Another tragedy for the "WTF?" files

[jimmy olsen]

Apparently she was a diabetic.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-08-06-ny-wrong-way-crash_N.htm

[Caliga]

Dude, no.  The guy is represented by Dominic Barbara, who is possibly the sleaziest lawyer in the country. 

[DGuller]

She was drinking alcohol to get her blood sugar level up?  You have to give points for originality, at least.

[merithyn]

Bet he's trying to avoid losing some insurance money due to a drunk-driving clause or something.

But really. Diabetic with an embolism in her leg and a stroke? Pick one, dude. Just pick one.

[DGuller]

Bet he's trying to avoid losing some insurance money due to a drunk-driving clause or something.

I'd be surprised if there is a drunk driving clause, unless New York has some special rules or laws regarding it.  It would punish victims of drunk drivers much more than it would punish drunk drivers, so I doubt that it would be allowed by insurance departments.

[merithyn]

Depends on if a life-insurance policy counted drunk-driving as self-inflicted cause of death, doesn't it?

[viper37]

But really. Diabetic with an embolism in her leg and a stroke? Pick one, dude. Just pick one.

some people are naturally unlucky.

Just like that boxer (Gatti) who killed himself with his wife's purse after drinking all night and knocking himself with an object behind the head.  And to top it off, his wife just happenned to be sleeping all day in their appartment and it took her 10hrs to find him strangled on the floor.  Naturally unlucky, I tell you.

[viper37]

Depends on if a life-insurance policy counted drunk-driving as self-inflicted cause of death, doesn't it?

Most life-insurance policies will pay for suicide if it happens more than 2 years after you subscribed to it.
And they generally don't discriminate against drunk drivers (not that they'd don't want to ).
In fact, life-insurance policies almost never have any exclusions for death.  Mine only has an exclusion for parachuting.
Invalidity insurance policies however will typically have many exclusions and will always find a way to nitpick before paying.

[DGuller]

Depends on if a life-insurance policy counted drunk-driving as self-inflicted cause of death, doesn't it?

Good point, I was just thinking about auto insurance.  Yes, collecting on life insurance could very well be problematic, even without a specific DUI clause.

[Monoriu]

I saw people driving on the wrong side of the highway all the time in China.  A very high proportion of motorists ignore all rules there.  But because of this, most people don't drive very fast. 

[DGuller]

I saw people driving on the wrong side of the highway all the time in China.  A very high proportion of motorists ignore all rules there.  But because of this, most people don't drive very fast.

I've heard that from other people living in China.  Don't they have traffic police in China?  You'd think that would be an easy source of fines or bribes.

[Monoriu]

I saw people driving on the wrong side of the highway all the time in China.  A very high proportion of motorists ignore all rules there.  But because of this, most people don't drive very fast.

I've heard that from other people living in China.  Don't they have traffic police in China?  You'd think that would be an easy source of fines or bribes.

Catching cars on the highway is too much work 

[DGuller]

Catching cars on the highway is too much work 

No, seriously, why aren't the traffic laws enforced in China?  The death rates from car accidents are atrocious in China, and so are the driving habits by all reports.

[Caliga]

uh, because Chinamen are barbarians?  Traffic laws aren't enforced in most of the Third World, e.g. Russia, southern Italy, etc.

[Monoriu]

Catching cars on the highway is too much work 

No, seriously, why aren't the traffic laws enforced in China?  The death rates from car accidents are atrocious in China, and so are the driving habits by all reports.

I don't think anybody can say for sure, but I think there are a couple of reasons.

Enforcing traffic laws is not just a matter of police and court action.  It is also a matter of social habit and peer pressure.  A big difference between Chinese and western culture is that Chinese strongly believe it is wrong to meddle in other people's affairs unless they directly affect you.  When I drove in Vancouver, I got all sorts of...messages from other motorists all the time.  Civilians in Canada will not hesitate to tell you that you are breaking the law or ignoring generally accepted rules of the road.  People in China however do not do that.  There is little or no social pressure to behave.  A few bad apples will start a downward spiral until everybody is forced to break the rules, because absolutely no one follows them. 

Second, I was not entirely joking in my previous post.  Chasing fast moving cars is a lot of work.  A lot more than, say, catching stationary hawkers.