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The day I accidentally killed a little boy

bbc.co.uk

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Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#661

Post by cafard »

I spent about 10 days in the hospital when I was in 1st grade. A couple of other kids about my age shared the room for some part of that time. Both had been hit by cars when darting out into the street, one I think on a sled. Each, I think, escaped with a broken limb.

Shortly before we moved to the street where we now live, a kid rode his bike down a driveway and out into the street. The car that struck him was unlikely to have been going more than 30 mph, but the kid was in a coma for a week or two. A little later, a girl came down her driveway on a skateboard, and bounced off the side of a passing sports ute. I don't drive much these days, but I've had a sense of these neighborhood streets as dangerous places.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#662

Post by luckroy »

falsedan wrote: post #651
luckroy wrote: post #509

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not just inconvenience, although that is part of it. The transportation department would have a huge added burden by needing a way to determine which houses have children, a lot more signage to mark the designated slowdown areas, extra workers to make the adjustments as families move around, a way to update various mapping/GPS systems, etc. The number of passing zones would be drastically reduced. Jake braking w…

I think you're overcomplicating your proposed solution; if it's a hassle to track each family's residence, assume all residences may have families present. Compression braking is a nuisance, so post speed limit & compression breaking restriction signs well in advance of the houses so normal braking can be used. In the UK, all this is done by putting up street lights. The Highway Code then dictates that the road has a…

I don't think we're talking about the same kinds of roads.

In an area zoned for residential, e.g. a small town or village, the speed limit will drop and there are noise restrictions. That's quite common, although also quite sparse within the land area.

I've been speaking to unincorporated areas that have no zoning. Many of them are as you described: long, straight roads with mostly-evenly distributed houses over a large distance. These are the types of rural roads that make up the vast majority of land area in the midwest area of the US.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#663

Post by parasubvert »

LordKano wrote: post #453
parasubvert wrote: post #360

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that kind of paranoia productive? Especially considering we are at historically low crime rates. A very young child needs supervision and precautions to prevent them from hurting themselves, as this article sadly shows, and even then, its blind bad luck sometimes. But otherwise I can’t think any of my family (two young kids, 1 year and 8 years) or friends (many kids of various ages) being super cautious about thei…

>Is that kind of paranoia productive? Especially considering we are at historically low crime rates. I balance the likelihood with the potential consequences when making my decision. For example, logically, I know that there's no danger of contracting anything from sitting on a public toilet seat but I still make a bird's nest when I have to poop in a public place. Intellectually, I know that the world is now statist…

That's fair. Another way to look at it is "Fat tail risk".

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#664

Post by astura »

ptaipale wrote: post #631
astura wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to take into consideration cultural and social factors too. In my experience people in the US drive very dangerously no matter the traffic laws. One of the craziest encounters in my life was driving on a windy rural road and getting stuck behind a tractor. The road was so windy there was no passing zones for miles. It was frustrating, yes, but part of driving on that kind of road. Eventually a driver came be…

I have to disagree here. Americans drive pretty nice and relaxed. Not much different from e.g. Sweden or Germany. But much more relaxed than in Greece, Italy, China, or Thailand, or even Russia.

We must not be driving on the same roads. I've only been to a single town in the US that the majority of drivers are polite and seemingly safe.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#665

Post by jotm »

treyfitty wrote: post #493
jotm wrote: post #468

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should make sure your kids can defend and counter attack. Not only physically, but using their brain and resources such as authority figures and the police. Maybe you view the world as peaceful and rosy, and that's a good view to have, but always have a fallback. Speak softly but carry a big stick, you know.

The one thing I resented the most about my peers growing up was that they always tattled and brought their problems to someone else. Kids should learn how to deal with conflict on their own. Deferring to authority and police is a sure fire way to perpetuate the notion of “don’t worry. You’re special. There’s people to take care of you.” People get bullied all the time. Even as adults, just in different forms. Resorti…

That is exactly my point - kids need to learn to fight back, and if a punch won't do it, calling everyone from the parents to the principal to the police sure will. Bullies need to learn this isn't an ape tribe, the earlier the better.

And as adults, every day can be a battle, if you can't hold your own, you have societal resources to back you up.

Of course, this needs to be taught as being a last resort, otherwise they may grow up to be bullies themselves. Having children is hard.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#666

Post by DanBC »

treyfitty wrote: post #493
jotm wrote: post #468

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should make sure your kids can defend and counter attack. Not only physically, but using their brain and resources such as authority figures and the police. Maybe you view the world as peaceful and rosy, and that's a good view to have, but always have a fallback. Speak softly but carry a big stick, you know.

The one thing I resented the most about my peers growing up was that they always tattled and brought their problems to someone else. Kids should learn how to deal with conflict on their own. Deferring to authority and police is a sure fire way to perpetuate the notion of “don’t worry. You’re special. There’s people to take care of you.” People get bullied all the time. Even as adults, just in different forms. Resorti…

Your approach prevents children seeking help when they're being abused.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#667

Post by dang »

chris_7 wrote: post #75

If someone fires a gun randomly down the street, not aiming at anyone, but happens to hit someone, they'd certainly be arrested. Drive a multi-thousand-pound projectile down the street, kill someone, and it's just an "accident". The default needs to move to charging every driver involved in a fatal crash with manslaughter. Currently the police won't even perform basic investigative work that would make any charge pos…

Please don't start flamewars on Hacker News. Not cool.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#668

Post by dang »

kevindqc wrote: post #253
chris_7 wrote: post #75

If someone fires a gun randomly down the street, not aiming at anyone, but happens to hit someone, they'd certainly be arrested. Drive a multi-thousand-pound projectile down the street, kill someone, and it's just an "accident". The default needs to move to charging every driver involved in a fatal crash with manslaughter. Currently the police won't even perform basic investigative work that would make any charge pos…

What a stupid comment - I hope you're just a troll.

Please don't break the site rules like this, regardless of how bad a comment is. If you'll read https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html you'll see what you ought to do instead: flag it. Or email hn@ycombinator.com in egregious cases. Degrading the site further by feeding trolls is definitely "what we not do", to quote my son when he was 3.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#669

Post by Waterluvian »

rckclmbr wrote: post #606
Waterluvian wrote: post #600

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless I already have that future locked down.

You went from student to retired in 3 years? Damn son

I don't want to talk finances on here. I am not retired. I am not independently wealthy. But there's a configuration where I need to earn my own success, but failure to do so does not result in homelessness and bankruptcy. It enables me to take risks in life.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#670

Post by CodeCube »

cableshaft wrote: post #369
macintux wrote: post #350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

10 years ago I had to have my German Shepherd put down; she was suffering from cancer, and I couldn't take it any longer. A few weeks later I was watching I Am Legend in the theater, and when (spoiler alert) I could see what looked like the inevitable demise of Will Smith's dog, I hoofed it out as quickly as I could. I was completely unprepared to deal with that, and to this day I've never finished the movie.

Yeah, good call. I'm sorry you had to have your dog put down. It's an awful decision. When my parents decided to do that for the dog I grew up with, I really hated them for awhile. I didn't have a dog for a long time after that, but now I have a one year old Shiba, and I dread the day when I'll have to make that decision. Hopefully that won't be for a long time from now.

I've often thought that having pets (who will obviously have a shorter lifetime than humans) will help them learn to deal with death. That way, when it inevitably happens to an adult in their life, they will have experience processing it.

That may seem a morbid thing to think about, but everything happens for a reason ... circle of life and all that.

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