drive safely while talking to a passenger - you shouldn't have a license.

[14+kitties]

Originally Posted by Wolff-jigs

Not doing so means that when you are driving on the freeway and suddenly there's a ladder in your lane that fell off a truck earlier, if you were paying attention and driving safely, you would see that and take evasive action.
If you are diddling witht he cell phone or radio, or yacking with the inlaws in the back seat and not paying attention, you WILL hit that ladder in the road.

In that case then, was it the ladder's fault for falling off, or yours for not watching the ROAD?

Actually, it would be the person who put the ladder on the truck and failed to secure it. If caught then they would be the ones being fined and at fault.

It seems that you have not had the honour of having your first fender bender. Let me tell you, they aren't fun. I like to consider myself a safe driver but the night I ran into the side of a pickup it was pouring rain, I was being blinded by headlights on high beam stopped at a stop sign across from me, and because of those conditions I cut the corner too sharp. I didn't consider it to be 100% my fault but I had to pay costs. It's a fact of life.
It would also seem you have not had to live with the sadness of killing an animal who has darted across the road. I have. It isn't fun. And BTW - yes, a 12 year old dog can dart. I have a 16 year old who still does when she is being goofy. We weren't there. We don't know the sequence of events. It seems the choice has already been made.

[Wolff-jigs]

Fine, forget I even bothered to say anything on this, all anyone does in this thread is tear down my posts and treat me like I just got my license last week, I'm in my mid 50s and Ive been a driver for over 35 years, including a delivery job driving in the city 100 miles on average a day.
I won a 5,000 accident free hours award on that job, I didn't just fall off the turnip truck yesterday, nor did I get my license last week.

I've had people run into ME because of their own stupidity and not watching the road.

[clm]

It is a sad thing to happen Wolff-Jiggs, but the point is, the dog should not be in a position to wander out onto a road. No dog no matter where it lives should be out roaming free. They need to be in a contained yard for their own safety and the safety of others, period. The person who hit that dog I'm sure had no intention of doing so and I think the dogs owners are extremely lucky to be getting such a small bill for that accident. The driver of the vehicle could have hurt or killed themselves or someone else trying to avoid hitting that dog.

clm

[Sew-sew-steve]

sometimes you dont have time to react, sometimes the animals dont even move, i've come accross pigeons, rabbits, and sometimes cats that wont move until your really close.

here people drive reaaally crazy, not like in canada, i mean you'd have to see it for yourself.

sometimes cats jump out on the road while someone is going 120+ KM/H and they dont have enough time to react wether it was their fault or not, accidents happen.

just yesterday i was driving and seen an orange and white adult cat squirming on the ground right next to the curb as if its arm was broken or something, and i didnt notice it till the last second.

also, theres a minimum and maximum speed limit. what if you cant go below a certain speed limit in an aread and an animal pops out? will you be held responsible? i hope not.

the owners were wrong to let the dog out, i mean its like letting a little kid go, they're just gonna wander.

if the driver wasnt paying attention, or failed to stay focused while driving, then they should each pay half.

but since the bumper was damaged and the dog died it indicates the driver was going fast.

if this was around their house, doesnt that mean they were in a neighbourhood? isnt there a speelimit in a neighbourhood? there is here, its 40KM/H. i doubt you could kill a dog going at 40 unless you ran over it.

i dont know, just speculating.

[Love4himies]

Originally Posted by LavenderRott

I drive for a living and I am here to tell you - operating your vehicle in a safe manner, without talking on your cell phone or chatting with a passenger, ACCIDENTS can still happen. That is why they are called ACCIDENTS.

And if you can't drive safely while talking to a passenger - you shouldn't have a license.

In Alberta, they have discontinued using the word accident and now use crash because they are not normally an accident, there normally was a negligent person who is a fault.

[cpietra16]

well I will now add my useless .
A few years back I crossed a busy intersection and got hit by a car...(damaged my legs pretty good) I also damaged her car Bumper; I guess my Italian hips/butt/legs were just too strong going up against a car...anyway, just glad I didn't get a bill from her to repair her damaged bumper!!!
Accidents will happen, be it with kids, roaming animals, ( including the wild life in Alberta...lets sue the government for not securing the fencing), or adults who should know how to cross a road...accidents will happen.

[Longblades]

I know the road this happened on. I don't know exactly where it happened but the speed limit is 60 kph with a few sections where it is 70 kph. The road is narrow, hilly and curving in places and some areas are quite bushy and treed right up to the edge of the road. In places there are signs to warn of hidden driveways and intersections precisely because it is so hard to see ahead of you. It's our favourite drive to my Aunt's nursing home. There are no subdivisions along the road but there are estate lots and some strips of housing.

I can see how it would be easy to hit something on this road if it ran out within your stopping distance, or even beyond, and you had yet to crest a hill or round a curve and were going the speed limit. You might not be able to stop in time. You might not be able to swerve either due to oncoming traffic or the lake or the steep hill.

I do not see people driving at excessive speed on this road as it is a road where you need your wits about you. Wiping out in one spot might put you into a deep tarn lake or over the side of a steep hill. Of course half the drivers are stuck behind me as I'm one of those weirdos who tends to obey the speed limit.

However, I can certainly imagine that drivers returning home from work might speed on a road they probably drive every day and know better than me. The newspaper article says the owner had just returned home from work so one would suppose she would know that. Of course she might not work regular hours.

It was perhaps unfair of me to post this without stating my position but it is: I can't see how the dog owner is not responsible for the damages. Police and witnesses were at the scene and it all seems to have been thouroughly documented. Poor, poor Jake. And his family, they no doubt loved their dog but made a horrible, unthinking, mistaken decision.