Nicholas' Law

Welcome to the most important page on our site!  This page is for updates and ideas on our mission to create firmer laws protecting vulnerable travelers against careless truckers.  This is a result of Nick's dream to make his country safer.  His dream was to be in the Air Force and protect his country.  Since he died so young he was unable to make it into the Air Force; however, by getting this law passed his dream will have created protection for children and families of the USA.  Nicholas' Law will provide appropriate consequences for those who choose to drive such destructive machines in a negligent manner. (As soon as we get it passed...wish us luck!)

Step One:
  On July 4 2010 I sent a letter to the DA and ADA of Burleston, TX.  I poured my heart out, and begged them for some answers as to why they have not yet pressed any charges against the truck driver that took my son.  I have been waiting for several months, hoping to hear some reply.  Yet, I've heard nothing.  I can't understand why?  Don't we deserve an answer?

Step Two:
As many of you know, our letter never received a response.  In January 2011, during Nicholas' birthday, we went down to Texas and met with the DA...it is sad how "hardened" our "justice administrators" have become.  In Texas, our family is just one among thousands who die due to trucking accidents each year.  Because there was no alcohol or drugs in the driver's system, he will not be charged.  The driver of the truck will walk away with nothing more than a dent in his car.  He will have no citation, no ticket on his record, and, worst of all, he will not be reprimanded for his actions.  This situation is sickening.

Step Three: 
We cannot control the DA, we cannot control the system, but we can work with the system.  We still believe that there must be some good  to come from all that we have been through.  Nick was just as much a fighter (believe me) as the rest of the family, we miss him dearly, and we cannot let his memory fade away.  Our determination has rekindled as we have found that there is a way for the community to step up behind us.  Take part in our Amicus Curiae.  If we don't already tell you about it when we see you next, ask!  We would love your support, we need your support, your support means everything...it is the force behind our purpose.

Step Four:
The Amicus Curiae brief is in the process of being written.  If you have any ideas on locations where we can do some legal research please let us know.  We already know about the legal libraries available to each county as well as the state law library.  Again, if you have any other recommendations please let me know!

3 comments:

  1. good luck Ashley!
    <3 Hanna

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  2. I think your new law would do wonders to uphold justice, but it wouldn't solve the initial problem. I recently witnessed a report on the news about truck drivers who are overworking themselves. The laws in place to keep truck drivers from overexausting themselves are nearly worthless. A law to stop truck drivers from driving more than 13 hours a day (or some more reasonable number) would keep truck drivers more awake and would cause less big truck crashes. I believe this would also be an apropriate avenue to further Nick's dream of protecting our country.

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  3. Although this is a good idea, the problem with having a required "sleep hours" law are as follows:

    First, there are already "sleeping" laws in action. One of the reasons they are not working is because most truck drivers keep a paper log. For those who want to get home early, and disregard these rules, there is no way to prove that they followed the required number of hours for sleep. All they have to do is write in what is supposed to be there, and then they are free to gain some distance.

    A resolution to this: Security Cameras! A security camera is able to watch the drivers. If a driver marks that they were asleep, while they were actually driving, the camera would capture this event! If there is some reason that the law would need to go back and look at these records (an accident for example), then those acting on behalf of the law would find out about this!

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Please post any thoughts you have. Your participation in vital to our cause. Thank you!