Driving in the USA = risking jailtime?

[VincentVL. 0]

Can some American citizen enlighten me?

Say I'm driving in my car and I get a brainfart and cause a deadly accident. Let's say I pull up to my driveway and oversee a biker who gets pancaked. Or I oversee a stopsign and run someone over.

I'm not drunk, I'm not drugged, I wasn't speeding.
Do I get sent to jail?

[ruudwas 0]

are you considering this ;)

[VincentVL. 0]

(No Sir officer I am not. I'm just wondering what the laws are. Seems like there's always a guilty party who has to get punished in the states. If I can go to jail for a few years for making one mistake I'd reconsider driving in the states. However this is not the issue. Please stick to info in OP)

[kelpdiver 2]

The reality is that if you accidentally kill someone, you're unlikely to pay for it with jail time. People have gotten off for some pretty egregious errors - like fumbling around with the stereo and mowing down bicyclists. English people driving on the wrong side of the road have also been given considerable leniency.

Running stop signs is more up in the air. A congressman with a history of speeding blew through a stop sign at freeway speeds and killed a motorcyclist. The AMA and others made sure pressure was brought to bear. But even then the penalities for involuntary manslaughter are pretty light.

But when you act to make an incident happen (your dueling road rage incidents), you can get a few years. Same if you leave the scene of an accident - stay and maybe nothing happens, but flee and get caught, you'll pay.

[BillyVance 34]

Yep, what he said.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[KelliJ 0]

Short answer-yes. But much depends upon the situation.

[VincentVL. 0]

I see. I don't approve of reckless driving btw.

[kelpdiver 2]

I think on the list of things to worry about while in the US, this one is pretty far down the list. (Finding a car with a stick shift is much more of a concern, I'd say)

In general you need to have intent to get convicted and jailed. Otherwise you need pretty wanton neglect.

[quade 3]

Are you talking about simply spending the night in jail while waiting for a judge or spending a year in jail for punishment or (our next level up) prison for greater than a year for punishment?

Just a general note, in a lot of places in the U.S. you can be placed in jail while waiting to see a judge simply for speeding greater than 20 mph over the speed limit. This rarely happens, but it's an option in a LOT of places.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Andy9o8 0]

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Short answer-yes. But much depends upon the situation.

Excuse me, but there is no short answer, and if there was, it would not be "yes".

The weak disclaimer of your 2nd sentence does little to lessen the impact of the misinformation conveyed by your first sentence.

By the way, I don't see the name Kelli Johnston on the roll of attorneys currently admitted to practice in your home state of Indiana:

http://hats.courts.state.in.us/rollatty/roa1_out.jsp

[KelliJ 0]

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Short answer-yes. But much depends upon the situation.

Excuse me, but there is no short answer, and if there was, it would not be "yes".

The weak disclaimer of your 2nd sentence does little to lessen the impact of the misinformation conveyed by your first sentence.

By the way, I don't see the name Kelli Johnston on the roll of attorneys currently admitted to practice in your home state of Indiana:

http://hats.courts.state.in.us/rollatty/roa1_out.jsp

Let's see- a three letter word that answers the question directly is about as short as it gets unless you say "no" but then the answer would be wrong. So, on that point, you're wrong and I'm right. There is no misinformation in the 2nd sentence. Whether jail time is given/served is very much dependent upon the situation. Again, you are wrong and I am right. But you are probably right about my name not being on any list of attorneys in Indiana, or any other state for that matter. I wonder why that is? Oh wait! I know! I'm not an attorney! (Did I claim I was?)

BTW, who peed in your Wheaties this morning?

[quade 3]

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Short answer-yes. But much depends upon the situation.

Totally unrelated, but is that your real name?

I'm curious if you know who Kelly Johnson was.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Nightingale 0]

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The reality is that if you accidentally kill someone, you're unlikely to pay for it with jail time.

Unless you are breaking the law in the process, especially if the accident was the type that the law was designed to prevent (example: law: don't drive on the sidewalk. The law was put there to prevent motorists from mowing down pedestrians. Drive on the sidewalk and mow down a pedestrian, you're going to get more than just a ticket).

I worked on a case where a guy made an illegal left turn (the below is public record). It's an infraction, not even a misdemeanor. However, he was charged with manslaughter, because he mowed down a motorcyclist and killed him. Because the "no left turn" sign was put there due to a blind corner, specifically to prevent an "I didn't see the guy!" type of accident, the prosecutor went after him for a strict penalty, because the sign was right in front of his face, and he ignored it and killed someone. He spent some time in jail.

[KelliJ 0]

Yes, my real name is Kelli Johnston. Kelly was a typo that took me a couple weeks to notice (I don't read my own profile very often and spell-check didn't catch it).

[kelpdiver 2]

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The reality is that if you accidentally kill someone, you're unlikely to pay for it with jail time.

Unless you are breaking the law in the process, especially if the accident was the type that the law was designed to prevent (example: law: don't drive on the sidewalk.

If you're driving down the sidewalk, we've left the realm where you could fairly call it an 'accident.' Much like the stop sign, but more so since you can't miss the sidewalk.

I had a not near, but close enough to piss me off miss with a guy who made a left turn out of a freeway entrance as I was entering the same entrance from the other direction. I'm probably not going to shed too many tears for the guy you mentioned. It is clear that one shouldn't be turning left there.

[kschilk 0]

It ain't the jail time ya' gotta' worry about, it's the lawsuits that follow.

"T'was ever thus."

[Nightingale 0]

I don't think there's really a such thing as an "accident". When a car collides with something, somebody, somewhere, screwed up. That's usually negligence, not "accident".

[warpedskydiver 0]

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I don't think there's really a such thing as an "accident". When a car collides with something, somebody, somewhere, screwed up. That's usually negligence, not "accident".

Exactly!

[kelpdiver 2]

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I don't think there's really a such thing as an "accident". When a car collides with something, somebody, somewhere, screwed up. That's usually negligence, not "accident".

there are accidents where someone is at fault, but it's still considered bad luck coupled with operator error. And then you have accidents where you knew it was just a matter of time. In the middle is a more vague mess - it's no longer highly negligent to tailgate on LA freeways because if you try to give yourself front space, some asshole will change lanes in front of you. So during commute hours, eveyone is living on a prayer.

Just take the driving after drinking scale. Some people have a drink and drive home. Some people have a 12 pack and drive home. Somewhere along that continium we stopped calling it accidental and impose severe penalties.

[VincentVL. 0]

This attitude:

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I don't think there's really a such thing as an "accident". When a car collides with something, somebody, somewhere, screwed up. That's usually negligence, not "accident".

combined with:

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It ain't the jail time ya' gotta' worry about, it's the lawsuits that follow.

makes me not want operate a vehicle in the states.

Why do you have insurance if you're gonna get jailed/sued to shit anyway? Does insurance pay for the suit? People screw up all the time in traffic. I do agree however, that you shouldn't intentionally break the law (like u-turn on freeway, drinking).

[lawrocket 3]

The situation you are describing is, I believe, misdemeanor manslaughter in California.

Probable charges and possible minimal jail time.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[ExAFO 0]

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Can some American citizen enlighten me?

Say I'm driving in my car and I get a brainfart and cause a deadly accident....

You can end the question right there. Negligence. Yes, you could be held criminally liable. The circumstances of the law involved determine penalty.

Illinois needs a CCW Law. NOW.

[ExAFO 0]

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...makes me not want operate a vehicle in the states.

No, just that in the States, Accidents have consequences. "Oops, sorry 'bout that" doesn't cut it here.

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Why do you have insurance if you're gonna get jailed/sued to shit anyway? Does insurance pay for the suit? People screw up all the time in traffic.

Yep, and it's called negligence.

Insurance pays up to a certain point, but if you are determined to have been DUI, you'll rightfully get fucked by the insurance company when it comes to renewal time.

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I do agree however, that you shouldn't intentionally break the law (like u-turn on freeway, drinking).

Nor should intent be a factor in some traffic offenses, aka strict liability.

Illinois needs a CCW Law. NOW.

[VincentVL. 0]

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No, just that in the States, Accidents have consequences. "Oops, sorry 'bout that" doesn't cut it here.

I figured as much. I don't care for that "someone has to pay for this" mentality. Unless there was a case of gross misconduct where the person who caused the accident showed he clearly didn't have any respect for human life by speeding excessively, drinking, driving in a reckless manner etc.

[ExAFO 0]

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No, just that in the States, Accidents have consequences. "Oops, sorry 'bout that" doesn't cut it here.

I figured as much. I don't care for that "someone has to pay for this" mentality. Unless....

...Unless it is one of your loved ones...

Illinois needs a CCW Law. NOW.