Some People are Too Dangerous to Drive on Public Roads

In our collective 30 years of experience representing clients injured in vehicle accidents, we’ve seen just about every scenario possible. A Rhode Island accident is one type we see too often. While many accidents are caused by drivers with clean or nearly clean driving records, some are caused by drivers with lengthy records of tickets and arrests who have clearly shown that they should not drive. Driving is a privilege – not a right.

Satterley & Kelley, PLLC lawyers have the knowledge and experience to take on insurance companies and win. We represent severely injured victims throughout Kentucky who are involved in vehicle accidents. Call us toll-free at 855-385-9532 to learn more.

Police Say Musician Was Killed by Driver With Long History of Legal Trouble

Roderick Macleod, a 70-year-old musician and music teacher at Brown University, who was nominated for a Grammy award for his work with Roomful of Blues and a member of Rhode Island’s Music Hall of Fame, was killed by a driver in December while walking his dogs.

Rhode Island’s Hopkinton Police Department arrested 41-year-old Shannon Godbout after the accident. They report her vehicle left the roadway and hit several objects (including two telephone poles) before hitting Macleod, who was walking on the road’s shoulder, according to CBS News. He was transported to a hospital, where he died. His dogs survived and returned home.

Police say Godbout:

• Possessed “numerous illegal narcotics and packaging materials commonly associated with drug distribution” at the time
• Is charged with driving to endanger, resulting in death, and possession of narcotics with intent to distribute, and may face additional charges
• Has been arrested more than a hundred times, ticketed 40 times for traffic violations in Rhode Island, and had 84 warrants issued for her arrest

In Godbout’s 23 years as an adult, she was involved in 36 criminal cases, reports WJAR, in a dozen Rhode Island towns and cities. The longest prison term she served was two years.

The state’s Attorney General’s office told the station that her past crimes were mostly “low-level, non-violent offenses such as simple drug possession and shoplifting.” They include the following:

• Five drug possession charges
• 13 shoplifting charges
• Four charges of possessing a stolen vehicle or driving without the owner’s consent
• Ten charges of driving with a suspended license

Most were resolved when Godbout pleaded no contest and received suspended sentences, so she didn’t go to prison. She’d been ordered to take substance abuse counseling seven times, most recently in April, and she received two speeding tickets in 2025 before Macleod’s death.

The Worse the Driving Record, The Greater the Risk of Future Crashes

Available research confirms what most of us would consider common sense. In the words of one study of prior published research, “Traffic offenders are a high-risk group for subsequent violations and crashes.”

“Over half of the observational studies demonstrated that traffic offenders were more likely to commit a subsequent traffic violation or had (an) elevated risk of crashes. Most of the intervention/evaluation studies demonstrated a significant reduction in driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol among the study participants. However, such positive effects observed during the active intervention period were not always sustained.”

A 2022 Australian study of younger drivers states that,

“We showed that drivers with police reported offences during the first 3 years of driving had increased rates of crash up to 9 years later compared with those with no driving offences. The rate of crash(es) increased with higher number of driving offences…Repeat driving offenders have a substantially higher risk of crash compared with drivers with no offences.”

Another Australian study concluded that after researchers accounted for the differences associated with age, gender, and crash type of the 1,136 drivers killed in vehicle accidents, only the total number of offenses and the number of unlicensed driving offenses predicted a significant change in a driver’s chances of being at fault for the accident that killed them.

“Furthermore, drivers who were identified as having versatile (i.e., multiple offenses from different categories) or criminal-type offense profiles (i.e., offenses that were considered to approximate criminal offenses) were each significantly more likely to be at fault for a fatal crash.”

The American Transportation Research Institute researched what offenses most likely predict a future commercial truck accident. Their 2022 report found that the following incidents or violations made a driver twice as likely to be involved in a crash compared to drivers who had no such history:

• Failure to yield the right of way
• Failure to use, or improper use, of signals
• A prior crash
• Reckless driving

If society and legislators put a greater emphasis on law enforcement and public safety, many troubled drivers might be prevented from driving before they seriously injure or kill someone. A personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit is one way to hold a dangerous driver accountable for the harm they cause after our criminal justice system fails to do so.

Speak With an Experienced Kentucky Car Accident Lawyer

Satterley & Kelley, PLLC lawyers have decades of experience helping injured clients obtain compensation from insurance companies and the parties responsible for accidents. If you want to discuss your claim with a knowledgeable Louisville lawyer, contact our office online or call us at 502-589-5600 or toll-free at 855-385-9532.