This story in the Times Union last week is a typical example of a widespread problem. Why is the news (and the serious charge) fleeing the scene of the crash, rather than taking a human life? Certainly, fleeing the scene of a car crash should be punished, but why should remaining on the scene and cooperating be exculpatory? At the end of the day, a driver ended the life of another person, and we need to stop pretending that’s okay just because they didn’t (in most cases) do it on purpose.
Something my wife and I have been trying to teach our 7yo recently is that there’s a difference between “not meaning to” do something, and “meaning not to” do something. It’s important for children to learn that breaking something because of carelessness doesn’t change the fact that you broke it, and it doesn’t absolve you of all responsibility for the accident.
That’s a concept it’s long past time to codify in our rules about driving (and the design of roadways).