skipro3
Silver Member
Well, you can't idiot-proof the world. Besides, what's so wrong about loosing a few idiots anyway?
Bad Idea........
- Thread starter Beavis
- Start date
AlanB
Elite Member
The problem come's in that it is seldom the idiots that pay the price, it is the bystanders or unkowing participants that pay the price. The family that gets hit and killed by the drunk driver, the girls in the bucket in this case etc.
I understand what snowridge is saying, but honestly folks, this one does not take a lot of in depth thought to realize it was a REALLY bad idea.
Should the girls have known better, I think we could debate that one a long time, but really in our culture, at some point we say they are kids and accept that they make bad judgement calls.
But the operator of the Bobcat? Give me a break, he was an adult and put himself in the drivers seat, kind of makes him responsible in my eyes.
He should be mighty happy that it was not my kids in that bucket.
SnowRidge
Elite Member
You are assuming that he saw them. What if he was going and looking backwards when they jumped in? If they crouched in the bucket he wouldn't necessarily see them when he looked forward again. The story indicates the third girl jumped up to warn the operator, which tends to confirm they were hidden.
I can understand how an inexperienced skid steer operator might not have realized that the bump he felt wasn't normal. Then again, maybe the area he was working was bumpy, and he felt nothing unusual. At the right height, the bucket could have blocked his view of the kids falling out.
Kids hide in bad places sometimes. Unfortunately, one in awhile they get hurt or killed because of it.
The point is nobody here really knows what happened, because the published account is so vague, but everyone is assuming the guy was a careless idiot. Maybe it was just simple misadventure when the operator's attention was elsewhere.
Come to think of it, when you were a kid and did something that you knew the adults wouldn't really approve of, did you do it to their face, or did you wait until they weren't looking?
I can understand how an inexperienced skid steer operator might not have realized that the bump he felt wasn't normal. Then again, maybe the area he was working was bumpy, and he felt nothing unusual. At the right height, the bucket could have blocked his view of the kids falling out.
Kids hide in bad places sometimes. Unfortunately, one in awhile they get hurt or killed because of it.
The point is nobody here really knows what happened, because the published account is so vague, but everyone is assuming the guy was a careless idiot. Maybe it was just simple misadventure when the operator's attention was elsewhere.
Come to think of it, when you were a kid and did something that you knew the adults wouldn't really approve of, did you do it to their face, or did you wait until they weren't looking?
AlanB
Elite Member
You are correct Snow, I am assuming from the tenor of the story that the operator new the girls was in the bucket and was giving them a ride. Personally, I think it a stretch that he did not know they were there, but admittedly, from the information we were given it was possible, even if I do not believe it to be plausible.
If in fact the girls did stow away, then I would agree with you, and I am sure one of the questions that police asked was "did you know they were there"
I will also certainly agree that I would not neccessarily notice running over something in my skid steer, the ride is so bouncy and rough that it would not alert me.
I will also say that the odds of three kids being able to run across a worksite and climb into a bucket of a Bobcat I was operating without my noticing would be so slim as to be a non-consideration, and they would have had to do it while he was operating because he would have had to climb over them if he was to enter it after they were in the bucket.
I guess we will doubtful ever know what happened, as I doubt few of us are interested enough to dig for the "full" story, but to most of us, hopefully it will serve as a reminder to be mighty careful with the kids around machinery.
I heard that on the radio on the way to my Grandma's funeral last week.... that irony alone struck me.... I got the impression from the radio that the operator knew they were there, but that little article painted a slightly different picture. At any rate... is it sad that I immediately thought of posting it here when I heard it?
Rara Avis
Veteran Member
Follow-up story...
No Charges Expected In Bobcat Accident
He knew they were there...Stupid is as stupid does...
No Charges Expected In Bobcat Accident
Reporter: KAKE News
Email Address: news@kake.com
Police said a 25-year old Wichita man agreed to give two 12 year-old girls a ride in a Bobcat front end loader, before they were accidentally run over.
The accident happened Saturday afternoon in the 3800 block of Lakecrest, which is west of 37th Street North and Ridge Road.
Just before the driver began to move forward, Wichita Police Sergeant Bart Brunscheen said two girls fell out. The Bobcat started moving forward and the children were run over.
One victim sustained a shattered pelvis and was taken to ICU for further treatment. The second victim sustained a severed liver and was taken to ICU for treatment. Both girls were scheduled for surgery Monday.
No charges are expected to be filed.
No Charges Expected In Bobcat Accident
He knew they were there...Stupid is as stupid does...
No Charges Expected In Bobcat Accident
Reporter: KAKE News
Email Address: news@kake.com
Police said a 25-year old Wichita man agreed to give two 12 year-old girls a ride in a Bobcat front end loader, before they were accidentally run over.
The accident happened Saturday afternoon in the 3800 block of Lakecrest, which is west of 37th Street North and Ridge Road.
Just before the driver began to move forward, Wichita Police Sergeant Bart Brunscheen said two girls fell out. The Bobcat started moving forward and the children were run over.
One victim sustained a shattered pelvis and was taken to ICU for further treatment. The second victim sustained a severed liver and was taken to ICU for treatment. Both girls were scheduled for surgery Monday.
No charges are expected to be filed.
25 year old man agrees to give a ride to two 12 year old girls in a bobcat front end loader........Is there something I'm missing in case I get asked to sit on the jury?
Don
shane
Gold Member
As soon as the 25 year old agreed to give the girls a ride in the bucket he was most likely guilty unless they held a gun to his head and forced him to give them a ride.
groundcover
Veteran Member
Yep, the thing you are missing is the 25yo male won't be on trial,follow the money, the lawsuit will be against Bobcat,Nations rent (or whoever rented or sold the rig). Then you wonder why costs are so high and you can't see the paint for all the warning stickers.
AlanB
Elite Member
If that was not so true, it would be almost funny.
I actually think there are several warning's in the Bobcat manual, and on the pillars of my Bobcat, but that won't be enough, some lawyer will argue they should have been bigger or clearer or brighter or something.
Surely it could not have been the fault of a "person" it has to be the fault of a big "company" or something with money.