Wow, I can' t believe this guy got off.

Dashboard DVD driver acquitted in 2 deaths
Last Updated Wed, 11 Aug 2004 07:20:51 EDT

KENAI, ALASKA - An Alaskan driver who police say was watching a DVD instead of the road before he plowed into another vehicle has been acquitted of murdering the two people killed in the crash.

Petterson, 29, was travelling from Kenai to Anchorage with a passenger, Jonathan Douglas, when the accident happened.

The passenger' s ex-wife told police Douglas had told her the men were whiling away the three-hour trip by watching the movie Road Trip on a dashboard DVD player.

Such devices are supposed to be wired so that they work only when the vehicle is in park or has its emergency brake on, but Petterson had overridden the safety measure.

As well as the DVD player, the pickup truck contained a Sony PlayStation 2 and audio speakers.

Throughout his legal battle, Petterson insisted he was not watching the DVD when his truck crossed the highway' s centre line and smashed into the Weisers' SUV, but was distracted while reaching for a soft drink.

The prosecution was not successful in its bid to have Petterson' s driving record and skid marks found at the scene allowed as evidence.

Give me a break! Guaranteed the guy was watching it!

After the verdict, prosecutor June Stein said she hoped the state legislature would bring in a law prohibiting operating a DVD or video player within sight of a driver.

I thought it was already illegal.

Thats just stupid. He was definitely watching! (Road Trip...how ironic ).

That is horrible. As if there wasn' t enough problems with cell phones and driving. Some people are just too stupid to be allowed to drive anyway, why do car manufacturers give them more to distract them?

Figures...bleeding hearts, and a good lawyer, won this guy his case.

Portable DVD players should only be for passengers, and not viewable by the driver (except while vehicle is parked).

It' s just like those people you see talking on cell phones, while driving. They can barely keep their vehicle on the road, but when confronted insist that they have done nothing wrong. Yeah right...sooner or later it will catch up with them, and they will be in court answering as to what it was they were doing right before the accident.

...and the courts will porbably let them off, too...