Black Box convicts driver
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Black Box convicts driver
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...ol=968793972154
MONTREAL - A man was sentenced to jail today for dangerous driving causing death because the data recorder in his car showed he was driving at an excessive speed.
Eric Gauthier, now 26, was driving 131 kilometres an hour when his car collided with another vehicle, killing Yacine Zinet and injuring a passenger almost three years ago on April 19, 2001.
Gauthier was sentenced to 18 months in jail for dangerous driving and nine months for dangerous driving causing injury but the sentences will be served concurrently. He also won't be allowed to drive for three years.
Belinda Matthey, the victim's sister, noted the black box in Gauthier's Pontiac Sunfire helped put her mind at ease about what really happened.
"If we didn't know about the data in the black box, we would have always thought my brother was driving fast and that he went through a red light," Matthey said outside court.
"It was a nice thing to have. Without the black box we wouldn't know the truth."
Gauthier had told police that Zinet's car had run a red light, but the black box in Gauthier's General Motors car showed he was driving between 130 and 160 km/h in a 50 km/h zone on downtown Ste-Catherine Street.
The trial marks the first time the data recorders have been accepted as evidence in a Canadian courtroom, Crown prosecutor Jeannot Decarie has said.
Matthey also said it wasn't a road accident, but a criminal act that was committed "and people have to realize they can be sentenced to prison."
"I'm glad justice has been done and I think other lives will be saved," she added.
Christina Matthey, Zinet's mother, had mixed feelings about the jail sentence.
"Nothing can replace my son, but I think, at least, the sentence was the maximum ever handed out in Quebec."
Pamela McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for General Motors Canada in Oshawa, said when the automaker first introduced the airbag system in 1973, it included the ability to record crash-related data when the airbag is deployed.
"All of our GM vehicles have a sensing diagnostic module," she said.
"The SDM records the condition of the vehicle and how it was operated in a crash or near-crash event such as the engine speed, brake applications, the throttle position, seat-belt usage, air-bag readiness and the severity of a collision."
McLaughlin also said the information can obtained if a warrant is issued.
"There are instances where legally, an official request can be made by the police or a government office."
McLaughlin added that all automakers have the black boxes in the majority of their vehicles.
Defence attorney Marie-France La Haye said the black box was an invasion of privacy. But she admitted it could make drivers more aware.
"I find it interesting that we have black boxes in all our vehicles and I think that could change driving habits."
La Haye had argued Gauthier should be sentenced to between 12 and 24 months to be served at his parents' home in Baie-Comeau, Que., about 420 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.
She said her client's sentence was severe and didn't rule out an appeal.
MONTREAL - A man was sentenced to jail today for dangerous driving causing death because the data recorder in his car showed he was driving at an excessive speed.
Eric Gauthier, now 26, was driving 131 kilometres an hour when his car collided with another vehicle, killing Yacine Zinet and injuring a passenger almost three years ago on April 19, 2001.
Gauthier was sentenced to 18 months in jail for dangerous driving and nine months for dangerous driving causing injury but the sentences will be served concurrently. He also won't be allowed to drive for three years.
Belinda Matthey, the victim's sister, noted the black box in Gauthier's Pontiac Sunfire helped put her mind at ease about what really happened.
"If we didn't know about the data in the black box, we would have always thought my brother was driving fast and that he went through a red light," Matthey said outside court.
"It was a nice thing to have. Without the black box we wouldn't know the truth."
Gauthier had told police that Zinet's car had run a red light, but the black box in Gauthier's General Motors car showed he was driving between 130 and 160 km/h in a 50 km/h zone on downtown Ste-Catherine Street.
The trial marks the first time the data recorders have been accepted as evidence in a Canadian courtroom, Crown prosecutor Jeannot Decarie has said.
Matthey also said it wasn't a road accident, but a criminal act that was committed "and people have to realize they can be sentenced to prison."
"I'm glad justice has been done and I think other lives will be saved," she added.
Christina Matthey, Zinet's mother, had mixed feelings about the jail sentence.
"Nothing can replace my son, but I think, at least, the sentence was the maximum ever handed out in Quebec."
Pamela McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for General Motors Canada in Oshawa, said when the automaker first introduced the airbag system in 1973, it included the ability to record crash-related data when the airbag is deployed.
"All of our GM vehicles have a sensing diagnostic module," she said.
"The SDM records the condition of the vehicle and how it was operated in a crash or near-crash event such as the engine speed, brake applications, the throttle position, seat-belt usage, air-bag readiness and the severity of a collision."
McLaughlin also said the information can obtained if a warrant is issued.
"There are instances where legally, an official request can be made by the police or a government office."
McLaughlin added that all automakers have the black boxes in the majority of their vehicles.
Defence attorney Marie-France La Haye said the black box was an invasion of privacy. But she admitted it could make drivers more aware.
"I find it interesting that we have black boxes in all our vehicles and I think that could change driving habits."
La Haye had argued Gauthier should be sentenced to between 12 and 24 months to be served at his parents' home in Baie-Comeau, Que., about 420 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.
She said her client's sentence was severe and didn't rule out an appeal.
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Joined: Jul 2003
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From: The Empire State
wow, dont know what to think....
If any of you have or have not been to where this accident happened. St. Catherine Street in Montreal is not a street you go 80mph? on.
I wouldnt go above 40 (in a real hurry) or realistically above 35, there are always people on that street, oh and hookers, that steet is all bars, strip clubs and sex shops!
If any of you have or have not been to where this accident happened. St. Catherine Street in Montreal is not a street you go 80mph? on.
I wouldnt go above 40 (in a real hurry) or realistically above 35, there are always people on that street, oh and hookers, that steet is all bars, strip clubs and sex shops!
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Joined: Dec 2001
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From: Toronto
That's almost flat out for a Sunflower. Top speed is 170. It said at times he was going 160!
They aren't the fastest accelerating cars in the world. It must have taken a lot of blowing through stop signs and careful thought to hustle a Sunfire down a 50 KM/H road at nearly its top speed.
They aren't the fastest accelerating cars in the world. It must have taken a lot of blowing through stop signs and careful thought to hustle a Sunfire down a 50 KM/H road at nearly its top speed.
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 772
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From: Boston
Wow i went to Montreal bout a month ago and i stayed at a hotel a block away from ste cathrines st. I don't know how that guy managed that speed, like it was already said the street is a night life magnet, the equvilent of sunset blyd here in the states, only it's a one lane road.
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