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| Jason Ravnsborg |
Even with the emphasis on proper concentration, fewer distractions, we have inflated risk with those distractions. Keeping your eye on the road ought to be a simple axiom. Maybe it's too simple. We rationalize as we try to accommodate our multi-tasking ways in the year 2021.
I remember as a kid, a car might be promoted on TV with "AM/FM radio." Quaint.
Ravnsborg has been charged with operating a vehicle while using a mobile electronic device. There are three charges total. Let's also consider illegal lane change and careless driving. Remember what happened to Sandra Bland when she did not signal a lane change? That incident came off as law enforcement harassment of a woman of color.
None of the charges are connected to Ravnsborg having struck and killed a pedestrian who was on the shoulder. That's what happened. They are mere driving offenses.
Think of how humiliated you have felt when pulled over by law enforcement for seat belt. The flashing lights, the stern demeanor of the cop. And in my case, confusion over how to pay the fine. After jumping through hoops I did it. So, humiliation over merely being spotted by a cop when I wasn't belted. No one hurt.
In Ravnsborg's case, his inattentive driving led to the death of a person. You probably know the whole story. He called 9-1-1 claiming not to have known what he hit. He did claim to know that whatever it was, it was in the "middle of the road." It was not. A 9-1-1 dispatcher coaxed him to consider the possibility of a deer. This was not volunteered initially by Ravnsborg.
This young man must know that he will never live this down. He has not missed a beat in serving as South Dakota attorney general. The governor could not remove him even if she wanted to. Kristi Noem claimed not long ago that she had no contact with the AG since the incident.
Each of the three charges now levied against Ravnsborg has a maximum penalty of 30 days jail and $500 fine. Vehicular homicide was out. That's because the driver would have to be found to be intoxicated.
Ravnsborg was coming home from the kind of superfluous event where one might strongly suspect a little imbibing. It was a Republican Party fundraiser in South Dakota, a state known to be quite attached to the GOP. Governor Noem has floated the possibility of Donald Trump's face added to Mount Rushmore. What if Ravnsborg were a Democrat? Or, what if he was a Native American just driving along? I'm just asking.
Ravnsborg was not tested for possible DUI at the time of the incident. The gravity of the incident - a dead body in the ditch nearby - was not known. Neither Ravnsborg nor the neighborly Mayberry-type sheriff went the extra mile to determine what Ravnsborg's vehicle struck. They knew the impact was substantial, as the vehicle was rendered un-driveable. Were there sensors that caused it to be shut down? You can find photos to view the substantially damaged Ford Taurus.
A DUI test at the scene would have at least answered a most central question. A "clean" result would have verified Mr. Ravnsborg's denial that he had any drinks. He was known to be an occasional social drinker, not to suggest it was excessive. The accident happened at 9:20 in the evening on September 12. So, lots of time elapsed between the incident and the announcement of charges.
We can sometimes moan when we hear on the news that there will be an "investigation." The word should be a candidate for the list of annoying "buzzwords" in the media, compiled annually. These are words that are over-used or have been watered-down in meaning, entering cliche territory in some cases. "Investigation" can mean slipping into a black hole or rabbit trail, and even the term "rabbit trail" has come to be overused. A particular argument "goes down a rabbit trail."
In the same vein, court decisions can aggravate us because of the frequency with which big shots "appeal" them. No matter the decision, it gets "appealed" and then ends up down a rabbit trail or wherever.
We heard the term "investigation" so long in connection with Ravnsborg. Governor Noem reported feeling aggravated by it all. She said the victim's family deserved answers.
Ravnsborg in the final analysis must be a pretty sharp attorney, given his position, and you know what happens when such minds start fighting back on something. We hear the expression "lawyering up." And of course, in terms of principle it's good we have a legal system that prevents unfair persecution. The issue is whether the system gives greater favor to those with resources to enlist the best legal advocacy. If that's a question I'm posing, it's a rhetorical one.
Ravnsborg will be punished because he'll never be able to put this incident behind him. I wonder how his workday goes when there are bound to be people thrusting the issue in his face, the question of whether he has really been made to answer for what happened. Even if a negative DUI test had happened, it hardly would have relieved him of a general image of culpability.
Ravnsborg and the Mayberry sheriff walked near the body of Joe Boever in the immediate aftermath. For the record, the AG had been driving 67 MPH, slightly over the limit.
I do believe Gov. Noem, who I have nicknamed "Governor Tight-Fittin' Jeans" - remember Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty? - when she said "my heart goes out to Joseph Boever's family."
I had been expecting the charges to be on the light side. I had read a background article about how South Dakota law gives the benefit of the doubt to motorists. I guess it's the sort of law I'd associate with a Republican-led state.
Wisdom of the young
The news tells us that the millennial generation isn't fired up about car use. Quite to the contrary. Is it cost consideration? Maybe to an extent, but one analysis I read is that the young people see cars as dangerous. Well, more so than previous generations I guess. It was the immediate post-WWII generation (like my late parents) that saluted unfettered car travel as a USA symbol.
We must always respect the attitude of the young. They seem agreeable to a lifestyle that does not accent the great American automobile. The attitude runs counter to the notion of life in the Dakotas, windswept states that nevertheless have their attributes. But, consider the scenes outside of Highmore SD and they don't differ at all, I'm sure, with scenes that dominate this part of the country. The incident happened just outside Highmore.
The monotony can wear on you or tempt you to seek distractions as you motor along. I took I-29 on the east end of North Dakota many times in the 1970s. That was back when the worst distraction might be your radio - Garner Ted Armstrong's commentary - or an 8-track tape player.
I personally have not gravitated to all the possible distractions of today. I cannot relate to using a "mobile electronic device." These days I really just drive to town and back, almost 100 percent in daytime. On the rare occasion when I drive at night, I'm reminded of the more dangerous situation.
Oh, for Jason Ravnsborg to have just stayed at home on the night of 9/12. Stay home, stay warm, stay safe. And now think of the considerable and expensive efforts by law enforcement to analyze the whole thing for charges, the pressure felt by individuals who knew something terrible happened, but charges were not likely to be commensurate with that. The governor has been through a distraction. Maybe she has had less time to be a cheerleader for the Trump crowd.
Of course, the biggest tragedy is what happened to poor Mr. Boever. He could have been more careful as a pedestrian. When hearing an oncoming car, why not turn your head and employ peripheral vision to make sure it's scooting around you? A motor vehicle at 67 MPH can be an instant deadly weapon. We seem to not appreciate this fact enough. Millennials apparently do.
Let's also consider the inherent danger of nighttime itself. Remember the Willie Nelson song "Night Life?" "The Night Life ain't no good life but it's my life." (Why would you want to proclaim that your lifestyle is lousy?)
Remember the expression "nothing good happens after (insert late time here)?" Looks like "midnight" is the most often inserted time. There are variants like 2 a.m. We used to hear the term "sundown town" in connection with race relations. It was an extension of Jim Crow. Black people had to be inside after dark.
But maybe we're all better off in the safety and security of our homes after it gets dark. Don't venture outside unless you have to. And certainly not for something as silly as a Republican Party fundraiser at a bar, for crying out loud.
Jason Ravnsborg will be answering for this incident the rest of his life. It will be like a scarlet letter.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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| Cartoon by Jo Johnson of Gregory County SD, for "Dakota Free Press" |
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