To actually feel sorry for the woman driving the car in the Wimbledon car accident

[bagpuss90]

I’m sure I’ll be flamed here . I totally sympathise with the bereaved parents- I can’t stress that enough. I can understand them wanting justice . As we know the driver of the car suffered an epileptic seizure at the wheel - she had no history of epilepsy. I don’t see what she could have done differently. She has to live with what she did although it wasn’t her fault. AIBU to feel quite sorry for her ?

I don't think people are necessarily defending the person but the system that's assessed that it wasn't in the public interest to prosecute. As that's the case, if her seizures are controlled for the requisite period and she meets all the medical requirements under what power would you presume to stop her? Do you think everyone who has ever had a seizure should not be allowed to drive?

Completely agree

Yes. Unless the law is changed so that every other driver who has been seizure free for the prescribed length of time is banned from driving again. She was unfortunate enough to have a first seizure behind the wheel and it resulted in a tragic accident. It could happen to any one of us, so why should she be singled out for different treatment when the law of the land states that if you are seizure free - medicated or unmedicated - for one year, then you are able to drive again.

She'll have to abide the the strict rules of the DVLA.

It's a horrible accident. I feel sorry for the parents and the driver. There is no justice to be had and I imagine no peace ever for any of them.

As does every other driver who has had a seizure. Seizure free for one year before you are allowed to drive again.

Yes, in the same way anyone else can.

Epilepsy can occur at any age and for a wide range of reasons.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/epilepsy/

Think of it as symptom rather than a disease or disorder - much like a cough can be caused by many very different things, so can an epileptic fit.

It’s not about the defending the driver.

But the vast majority of reasons that the driver should have been prosecuted is completely made up out of thin air and from people’s feelings. Yet the same people are claiming that the police investigation can’t be relied on as though their musings have more chance of being right.

In cases like this witness statement’s count for very little as they are unreliable, more often than not, because of how the brain works.

The same people banging on about how the rich driver probably bought their way out, completely ignoring the parents are also wealthy, haven’t even thought why the head teachers would be so keen to have the driver blamed. They make up stories of black mail about the driver and taking the head teachers words as gospel but can’t conceive that the head teacher may have their own agenda. It’s likely that people all have a different point of view, but funny how conspiracy theories are only going one way.

There’s so much information here that’s complete fantasy. You can’t develop epilepsy over 40, she might have been hung over, they probably didn’t check for drugs (despite it being standard), she has been smiling since, she didn’t leave her job, she might sell cars that are the same brand as the ones she is driving (I mean come on, if non of us had anything to do with a brand of car because one car of the brand killed someone we wouldn’t have cars at all), she also might have done an interview before hand, she hasn’t said sorry oh wait she had but that means nothing.

And most of all, if she didn’t have an episode of ill health she must have just decided to drive at the kids on purpose?

and of course she should be allowed to drive. If she meets all the requirements that all people with epilepsy have to meet. Under what rules should she be not allowed to drive?

Well, as I said earlier, if I were the parents and saw this woman driving again…..

Morally this woman should not get behind the wheel of a car ever again.

An EEG can pick up unusual brain-activity linked to an increased risk of a seizure in much the same way that blood pressure or cholesterol levels can indicate a higher risk of heart attack.

So you'd take the law into your own hands and become a cold blooded criminal.
I hope you don't have any medical conditions at all. Though hang on you have eyes, detatched retinas can just happen.
Morally you should never get behind the wheel of a car!

The are very clear and fair rules about this if she adheres to them she will be able to drive again.

If she feels she can not I would understand this if she feels she can, I have no issue with this.

And I am surprised at, yes, the very vigorous defending of the driver. Almost brushing off the fact that two little girls were crushed to death.

I feel it was poor form for the head to speak about things they don't know about related to the driver/charges etc. If you've never had a seizure and are clear to drive with no medical reason not to, then this is a horrific accident that has harmed everyone who was involved. As a parent my heart aches for the parents and as a human I feel nothing but empathy for the driver. It could be anyone who had a first time medical emergency.

Having said that if I were the driver I would never want to go behind the wheel again, out of deep respect for the families and the possibility of another seizure.

There are no winners here.

I feel for her too. I would struggle to live with that - anyone with a conscience would. It wasn't her fault but her actions did cause those deaths. The guilt must be horrendous. I'm not going to compare it with how the parents feel but I'm sure the driver will struggle with it long term.

Could you quote these posts.

Yes of course they are. And if they do not think the police have done a good job, there needs to be open and transparent discussion about their concerns. But it is also the case when something as tragic as this happens that we want to blame someone - in this case the driver - and its hard to accept that it was an accident. A terrible accident. its not shutting down discussion to address the misinformation being spread here - such as the ignorant remarks about seizures.

I know if I had had such a terrible accident - or dh - I would not be trumpeting about the right to drive again. So hard-hearted.

Agree. It’s well known that you can have a first seizure at any age and there are many causes. It’s also been shown that she isn’t in car sales - that was someone else entirely, not that it’s relevant, and nor is the size or model of car she was driving. The fact that she hasn’t said sorry means nothing either - isn’t it standard practice for car insurance providers to advise that an apology can be construed as an admission of guilt ? I don’t understand why so many people are doubting the veracity of the illness as being the cause of the accident.

What could she have done differently? Not driven an irresponsibly large tank of a car. No need for that in an urban area.

If she had been driving a regular sized family car, the fence would have likely slowed down the vehicle enough for the little girls to get out of the way.

#banSUVsinurbanareas

Yes. The law is very clear that you must have not had a seizure for I think it's a year and then you can drive again.
To make an exception for her is to punish her for having had a medical emergency
Either everyone who has had a seizure should be banned from driving forever or everyone gets the same one year seizure free as the law currently states.

Otherwise you're talking about looking at every case and going ok your seizure resulted in this so you get a year, yours resulted in this so you get five years and yours resulted in this so you can never drive again.

That's sentencing. That's punishment for a crime.

Who is 'trumpeting' about the right to drive again? If the driver is seizure free for the required length of time, she will be subject to the same rules as anyone else who is now seizure free. It is then up to her whether she then chooses to drive again. Some people may choose to never drive again, others will have a different view. As long as they follow the law, it's a personal choice that is no one else's business.

Well then, everyone everywhere should immediately stop driving this type of car in case they experience their first seizure, completely out of the blue and through no fault of their own, while they are in control of it. What a load of cobblers.

How do you know? Have you killed someone driving?

If you are able to just stop driving and it not be an issue for you, why do you drive now? You are a risk to everyone else every time you drive your car. If you don’t need to why take the risk?