Fatal Traffic Accidents
There is talk of creating a new penalty in MD for killing someone in an auto accident:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-driving-penalty-20110223,0,6073073.story
As far as I can tell, this would not apply to situations where the driver (assailant?) is drunk, speeding excessively, or being reckless (all of which are felonies, I believe). This would be for accidentally killing someone in a routine accident.
The idea would be to impose a fine of up to $5,000 and up to three years in jail for this.
My question: is this a just punishment or does it go too far?
Prize goes to whomever can justify their answer best in a comment.
This indicates to me, that if your kids in the back seat were fighting which distracted you and you accidentally killed someone, this law may not apply. However, if you are using a non-"hands free" cell phone (against Maryland law) and you killed someone, then you have clearly substantially deviated from the standard of care that a reasonable driver should be exercising (obeying the law), and would be subject to the proposed law.
Reading the article, it seems that similar (or nearly similar) laws are already on the books in most states, with 27 other states using the same language as this bill.
Though the proposed law may seem extreme to some people, it is important to remember that driving is a privilege, not a right. And with that privilege comes a lot of responsibility.
Also, being a bicyclist (West Coast) who has been hit once and had numerous close calls with careless drivers, I believe that putting a little more 'bite' into negligent drivers with a law like this may give a bit more impetus to drive carefully.
Regardless, whether you are culpable, or the surviving members of the victim's family, a fatality accident is a serious tragedy.