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SXSW: 2 dead, 23 injured.

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Re: SXSW: 2 dead, 23 injured.

#31

Post by MicroBerto »

paddy_m wrote: post #11

Good thing APD is protecting the public by keeping Uber out. The driver was definitely at fault, but we need to seriously look at how we design cities and laws. If the only way to get around in a city is to drive, people are going to drive drunk. Make it easier for people to get around without driving, and there will be less drunk driving. People will seek out jurisdictions where driving is less necessary because the…

Austinite here.

This is a terribly sad, sad day out here. Your comment, while partially true, is not really appreciated.

That said, you can't really be "surprised" by the enormous amounts of DUIs around here (even by our elected officials). I don't mean to be insensitive, but this is not an isolated incident.

This is a city that practically endorses party behavior, and has absolutely miserable public transportation options and a sprawling suburb area. It's a lethal combination that is getting worse and worse.

Sadly, we deal with on a weekly basis -- driving around here at night is not safe -- and there's no true solution in near sight.

Not happy.

Re: SXSW: 2 dead, 23 injured.

#32

Post by gamblor956 »

shiftpgdn wrote: post #10
jcromartie wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This should still raise the question: do sobriety checkpoints save lives? Even though this was the fault of the driver, and obviously an extremely rare event, would those people still be alive if the driver had just gone home? I'm not anti-checkpoint or anything.

Sobriety checkpoints are illegal in Texas, anyway: http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/checkpoint_laws.html

Sobriety checkpoints have actually been legal in Texas for about 3 years, see http://www.cca.courts.state.tx.us/OPINIONS/HTMLOPINIONINFO.A....

The original distinction, in Texas, was between arresting someone for driving drunk and arresting them for another crime discovered during a sobriety checkpoint. The first was legal, the second was not. However, in Lujan, the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals ruled that the latter was acceptable.

Re: SXSW: 2 dead, 23 injured.

#33

Post by kevingadd »

anigbrowl wrote: post #19
paddy_m wrote: post #11

Good thing APD is protecting the public by keeping Uber out. The driver was definitely at fault, but we need to seriously look at how we design cities and laws. If the only way to get around in a city is to drive, people are going to drive drunk. Make it easier for people to get around without driving, and there will be less drunk driving. People will seek out jurisdictions where driving is less necessary because the…

Oh for heaven's sake, there are other ways to get from A to B besides driving yourself or taking Uber. Blaming APD for this is a cheap shot, especially as the driver appears to have stolen the car from another town an hour's drive away and was thus not likely to be an Uber customer int he first place.

God, and the first answer to this is Uber? What about public transit and denser cities? Ugh.

Re: SXSW: 2 dead, 23 injured.

#34

Post by Crito »

tercer_ojo wrote: post #30
jcromartie wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's clear that sobriety checkpoints aren't killing people left and right (that's preposterous). But it's not clear (edit: to me) if they actually save any lives for the effort.

yes, it's clear that they do save lives. maybe you should say "i'm not certain" instead of "it's not clear". and also maybe grow up some common sense.

What makes you say that it is clear? Could you link the study that you have in mind?

Re: SXSW: 2 dead, 23 injured.

#35

Post by retr0grad3 »

paddy_m wrote: post #11

Good thing APD is protecting the public by keeping Uber out. The driver was definitely at fault, but we need to seriously look at how we design cities and laws. If the only way to get around in a city is to drive, people are going to drive drunk. Make it easier for people to get around without driving, and there will be less drunk driving. People will seek out jurisdictions where driving is less necessary because the…

There are numerous options downtown in Austin for travel while drunk. The person at fault here is the guy behind the wheel that panicked.

From http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/2-dead-21-injured-in-...

The incident started after a police officer began checking for DWIs. The suspect, fearing arrest, weaved his silver Toyota sedan through a gas station and sped off, driving the wrong way down a one-way street. The officer turned on his lights and pursued the suspect. A second officer stationed at a nearby barricade was forced to move to avoid being struck by the suspect, who proceeded to further accelerate, drive through the barricade and strike multiple pedestrians.

The suspect continued driving "at a high rate of speed" for two blocks before hitting a taxi and striking a male and a female and killing them both. The suspect exited his car after running over the moped and proceeded to flee on foot, where he was apprehended and tased by an Austin police officer before being taken into custody.

"As a result of this person's reckless and willful disregard for the safety of the people, we have two individuals who are now dead," Acevedo said. The entire incident lasted under two minutes.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/2-dead-21-injured-in-... Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

Re: SXSW: 2 dead, 23 injured.

#36

Post by robbyking »

MicroBerto wrote: post #31
paddy_m wrote: post #11

Good thing APD is protecting the public by keeping Uber out. The driver was definitely at fault, but we need to seriously look at how we design cities and laws. If the only way to get around in a city is to drive, people are going to drive drunk. Make it easier for people to get around without driving, and there will be less drunk driving. People will seek out jurisdictions where driving is less necessary because the…

Austinite here. This is a terribly sad, sad day out here. Your comment, while partially true, is not really appreciated. That said, you can't really be "surprised" by the enormous amounts of DUIs around here (even by our elected officials). I don't mean to be insensitive, but this is not an isolated incident. This is a city that practically endorses party behavior, and has absolutely miserable public transportation o…

>> This is a city that practically endorses party behavior, and has absolutely miserable public transportation options and a sprawling suburb area

I used to live in Athens, GA, and we had the same problem: nightlife drove much of the local economy, but public transportation was nearly non-existent. The number of clearly intoxicated people getting into cars was astounding to me when I first moved, having previously lived in a city with good public transportation.

The correlation between drunk driving and the availability of public transportation seems pretty clear to me.

Re: SXSW: 2 dead, 23 injured.

#37

Post by dllthomas »

jessedhillon wrote: post #26
paddy_m wrote: post #11

Good thing APD is protecting the public by keeping Uber out. The driver was definitely at fault, but we need to seriously look at how we design cities and laws. If the only way to get around in a city is to drive, people are going to drive drunk. Make it easier for people to get around without driving, and there will be less drunk driving. People will seek out jurisdictions where driving is less necessary because the…

I am just going to venture a guess that the kind of person who steals a car and flees cops -- first in a car and then on foot -- is not in Uber's target demographic.

Uber getaway drivers is an amusing thought.

Re: SXSW: 2 dead, 23 injured.

#38

Post by aspensmonster »

>At a mid-morning press conference Thursday, officials said eight people were still in the hospital. Five were in critical condition, and three were listed as serious.

I just... I just... WTF. Just WTF. We've had injuries and incidents at SXSW before, but nothing like this. Normally it's just busy nights for paramedics filled with minor injuries. A diabetic might get too drunk to remember to take insulin, or someone might just dehydrate and pass out. The worst I remember is bicyclists hitting pedestrians. I'd like to think the driver was just completely and totally blacked out, but his behaviour certainly seems to indicate at least a modicum of awareness of what he was doing, what with stopping at the gas station as though he were complying with the stop before deciding to tear down the Red River district.

>He was facing two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle, Acevedo said.

We'll be hearing about this case for the next year at least.

Re: SXSW: 2 dead, 23 injured.

#39

Post by LaGrange »

nsmnsf wrote: post #28
paddy_m wrote: post #11

Good thing APD is protecting the public by keeping Uber out. The driver was definitely at fault, but we need to seriously look at how we design cities and laws. If the only way to get around in a city is to drive, people are going to drive drunk. Make it easier for people to get around without driving, and there will be less drunk driving. People will seek out jurisdictions where driving is less necessary because the…

> Make it easier for people to get around without driving, and there will be less drunk driving. So... add more car services? What !? Grade-separated rapid transit (ideally with platform screen doors), aggressive congestion charging, parking maximums, and general Copenhagenization - these are actual solutions, not more cars.

Platform screen doors are silly, faulty, expensive and pointless.

I mean, the rest of your comment stands - I don't know of anybody who got hurt on my street, but that's probably because my street is only open for cars between 8 and 11 (AM, for those of you stuck with 12h clock).

But platform screen doors, nope.

Re: SXSW: 2 dead, 23 injured.

#40

Post by mrtron »

kevingadd wrote: post #33
anigbrowl wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh for heaven's sake, there are other ways to get from A to B besides driving yourself or taking Uber. Blaming APD for this is a cheap shot, especially as the driver appears to have stolen the car from another town an hour's drive away and was thus not likely to be an Uber customer int he first place.

God, and the first answer to this is Uber ? What about public transit and denser cities? Ugh.

If Uber runs into issues in a city I would imagine the ability of that city to manage urban planning and public transit to be poor.

It might not be an answer so much as a canary.

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