Monday, April 24, 2017

Justice is served - William Crum rots in jail

If you're a motorcyclist, you likely already know who William Crum is. If not, read on.
William Crum is a driver who decided that he'd had enough, and decided to try to kill two motorcyclists. I don't mean this in the sense of him getting angry, showing them the bird, or chasing them down. No - he swerved into a motorcycle and knocked the rider and passenger off deliberately as they were passing.
Fortunately, another rider in the group had a camera running and caught the whole thing, even when Crum told the other rider he didn't care that he'd basically attempted to murder two people.
The issue he had was that the bikes were passing on a double yellow line. Now I don't care how self-righteous you are, or how you feel about people passing on double yellows (even when it's perfectly safe to do so), it's not up to you to be the law. By all means take numberplates, take photos and call the police. But you don't try to murder two people because you think you're entitled to.
Crum was finally convicted of two counts of aggrevated assault with a deadly weapon and sent to jail for 15 years. That's not enough if you ask me, but maybe when he gets out (at 84, with no license) he'll think differently.
In case you should think that Crum is somehow deserving of sympathy given his age, or some other reason, bear in mind he's also previously threatened to murder two children by telling them he was going to run them down with his car. One of the kids in that case testified.
This guy is a career lunatic and having him behind bars is the best solution for everyone.
Drivers tend not to understand just how quick motorbikes are. We can pass cars in the blink of an eye. The rider in this case was doing nothing to harm Crum - he gave plenty of room, he didn't badger Crum before passing. He just pulled out and attempted to pass cleanly before Crum tried to kill the pair of them.
I'm convinced that if everyone was forced to ride a motorbike for 12 months before ever being allowed to drive a car, the number of motorbike accidents and incidents like this would be cut dramatically. People who've only ever driven around in a two ton cage, surrounded by music, insulation and airbags, have little to no idea what's going on outside, and to have Crum's attitude towards others where he clearly treats his vehicle as a weapon, is reason enough to throw this piece of garbage away.
This link has more details including the original video where you can see him at his asshole best from the attempted murder right up to the point where he tells the other rider that he simply doesn't care that he tried to kill two people.
William Crum gets 15 years in jail for attempted murder of two motorcyclists