Thrill-Seekers try to Drive across Frozen Canal
A pair of British thrill-seekers, labeled by police as “stupid,” found the thrill they sought on Monday when they tried to drive a small car across a frozen canal. Unfathomably, the ice did not support the weight of the car and the vehicle plunged into the icy depths below. Luckily, the depths were not all that deep and the pair was able to escape injury. They reportedly crawled out of the water and fled the scene before authorities arrived.
Thrill-seeking behavior comes in all different forms on the roadways, be it driving extremely fast, drag-racing, or attempting to use your car as a quarter-ton ice skate. The problem with thrill-seeking driving tactics is that they endanger not only the driver but those around them. Luckily nobody was injured in the scenario described above, but thrill-seeking driving occurs much more frequently on roads than it does frozen ponds, putting others on the roadway at a serious risk of harm. Speeding and drag-racing are very common causes of serious injury and death on the roadways, and drivers who engage in such behavior can easily end up as defendants in a personal injury lawsuit. This type of behavior is negligent at the very least and is reckless in many cases. Reckless behavior on the roadways provides the victims of accidents caused by such behavior with a method of recovery in addition to actual damages by opening the door for the victims to sue for punitive damages. Punitive damage awards can reach into the millions of dollars if the jury feels like such an amount is necessary to punish the defendant for his or her conduct or deter others from participating in the same behavior.
While it goes without saying that one should not drive in such a manner that it endangers others, it is also important to note that certain types of dangerous driving expose drivers to additional liability and provide victims with an additional method of recovery. For more on punitive damages in auto accidents, read our previous blog on the subject.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1242729/Motorists-drove-half-MILE-ice-covered-canal-facing-court.html
