Lawyers for the Yaris driver (or the government in criminal cases) are free to bring these factors into the case right now, right? Seems more straightforward to just convince the judge/jury that the very size of the vehicle used by the "offending" driver, together with any other factors (intoxication, excessive speed, negligence, etc) increased the magnitude of the offense. Must we have yet another law (complete with a formula)?The arms race in buying ever-heavier vehicles is out of control. I think we should think about making criminal and civil liability with car-related incidents proportional to the gross weight of the vehicle you're driving.
I'd ask the same question the other way: If I'm in a "regular" size car and cause an accident that injures a person in a less safe car (small, no airbags, seat belts inop, etc), should I get a reduced judgement for his injuries? After all, his deliberate selection of a tin foil econobox could reasonably have been anticipated to increase his chances of injury. He put me at increased risk (of damages) by his poor choice! Yeah, that's it!
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