Equal Punishment?

Yesterday a woman who 'accidentally' ran over a child got a $1200 fine and was suspended from driving for a year.

It would seem that the break pedal is too close to the accelerator.

Its not the first time something like this has happened, usually relegated to the mature driver, mistaking the accelerator for the break usually happens when people who are too old to be behind the wheel get rushed into making easy maneuvers without taking care. The 'I've been driving for years and never had an accident' mentality takes over and someone is killed.

Paraskevi Kafetzis does not fall into this category as she is only 39. So what happened that afternoon? The day Six-year-old Constantine Politis died outside his school while standing on the footpath. He was not playing on the road, he was not playing in amongst parked cars, he was on the footpath!

So was it a crime worth $1200? Should it be seen as an accident? I promise you that if you go out in your car today and drive to a place where you are all alone and try to accidentally hit the accelerator it is more then likely that you will not travel more then a few feet at best.

"But I'm trying to stop the car Jason, I'm taking care!" What, Paraskevi Kafetzis wasn't taking care while driving a car. An instrument that we are all told on the first day we go out to learn to drive can kill and kill with ease!

I'm sure if I was allowed to delve into Mrs Kafetzis's driving record I would find a heap of small accidents. Probably nothing much in the way of traffic fines but a heap of small accidents with other motorists and the occasional pole or fence.

Another way too look at it would be in the case of my father-in-law. He had the habit of driving drunk. Yes, I believe that he deserves everything he gets for driving drunk but I want to look at the other aspect of his punishment. He would drive drunk, get caught and end up with a 3 month suspension. So what does he do, he drives without a license, he drives drunk. Basically back to normal. Once again he gets caught. Eventually he ends up with a 10 year suspention. He did finally give up driving for the most part.

My father-in-law never killed anyone. As far as I know he never caused any damage to other peoples property, he's just a guy with a drinking problem that he needs help with and the ability to drive a car.

Why does a man who has never hurt anyone but himself and his family have a greater punishment then a woman who should never be behind the wheel of a car again? Arn't both potential threats to the well being of the people around them?



The childs parents, didn't even recieve an apology.