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“Hi kids! Do you like violence?” Well guess what, you’re in luck. Because violence is basically legal—as long as the weapon is your car.

You’re probably thinking that I’m being dramatic. Come on, FreeMoveCity… you can’t just run people over with reckless abandon and get away with it! People go to jail for that!

Not really.

Time and time again our justice system immediately puts itself in the driver’s seat, not the pedestrian’s shoes, when ruling on such cases. The underlining message is clear: “Anyone could ‘accidentally’ run someone over… should we really be criminally punished for it?”

Well, the pedestrians pay with their lives. And these “accidents” are almost always “negligence.”

Very few seem to care. We’re more concerned with whether or not “accidents” should be “punished.” Because too few of us see ourselves as the pedestrians in the given situation—or the pedestrian’s family.

We just think: “That driver could have been ME!”

(Wait, I thought we were all great drivers!)

Take the case of Seyed Moshfeghi Zadeh. This man drove his car through the middle of downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, in broad daylight and ideal weather conditions… and proceeded to run a red light that had been red for fully 20 seconds before he entered the intersection.

The resulting crash killed an 23-month-old baby girl and put the girl’s father in the hospital with life-changing injuries. They were walking on a nearby sidewalk at the time. Not even on the road.

There were five other pedestrians in the intersection. The prosecution compared it to driving blindfolded (ahem, we all know what he was most likely doing).

A baby died. A family destroyed.

The driver pleaded “not guilty” and beat the rap. No charges. No punishment. Drive to court, get your walking papers, drive home.

Just another “accident.” No one’s fault, right? We can’t be expected to pay attention while driving our cars through downtown ALL the time, right? I mean… what’s 20 seconds?

(Close your eyes then count one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand… to 20. Then imagine you’re doing this while driving in a downtown core.)

Or how about West Vancouver, BC, resident Hong Xu. This news report is so gruesome it has a trigger warning at the top (not even the death of a 23-month-old baby needed that).

I’ll give you the sanitized version: Xu drove up to a front-yard wedding. She was reported to have been heard honking her horn at the party, while her car was stationary. A moment later, her car’s engine revved and she crashed through a stone fence and a wrought-iron gate, killing two wedding guests and sending seven other to hospital.

Oh, and did I mention Xu was the next door neighbour? This was familiar territory and her own vehicle. She claimed she merely, “hit the gas instead of the brake.”

Two deaths. Seven injuries. A wedding destroyed. A family traumatized. The marriage itself did not even survive the trauma.

Countless lives ruined.

An unfortunate “accident.”

To quote the judge: “My position on all that would be we in Canada don’t jail people for inadvertent mistakes.”

Should it matter that Xu had 12 other driving infractions? Should the outcome—almost akin to a terrorist attack in terms of casualties—be taken into consideration, above intent?

I think so.

I will call out that Xu received a $2,000 fine and a five-year driving suspension. But the Crown asked for a lifetime driving ban and was rebuffed.

Do you want to share the roads with her?

That’s what we’re all being asked—to risk our lives and the lives of our children so people like Xu and Zadeh don’t have to ride the bus. 

We’re being asked to set side the deaths of infants and the multi-person killings… because the driver at fault “didn’t mean it.”

Is any other element of law comparable to this? I can’t think of one.

So yeah, kids. Murder is legal. Just use a car.