Another Pakistani taxi cab driver has been killed in Toronto.
Two youngsters were racing down a road when one of them rammed into Tahir Khan’s cab while he was trying to make a left turn.
He died shortly after.
One of the drivers is in custody awaiting a bail hearing and I don’t know what is happening with the other.
Tahir Khan’s family is in Pakistan. He was scheduled to receive his citizenship status in a day or two and was saving up money to sponsor his family and bring them to Canada.
The Mayor of Toronto attended and spoke at Khan’s funeral while the Minister of Immigration said a few words at the Citizenship ceremony where two minutes of silence were observed by all in attendance.
A candle-light vigil was held at the intersection where this accident occurred and a small, make-shift memorial has been set-up with flowers at the site.
Tarek Fatah, a high-ranking member of the Muslim Canadian Congress is lobbying to have a permanent memorial errected at the site of the accident and also wants the intersection to be named after Tahir Khan.
I understand the need to grieve and recognize this tragedy, but why must we go to the extent of putting up memorials and naming the intersection after a person that happened to die there? Can you imagine what some of our streets would look like if we had memorials errected after every accident?
Wouldn’t our efforts be better placed if we spent this time following up with the trial of the perpetrators and ensuring that stiff sentences are handed out?
And that's particularly what I am trying to get to maddy.
Shouldn't the Muslim Canadian Congress focus it's efforts on the justice system rather than errecting memorials? What good are those gonna do?
Revolving door justice, is, however, a key part of any liberal society such as those of Western Europe and Canada. The idea that everyone can be redeemed, especially someone as young as 18, is too strong to allow for serious jail terms for unintended killings. Any effort to change this would be futile.
Putting a marking at every fatality location is a more realistic outcome and will at least make sure the victims of road accidents become more than mere statistics.
I disagree. Anytime a death results from careless driving (including DUI) the jail term should be serious. Doesn’t matter how young or old the driver may be. And if the public raises enough noise about these laws and sentences, then something will be done.
We need to set examples and putting markers by the roadside is not gonna do anything. Eventually they will be used to sit and rest upon…not to remind drivers to slow down or be cautious. If society was sensitive enough to mind such memorials, we wouldn’t be facing such offenses.
Fact is, today’s society only responds to stiff penalites and sentences.
And this is precisely why the focus of activists should be on the justice system and ensuring that suitable punishment is set out.......not on bloody tombstones.....unless of course you intend to put the names of the offenders on the memorial.
There will never be serious sentences for unintentional acts. Any effort expended lobbying for it will be futile, particularly with so much public attention being on gun crime (which is always intentional).
It would be terrible to waste what little political capital that is raised through road deaths (which have sadly become viewed as routine) on unachievable goals.
I'm surprised that I didn't think of this earlier, but it would better be spent lobbying for photo radar to catch people speeding.
Photo radar can be installed at areas with high death rates. It's been used for many years in the UK and is effective at making people slow down at specific locations. These cameras go off if you're more that 16% over the speed limit.
As long as adequate warning is given to motorists that a camera is located ahead, photo radars should be brought back.
What are stiff sentences going to achieve? They will just ruin two young peoples' lives. They made a foolish mistake, but a decade in jail or something like that; what will that do? If nothing else, they'll spend their youth around criminals, get socialized by them, have little other functional skills, and might go into a life of crime. Great.
^ and if they are not seriously punished then they will end up doing it over and over again. God forbidden, next it could be you at Bhati gate run over by some punk whose daddy is a big shot, would you still stand for lesser sentence?
It would serve as a deterrent for the next couple of kids that think it's okay to race on public streets and endanger innocent people's lives.
Sarah, your comments wreak of indifference for the victims and their families. Surely you are not of the opinion that since the victim is dead and gone we should focus on rehab for the perps?
i just dont think ppl care anymore.. too desensitized.
Here, causing an accident brings a jail term of 3 months, 150 (i think ) lashes and deportation (if u are an expat).. the jail term is longer if u are a saudi cuz u cant get deported.. does it make a difference? NOPES.. death from car accidents is still the numero uno cause of death here... ppl just done give a damn anymore...
sounds abosolutely hopeless :s
maybe they should put blown up posters of car accidents and its victims at intersections and stops.. but im sure that would only cause more accidents..
