Put a leash on 'pit-bull' cars
Drivers must know how to handle power
Paula Simons
The Edmonton Journal
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Ricky Richardson doesn't look like a dangerous man.
Or a deadly one.
A slender 58-year old, with distinguished silver hair, a neatly trimmed beard, glasses and a pacemaker, the retired civil engineer appears the most upright of upright citizens.
But on Aug. 5, 2004, Ricky Richardson ran down Irene Nicholson, 55, with his super-charged black Corvette.
It was, of course, an accident. Richardson had been at a car show with a friend who was driving another souped-up Corvette. The men were stopped at a red light at 137th Avenue and Fort Road. Their two cars took off together out of the intersection; several eyewitnesses testified that the drivers appeared to be stunting or racing, though Richardson and his friend vehemently denied it.
Whatever happened, Richardson, who had accelerated rapidly, lost control of his high-powered car, which jumped the curb. The car, travelling between 60 km-h and 80 km-h, ploughed down Nicholson, who was on the sidewalk taking her regular after-supper walk through her neighbourhood.
The poor woman, who was partially deaf, may never have known what hit her.
At trial, Richardson's top-notch criminal defence lawyer, Brian Beresh, argued the accident was caused by a mechanical failure, that the car's anti-lock brakes and traction controls failed.
But Justice Paul Belzil didn't buy the argument. Richardson never tried to brake in the first place, said the judge. And, he found, if Richardson hadn't accelerated so aggressively, he would never have needed traction control in the first place.
And so, this Tuesday, Belzil found Richardson guilty of dangerous driving causing death. The maximum sentence is 14 years in jail. Richardson will be sentenced next Wednesday. His lawyer is already promising to file an appeal.
But the crime Ricky Richardson committed didn't begin that terrible August night when he punched the accelerator. The chain of events that led to Irene Nicholson's death began when Richardson decided to buy a Corvette with a special super-charger that gave the already-powerful car a 500-horsepower engine.
Of course, any car or truck, driven recklessly or stupidly, can kill or maim. You can run someone down with a nice little Smart Car or Prius. But a muscle car like Richardson's super-charged Corvette is a far more dangerous vehicle to take to the road.
It's built for racing, not for navigating crowded city streets.
It's a high-performance car that demands expert handling and expert maintenance. Lose control of a such a vehicle, even for a minute, and it becomes a deadly weapon. It's like a Rottweiler of the road: lethal in the wrong hands.
No one "needs" to drive a car like this -- anymore than anyone "needs" to drive a Hummer or an Escalade. They're all fashion choices, a chance to parade your wealth and power. But when someone opts to drive an especially powerful vehicle, they ought to assume a higher duty of care. Make the most innocent mistake behind the wheel of a super car and you can do a lot of damage in a frighteningly short time.
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The tone of this article pisses me off. The issue is irresponsible driving, which has nothing to do with high horsepower. If you're stupid enough to drag race a 500hp Corvette on a public road, you deserve the suffer the consequences of your actions when things get out of control, but it has nothing to do with the car.
::Drive1::
Are high hp cars harder to handle than a regular car? Well, they are if you drive around with the throttle planted all the time. Drive them like a normal adult, though, and there's nothing particularly difficult about driving one.
Plenty of accidents are caused by kids in riced out Civics, rednecks in pickups, and doped-up truckers. Should we ban those vehicles? Of course not. It's always about the driver (assuming the car is properly maintained).
The hyperbole in this article makes me sick. "Rottweiler of the road"??? Get a grip, lady. The guy who was driving this Vette is an idiot. Don't blame the ::Censor:: car.
S.
