Ottawa police have finally laid charges in two high-profile motorcycle crashes that occurred in the city last summer.


One of the charges is against Giuseppe Oppedisano, who faces a rap of dangerous driving causing death, after an accident on Aug. 12 involving one of Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff’s top aides.
Mario Laguë, a 52-year-old former ambassador who’d also worked in the Quebec political scene, was killed when his Honda Shadow struck Oppedisano’s SUV at an intersection after the SUV turned in front of him.
It was determined that although both vehicles had a green signal, Laguë had the right of way as he was travelling straight through the intersection — it was a typical case of someone tuning left into oncoming traffic. Oppedisano will appear in court tomorrow.
In another case of making an unsafe turn, a 73-year-old woman has been charged in a high-profile accident that occurred on Aug. 28.
Lois Thompson turned left at an intersection, causing a collision with a motorcycle ridden by Dr. Donald Chow, a team doctor for the Ottawa Senators NHL club.
He suffered serious head and chest injuries in the incident and is still recovering. Thompson was charged last Monday with making an unsafe turn under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
There are, and always will be, drivers who turn left in front of motorcycles. That is objective reality. No penalty imposed upon drivers is going to change that sad fact. There are and always will be idiots behind the wheel. The only pertinent question is – what are you, as a rider, going to do to protect yourself to the best of your ability?
Rule number 1 – in ANY accident between a bike and a car, the bike LOSES.
Rule number 2 – Right-of-way, Legislation, Law Courts, Police, charges, etc. will not change rule #1.
Remember, regardless of fault, we have to keep a watch out for the idiots.
6 months to charge them! Let’s wait to see how long it takes to go to court and what the pealty will be. Will they get off with only a slight slap on the wrists?
Richard
Rule number one: Depending on who’s statistics you read, accidents involving motorcycles with other vehicles are the fault of the motorcyclist about twenty-five percent of the time.
Rule number two: Motorcylists cannot change rule number one!
LAST SUMMER!!!…what took them so long!
the old double standard “it’s the bikes fault”
It’s the most common accident there is when it comes to motorcycles. I’m glad to see the people who caused the accidents are getting charged. Hopefully it’s not just because of the high profile nature of the victims that we’re hearing about it and the Police and media continue to hold accountable and spread the word on people who drive dangerously, both in cars and on motorcycles.
I’d like to see the stats, or percentage, of how many accidents/deaths occurred from cars turning left in front of motorcycles.
Lots I bet.