On Laws

First order of business, Sultan Ahmed, the Taxi driver who it appears crashed the Taxi he was driving into Chris Kasztelewicz (the cyclist who lost his leg when Ahmed crashed his taxi) has been charged, according to the Globe and Mail with six different criminal charges, although only five are listed:

1. criminal negligence causing bodily harm
2. dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm
3. failing to stop at the scene of an accident
4. attempted obstruction of justice
5. aggravated assault

I am no lawyer, but I do believe that items: 1., 4., and 5. all come with some pretty significant jail time. Which to be frank is a relief. The way cops are with Taxi drivers I almost expected them to give this guy a pat on the back and then say, better luck next time.

On doing further research I found out a big one, Ahmed is also being charged with assault with a weapon, his car. Naturally that sort of charge, if found guilty comes with very significant jail time. In addition, we should expect that Kasztelewicz will take civil action against not only Ahmed, but probably Beck Taxi as well as any number of other entities. It is pretty much a sure thing that Ahmed will never drive again, nor will he ever be able to pay off all the money he is going to owe Kasztelewicz. The sad part is, I suspect no amount of money is going to truly compensate Kasztelewicz for the loss of ability, namely, Kasztelewicz can never ride a bike again. Well he can, but Kasztelewicz, like me, likes road bikes and liked to ride fast, and with one working leg, well riding fast is not going to happen anymore, and unless he drags around a prosthetic leg or training wheels how would he balance when he hits a red light?

The whole story is tragic. Honestly I don't care that Ahmed is a father with two children and a wife to feed, we have a social safety net for that. What pisses me off was the attitude that I will bet Ahmed had going into the argument, that no matter what, by virtue of the fact that Ahmed was in a car and Kasztelewicz was on a bike, Ahmed is in the right!

Gladiators in the Colosseum used to face the emperor before the battle and say: "We who are about to die salute you!"

Car drivers everywhere: we who ride among you, salute you! (Only it is a one fingered salute.)

Senatus Populusque ex Machina!

The signature of the Roman government was SPQR (Senatus Populusque Romanus) which means, The Senate and the People of Rome. Well I have replaced the People of Rome with People from the Machine. So we have: The Senate and the People from the Machine! Since all of us plebeian non-motorists don't matter, well maybe recent events will change some opinions.