¶1On September 19, 1979, appellant, Jay C. Koch, III., was found guilty by a jury of homicide by vehicle.
¶2The facts in the instant case may be summarized as follows. On February 4, 1979, at approximately 7:55 p. m., appellant was driving his 1966 Volkswagen from his parents’ *352home in Kirkwood to his dormitory room at Millersville State College. Appellant was traveling west on Long Lane when he collided with a 1974 Volkswagen at the intersection of Long Lane and New Danville Pike. The 1974 Volkswagen was driven by Diane C. Holton, and Michael L. McClune was a passenger. They were traveling south on the New Danville Pike at the time of the collision. Diane Holton died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident.
¶3The intersection of Long Lane and New Danville Pike was controlled by stop signs for Long Lane, but there were no stop signs for New Danville Pike. Appellant testified at trial that he stopped at the stop sign on Long Lane, looked both ways, and observing no oncoming cars, entered the intersection at which time the accident occurred.
¶4Section 3732 of the Vehicle Code (75 Pa.C.S.) defines the crime of homicide by vehicle as follows:
Any person who unintentionally causes the death of another person while engaged in the violation of any law of this Commonwealth or municipal ordinance applying to the operation or use of a vehicle or to the regulation of traffic is guilty of homicide by vehicle, a misdemeanor of the first degree, when the violation is the cause of death.
¶5Appellant first argues on appeal that section 3732 as applied to appellant constitutes a denial of due process, because it is a strict liability criminal statute under which a conviction allows substantial penalties, including up to five years in prison, and inflicts grave damage to the reputation of one so convicted.
¶6We rely on a recent decision of our supreme court in Commonwealth v. Field, 490 Pa. 519, 417 A.2d 160 (1980) *353(opinion by Roberts, J.). In Field, a cameraman for KDKATV, Pittsburgh was standing on a sidewalk filming the picketing and other strike-related activities of employees of the Atlantic Richfield Oil Company (ARCO) when he was struck by an ARCO tractor-trailer. The cameraman was fatally injured and the driver of the tractor-trailer was held on the charges of homicide by vehicle, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3732, and driving on the sidewalk, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3703. The lower court granted a pre-trial motion by the defendant to dismiss the information against him on the ground that section 3732 of the Vehicle Code is unconstitutionally vague. The Commonwealth took an appeal.
¶7There were two issues on appeal before the supreme court in Field: 1) Whether section 3732 is unconstitutionally vague and 2) in view of their decision in Commonwealth v. Koczwara, 397 Pa. 575, 155 A.2d 825 (1959), cert. denied, 363 U.S. 848, 80 S.Ct. 1624, 4 L.Ed.2d 1731 (1960), whether section 3732 violates due process by imposing criminal liability without fault.
Here, however, unlike in Koczwara, there is no effort to impose a prison term in the absence of culpable conduct. As the Attorney General recognizes, section 3732 requires the Commonwealth to prove that appellee [defendant] has deviated from the standard of care established by section 3703, the underlying Vehicle Code provision allegedly violated here [driving on the sidewalk].... Consistent with the culpability requirement, section 3703 leaves for determination at trial whether appellee knew, or should have *354known, he engaged in the conduct claimed to be in violation of that section. Thus, for example, it remains to be decided if a reasonable driver could, in view of the congestion at the terminal exit, know where the sidewalk was or, indeed, if a sidewalk existed. Section 3732 also requires the Commonwealth to prove that appellee’s alleged violation of section 3703 caused the victim’s death. As the Attorney General points out; at the very least, death must be a “probable consequence” of appellee’s culpable conduct. See 18 Pa.C.S. § 303(d).
¶8Id. 490 Pa. at 524-525, 417 A.2d at 163 (footnotes omitted).
¶9We are constrained by the decision in Commonwealth v. Field, supra,where the supreme court determined that section 3732 does not violate due process because it requires a showing of culpable conduct. Since the decision in Field, there have been various interpretations by this court as to what level of culpability is embraced by section 3732. Commonwealth v. Spurgeon, 285 Pa.Super. 563, 428 A.2d 189 (1981) (Section 3732 creates strict criminal liability without regard to any scienter element and does not require a showing of reckless or negligent culpability); Commonwealth v. Hartzell, 282 Pa. Super. 549, 423 A.2d 381 (1980) (Section 3732 does not require a showing of culpability as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 302—intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently);
¶10*355We conclude from the supreme court’s decision in Fieldthat the culpable conduct required by section 3732 is a showing that the defendant “has deviated from the standard of care established by” the underlying Vehicle Code provision allegedly violated by him. Id.490 Pa. at 524, 417 A.2d at 163. In Field, the underlying offense was driving on a sidewalk, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3703, while in the instant case, it was failure to yield at a stop sign, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3323. As stated in Field, in order to establish the underlying offense the Commonwealth must show that the defendant “knew, or should have known, he engaged in the conduct claimed to be in violation of that section.” Id.,490 Pa. at 525, 417 A.2d at 163. In effect, our supreme court has saved section 3732 from the due process challenge of criminal liability without fault by a bootstrap analysis, namely, the culpability required for the underlying offense also defines the culpability required for homicide by vehicle.
¶11The supreme court also stated in Fieldthat the Commonwealth ' must prove that the defendant’s violation of the underlying Vehicle Code provision caused the victim’s death. In defining this causal relationship between the violation and the death, the supreme court adopted a strict liability approach. The victim’s death must, at the very least, be a “probable consequence” of the defendant’s violation. See 18 Pa.C.S. § 303(d).
¶12*356We summarize below the elements of the crime of homicide by vehicle, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3732, as set forth in Field:
1) Defendant deviated from the standard of care established by the underlying Vehicle Code provision [or municipal ordinance].
a) Defendant knew, or should have known, he engaged in the conduct claimed to be in violation of the underlying Vehicle Code provision [or municipal ordinance].
2) A death occurred.
b) The death was, at the very least, a probable consequence of the defendant’s violation of the underlying Vehicle Code provision [or municipal ordinance].
¶13According to Field, the requirement that the defendant knew, or should have known, that he was violating the underlying Vehicle Code provision establishes some kind of culpability on his part. We must, therefore, conclude that section 3732 is not a strict liability criminal statute nor is it violative of due process. Commonwealth v. Field, supra 490 Pa. at 525-526, 417 A.2d at 164 (Flaherty, J., concurring).
¶14The culpability required by section 3732 does not fall into one of the categories defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 302 (intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently). It is lesser than criminal negligence, 18 Pa.C.S. § 302(b)(4), which involves a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the actor’s situation. Proof of criminal negligence or recklessness, 18 Pa.C.S. § 302(b)(3), is required in order to convict a defendant of involuntary manslaughter, 18 Pa.C.S. § 2504. As the supreme court stated in a footnote <in Field:
In our view it was the legislative judgment in enacting section 3732 to expand the scope of criminal liability for violations of the Vehicle Code causing death. Compare 18 Pa.C.S. § 2504; Commonwealth v. Busier, supra note 3 *357[445 Pa. 359, 284 A.2d 783 (1971)]; Commonwealth v. Clowser, 212 Pa.Super. 208, 239 A.2d 870 (1968).
¶15Id.490 Pa. at 525 n.4, 417 A.2d at 163 n.4.
¶16In Commonwealth v. Houtz, 496 Pa. 344, 437 A.2d 385 (1981) (Opinion by Roberts, J.), our supreme Court recently commented on the above quotation from Fieldand explained further the relationship between the crimes of homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter.
This legislative ‘expansion’ was accomplished not by the elimination of any of the elements of the crime of involuntary manslaughter, but by a relaxation of the degree of proof of two existing elements: culpable conduct and causation. The crime of involuntary manslaughter, as charged here, requires proof that the actor engaged in the Vehicle Code violation in a ‘reckless or grossly negligent manner,’ and that the death was caused ‘as a direct result.’ 18 Pa.C.S. § 2504. See Commonwealth v. Clowser, 212 Pa.Super; 208, 239 A.2d 870 (1968). By contrast, under the crime of homicide by vehicle, it must be shown only that the actor ‘knew, or should have known,’ that he engaged in the conduct claimed to be in violation of the Vehicle Code, and that, at the very least, death was a ‘probable consequence’ of the conduct. Commonwealth v. Field, 490 Pa. at 525, 417 A.2d at 163. These relaxed degrees of culpable conduct and causation set forth in the crime of homicide by vehicle are necessarily established by proof of the more stringent counterparts contained in the crime of involuntary manslaughter.
¶18In view of our holding today, our previous decisions are overruled to the extent that section 3732 of the Vehicle Code was defined as a strict criminal liability statute without regard to any scienter element or as an offense involving criminal negligence as defined by section 302(b)(4) of the Crimes Code.
¶19Appellant’s second contention on appeal is that he should be discharged because he was never charged with a *358violation of the Vehicle Code, which he argues is a necessary element of homicide by vehicle. This argument was rejected by this court in Commonwealth v. Wilkinson, 278 Pa.Super. 490, 420 A.2d 647 (1980), where we stated:
In order to secure a conviction under this statute [75 Pa.C.S. § 3732], the Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant ‘engaged in the violation of any law ... or ... ordinance applying to the operation or use of a vehicle or to the regulation of traffic . .. . ’ Nothing in the statute indicates a legislative intent that in order to establish this element of the offense, the Commonwealth must bring a separate charge for such violation. Had the Legislature intended to bifurcate the Commonwealth’s proof of homicide by vehicle into two stages—the first stage being the prosecution for violating a particular vehicle or traffic law or ordinance, and the second stage (comprising the prosecution of homicide by vehicle) being limited to proof that the violation resulted in a death—, explicit language would be expected since such a bifurcation would be unusual. In the absence of such explicit language, we see no policy reason that requires the Commonwealth to follow such a procedure. As long as the Commonwealth gives the defendant adequate notice of the particular vehicle or traffic law or ordinance allegedly violated in causing the death, whether or not the Commonwealth brings a separate charge for such violation is immaterial.
¶20Id., 278 Pa.Superior Ct. at 496, 420 A.2d at 650 (footnote omitted).
¶21We find that under Commonwealth v. Wilkinson, supra,the complaint and the information filed in the instant case provided appellant with adequate notice of the underlying offense. Appellant’s contention that the complaint and information should have been filed within thirty (30) days after the incident is totally without merit.
¶22Judgment of sentence affirmed.
¶23. The jury found appellant not guilty of the charge of involuntary manslaughter.
¶24. It has been suggested in other cases that appellant waived this constitutional issue by not notifying the Attorney General of the Commonwealth in accordance with Pa.R.A.P. 521(a). Commonwealth v. Duncan, 279 Pa.Super. 395, 421 A.2d 257 (1980); Commonwealth v. Ashford, 268 Pa.Super. 225, 407 A.2d 1328 (1979). We have, however, decided to dispose of the issue in the interest of judicial economy, and further because the plain wording of Rule 521(a) excludes its effect where the Commonwealth is a party. Commonwealth v. Linder, 284 Pa.Super. 327, 333 n.4, 425 A.2d 1126, 1129 n.4 (1981).
¶25. In Commonwealth v. Field, 490 Pa. 519, 417 A.2d 160 (1980), both the vagueness and due process challenges were included in the defendant’s motion to dismiss the information against him. The defendant alleged in his motion, inter alia, that the crime of homicide by vehicle violates due process because it imposes criminal sanctions (including possible imprisonment) upon “unintentional conduct.” Id.,490 Pa. at 522 & n.l, 417 A.2d at 162 & n.l.
¶26. We note that Justice Roberts of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, who authored the opinion in Commonwealth v. Field, supra, joined in the decision of this court in Commonwealth v. Hartzell, 282 Pa.Super. 549, 423 A.2d 381 (1980).
¶27. Prior to the supreme court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Field, supra,this court analyzed the crime of homicide by vehicle, 75 Pa.C.S. § 3732, in Commonwealth v. Barone, 276 Pa.Super. 282, 419 A.2d 457 (1980). In Barone, the court was divided into three differ*355ent views of section 3732. President Judge Cercone joined by Judge Cavanaugh determined that the Commonwealth must show culpable negligence as defined by 18 Pa.C.S. § 302(b)(4) in order to convict a defendant of homicide by vehicle. Judge Spaeth joined by Judge Hoffman in a concurring opinion stated that section 3732 creates strict liability and violates due process in light of its possible five-year prison sentence and its classification as a homicide. Judge Wieand joined by Judges Price and Hester filed a dissenting opinion concluding that the statute imposes strict liability but is constitutionally valid. We note that Baronedid not express the views of a majority of the court and, therefore, is not decisional. Commonwealth v. Mason, 456 Pa. 602, 322 A.2d 357 (1974).
¶28. Judge Popovich concludes in his dissenting opinion that in the instant case, death was not a probable consequence of appellant’s failure to observe a stop sign. We are unable to reach this issue, because it has not been raised by appellant on appeal. Appellant’s *356attack on the constitutionality of section 3732 of the Vehicle Code is limited to the culpability requirement, or lack thereof, and appellant does not argue that there was insufficient evidence to sustain his conviction.
¶29. Appellant cites 75 Pa.C.S. § 6302 in support of his argument that the complaint in this case was not timely filed. Former section 6302(a) provided a thirty-day limitation for instituting proceedings *359for summary offenses under the Vehicle Code. Section 6302 now provides that “[a] prosecution for any offense under this title must be commenced within the period limited by Chapter 55 of Title 42 (relating to limitation of time).” 75 Pa.C.S. § 6302 (Supp. 1981-82). The thirty-day limitation for summary offenses under the Vehicle Code is currently set forth in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5553(a).
¶30. 42 Pa.C.S. § 5553(a) provides:
(a) General rule.—..., proceedings for summary offenses under Title 75 (relating to vehicles) must be commenced within 30 days after the commission of the alleged offense or within 30 days after the discovery of the commission of the offense or the identity of the offender, whichever is later, and not thereafter.
¶31concurring:
¶32I concur in the majority’s conclusion that because of Commonwealth v. Field, 490 Pa. 519, 417 A.2d 160 (1980), we must affirm. But for me, Fieldis neither a persuasive precedent, nor one that forecloses further attack on the constitutional validity of the statute creating the crime of homicide by vehicle.
¶33If I don’t find Fieldpersuasive, so much the worse for me, you may say. And yet, if we are to be content with precedent, we shall become dull indeed. The law will never grow unless we express our doubts. Courts, when they *360exchange opinions, should regard themselves as friends engaged in conversation. That way, their propositions will become more accurate, and command not only obedience but respect.
¶34In any case, so believing, I venture here to discuss two difficulties I have with Field, which make me find it not persuasive, and to explain why I think it doesn’t foreclose further constitutional attack.
¶35-1-
¶36The first difficulty I have with Fieldis that its announced premise, if not clearly wrong, is at least not clearly right.
¶37Field’s reasoning may be summarized as follows: To prove the crime of homicide by vehicle, the Commonwealth must prove that a death occurred because the defendant violated a provision of the Vehicle Code. This means that the Commonwealth must prove that the defendant’s conduct was “culpable.” To find what “culpable” means, one must look to the provision of the Vehicle Code that the defendant is charged with having violated. Upon so looking, one will find that “culpable” means that the defendant “knew, or should have known,” what he had done. 490 Pa. at 524-25, 417 A.2d at 163.
¶38I have looked as instructed. But I am unable to find what the Supreme Court says it found.
¶39In Fieldthe defendant was charged with having violated Section 3703 of the Vehicle Code. Section 3703 provides that
[n]o person shall drive any vehicle except a human-powered vehicle upon a sidewalk or sidewalk area except upon a permanent or duly authorized temporary driveway. 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3703.
¶40Looking to this provision, I find no requirement that the Commonwealth must prove that the defendant “knew, or should have known,” that he was driving on a sidewalk. The provision seems to me to say that the Commonwealth does not have to prove anything about the defendant’s state of mind or the extent of his knowledge, but only that an *361event occurred—that the defendant was driving on a sidewalk.
¶41No one can quarrel with the proposition that to find how “culpable” must be the conduct of a defendant charged with homicide by vehicle, one must look to the provision of the Vehicle Code that the defendant is charged with having violated. The difficulty arises when one applies this proposition. For some provisions of the Vehicle Code do not require the Commonwealth to prove the defendant’s state of mind or the extent of his knowledge, but only that an event occurred, while other provisions do require proof of state of mind or extent of knowledge. Section 3703, involved in Field, is an example of the first sort of provision. Section 3323(b), which is involved in the present case, is an example of the second sort of provision. Section 3323(b) provides that “[ajfter having stopped, the driver shall yield the right-of-way .... to any vehicle .... approaching on another roadway so closely as to constitute a hazard . . . . ” 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3323(b). To prove a violation of this provision, the Commonwealth must prove the defendant’s state of mind or the extent of his knowledge. For one is not required to yield the right-of-way if one is justified in believing that with reasonable care, it will be possible to cross safely in front of an approaching vehicle. E.g., Pokusa v. Taylor, 409 Pa. 41, 185 A.2d 331 (1962); Dougherty v. Merchants’ Baking Co., 313 Pa. 557, 169 A. 753 (1934); Wynkoop v. McLendon, 208 Pa. Superior Ct. 81, 220 A.2d 904 (1966); Brodsky v. Bockman, 197 Pa. Superior Ct. 94, 176 A.2d 924 (1962); Merkel v. Janiszewski, 180 Pa. Superior Ct. 71, 117 A.2d 795 (1955).
¶42Thus, if one does as instructed by Field, and determines the “culpability” of a defendant charged with homicide by vehicle by looking to the provision of the Vehicle Code he is charged with having violated, one reaches an extraordinary result. Sometimes, to prove culpability, the Commonwealth will only have to prove an event; other times, it will have to prove state of mind. That can’t be right. Indeed, Fieldsays it isn’t right. For it says that the Commonwealth must *362always prove that if the defendant didn’t know what he was doing, at least he “should have known.” But how did the Supreme Court reach this conclusion? Its only answer is to refer us to Section 3703 of the Vehicle Code, which says nothing at all about the Commonwealth having to prove that the defendant “should have known” what he was doing, that is, that he was driving on the sidewalk.
¶43Two solutions to this difficulty may be imagined.
¶44The first solution is to conclude that the Supreme Court has decided that Section 3703 of the Vehicle Code does require proof of state of mind, even though the section doesn’t seem to say that. This is a possible conclusion. For the “mere omission from a criminal enactment of any mention of intent should not necessarily be construed as dispensing with it.” Morissette v. United States, 342 U.S. 246, 250, 72 S.Ct. 240, 243, 96 L.Ed. 288 (1951). Thus, in construing Section 1574(a) of the Vehicle Code, the Supreme Court has found lack of knowledge a defense. Moyer Automobile License Case, 359 Pa. 536, 59 A.2d 927 (1948); accord, Jenks v. Commonwealth, Department, of Transportation, 6 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 546, 296 A.2d 526 (1972). It is nevertheless not a conclusion that is clearly right. For when the legislature intends to require proof of state of mind, it knows how to make its intent plain. Perhaps the legislature did intend to require that to convict a defendant of any —every—summary offense under the Vehicle Code, the Commonwealth must prove the defendant’s state of mind. But if so, it certainly expressed its intent obliquely. Nor is it apparent why the Vehicle Code should be so different in this respect from the Crimes Code, which permits conviction of a summary offense without proof of state of mind. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 305(a).
¶45The second solution is to conclude that the Supreme Court has decided that a distinction must be drawn. If the Commonwealth is prosecuting the defendant for a summary offense, such as driving on a sidewalk, it need only prove that the defendant did drive on the sidewalk. But if the Commonwealth is prosecuting the defendant for homicide by *363vehicle, it must not only prove that he did drive on the sidewalk but also, that he knew or at least “should have known” what he was doing. This too is a possible conclusion. Accepting it would preserve the apparent distinction between those provisions of the Vehicle Code that do not— or do not seem to—require proof of state of mind and those that do require it. But again, it is not a conclusion that is clearly right. For nothing in the statute creating the offense of homicide by vehicle suggests that the legislature had any such notion.
¶46.....2-
¶47The second difficulty I have with Fieldis that it effects a major change in the law, without acknowledging the change, much less justifying it.
¶48In thinking about “culpability,” it is helpful to distinguish among four different levels of criminal liability.
¶49The first level of criminal liability is vicarious absolute liability for the act of another. In Commonwealth v. Koczwara, 397 Pa. 575, 155 A.2d 825 (1959), cert. denied, 363 U.S. 848, 80 S.Ct. 1624, 4 L.Ed.2d 1731 (1960), the Supreme Court held that the legislature could constitutionally provide a criminal penalty based on vicarious absolute liability. In Koczwarathe defendant was the holder of a liquor license. He was convicted as the result of sales to minors, by a bartender employed by him, but outside his presence and without his knowledge. In upholding the conviction, the Court held that vicarious absolute liability, which is based on the tort doctrine of respondeat superior, must be limited to “petty misdemeanors involving only light monetary fines.” Id.,397 Pa. at 585, 155 A.2d at 830.
¶50The second level of criminal liability is generally referred to as “absolute liability,” or “strict liability.” Imposition of absolute liability requires proof that the defendant himself did something—in other words, proof of an event—but it does not require proof that he knew what he was doing. This is the sort of liability the Crimes Code establishes for summary offenses in the absence of a specific provision to the contrary, and, apart from the questions raised by Field, *364is the sort I should have supposed applied to summary offenses under the Vehicle Code.
¶51Although not acknowledged in Field, the distinction between these first two levels of criminal liability is clearly recognized in Commonwealth v. Koczwara, supra 397 Pa. at 583-85, 155 A.2d at 829-30.
¶52Skipping for the moment the third level, we come to the fourth level of criminal liability. At this level are all of the different sorts of culpability defined by section 302 of the Crimes Code, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 302. These include common law mens rea and criminal negligence.
¶53Returning now to the third level of criminal liability: As I read Field, and also Commonwealth v. Houtz, 496 Pa. 344, 437 A.2d 385 (1981), the Supreme Court has defined a level of criminal liability for homicide by vehicle that comes between levels two and four as I have just described them. Apparently, this level of culpability corresponds to ordinary, or civil, negligence. At least, I so conclude from the Supreme Court’s use in both Fieldand Houtz of the phrase *365“knew or should have known,” and also, from the discussion in Fieldof what a “reasonable driver” should have known.
¶54I am unaware of any other criminal offense in Pennsylvania for which ordinary negligence is the required level of liability.
¶55On its face, the crime of homicide by vehicle appears to result from a confusion of the criminal with the civil law. If some one has been guilty of ordinary negligence, he may be required to compensate the victim by an action in trespass. But to label him, not only a tortfeasor but a “criminal killer”—for that is how one convicted of homicide by vehicle is labeled—seems to me to serve no useful purpose. It doesn’t compensate the victim. It won’t deter anyone. (The threat of criminal sanctions may deter intentional conduct, but not conduct only ordinarily negligent.) It can only humiliate the defendant and inflict upon him the economic losses and damage to reputation incident to having a crimi*366nal record. See Commonwealth v. Malone, 244 Pa. Superior Ct. 62, 68-69, 366 A.2d 584, 587-88 (1976) (discussing the effects of a criminal record).
¶56In addition, the crime of homicide by vehicle seems to render nugatory the crime of involuntary manslaughter. The penalty for both crimes is the same. Thus a defendant only ordinarily negligent is subject to the same criminal sanction as. one grossly negligent. Why should a district attorney be concerned with seeking a conviction of involuntary manslaughter, when a conviction of homicide by vehicle is so much easier to get? (In the present case, the evidence was too thin to support a finding of gross negligence, and appellant was properly acquitted of involuntary manslaughter, but it wasn’t too thin to support a finding of ordinary negligence.)
¶57I have already discussed the confusion of purpose that underlies the crime of homicide by vehicle, in concurrence in Commonwealth v. Barone, 276 Pa. Superior Ct. 282, 300-334, 419 A.2d 457, 467-485 (1980), where I was joined by Judge HOFFMAN. I only refer to it again because nothing said in Fieldor Houtz dispels it.
¶58-3-
¶59When appellant was tried, neither Fieldnor Baronehad been decided. Before his trial, appellant filed a motion in the lower court asserting that the statute creating the crime of homicide by vehicle, 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3732, was unconstitutional, and that the count charging him with homicide by vehicle should therefore be quashed. The court denied the motion, and in its charge, read the statute, along with the statutory provisions regarding the duty to stop at a stop sign, 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3323(b), and involuntary manslaughter, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 2504. The court did not charge that to convict appellant, the jury had to find beyond a reasonable doubt that he “knew, or should have known, [that] he engaged in the conduct claimed to be in violation of . . . section [3323(b)] of the Vehicle Code.”
¶60Under Field, the lower court should have so. charged. Because Fieldhad not been decided, I should not regard *367appellant’s failure to request such a charge as constituting a waiver. If appellant were asking for a new trial, at which he would have the benefit of such a charge, I should vote to grant him one.
¶61But appellant has asked only for a discharge. As indicated by the majority opinion, he offers two different arguments in support of this request. I agree with the majority that appellant’s argument, that he should be discharged because he was not separately charged with a Vehicle Code violation, has been decided against him in Commonwealth v. Wilkinson, 278 Pa. Superior Ct. 490, 420 A.2d 647 (1980). I also agree with the majority that appellant’s other argument, that the statute creating the crime of homicide by vehicle is unconstitutional because it provides for substantial penalties including imprisonment up to five years, and does grave damage to the convicted person’s reputation, on proof of strict liability only, has been decided against him in Field. For whatever else may be said about Field, it makes plain that homicide by vehicle is not a strict liability offense.
¶62Perhaps I pursue a lost cause—although if a rational jurisprudence has become a lost cause, we’re in trouble deep indeed. But given my difficulties with Field, I remain unpersuaded of the constitutional validity of the statute enacting the crime of homicide by vehicle. That doesn’t mean the statute’s validity may be decided in this case. Both the Supreme Court and this court have repeatedly held that even constitutional issues are waived when not properly preserved. But it is appropriate to note that the Court has considered only two constitutional issues that were properly preserved: first, whether the statute is unconstitutionally vague, Commonwealth v. Burt, 490 Pa. 173, 415 A.2d 89 (1980); and second, whether the statute is unconstitutional because it provides for imprisonment of up to five years on proof of strict liability only, Commonwealth v. Field, supra.Whether the statute is unconstitutional because it provides for imprisonment of up to five years upon proof of ordinary negligence only is an issue that in my opinion remains open. I hope we shall decide it another day.
¶63. In the context of the criminal law, “negligence” is a slippery word. As defined by the Model Penal Code § 202(2)(d), also by our Crimes Code, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 302(b)(4), and the codes of many other states, “negligence” is something more than “ordinary” or “simple” or “civil” negligence. One must be aware that a “substantial and unjustifiable risk” exists, and one’s failure to perceive the risk must represent a “gross deviation from the standard of care [of] a reasonable person.” Although for clarity this is often called “criminal negligence,” for the most part the various sections of the Model Penal Code and our Crimes Code rely on the definitions in their preliminary provisions and refer only to “negligence.” One exception in our Crimes Code is the definition of involuntary manslaughter, which requires action in a “grossly negligent manner.” 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 2504. “Grossly negligent” is not defined in the Code. It is not clear whether gross negligence for purposes of involuntary manslaughter is something more than negligence as defined by § 302(b)(4) or whether it is the same, “gross” being added merely to reinforce the distinction between it and ordinary or civil negligence. See Toll, Pennsylvania Crimes Code Annotated § 2504 Reporter’s Comment (1974).
¶64. There do appear to be several other states where ordinary negligence is the predicate for offenses similar to homicide by vehicle. See B. Williams, “State Laws on Homicide by Vehicle,” Nat’l Comm, on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances, Traffic Laws Commentary, October, 1978, pp. 1-19. For example, in Connecticut the definition of negligent homicide with a motor vehicle is as follows:
A person is guilty of negligent homicide with a motor vehicle when in consequence of the negligent operation of a motor vehicle he causes the death of another person.
Conn.Gen.Stat.Ann. § 53a -58a.
¶65This is a class B misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 6 months in jail. Another offense, misconduct with a motor vehicle, requires criminal negligence or intoxication, and is classified as a felony. Conn.Gen.Stat.Ann. § 53a 57. Connecticut cases have held that the negligence required for the misdemeanor of negligent homicide is only simple negligence, and it is on that basis that the two offenses differ. E.g., State v. Wilkinson, 176 Conn. 451, 408 A.2d 232 (1979); State v. Waterhouse, 35 Conn.Sup. 519, 394 A.2d 205 (1977).
¶66Another state with two separate offenses based on death resulting from operation of a motor vehicle is Hawaii. One offense is a felony predicated on negligence, the other, a misdemeanor predicated on simple negligence. Hawaii Rev.Stat. §§ 707-703, 707-704. The definition of “negligence” is found in § 702-206(4) and, like our Crimes Code § 302(b)(4), is taken from the Model Penal Code. In contrast, “simple negligence” is defined in § 707-704, which suggests that in Hawaii, it has no other application in the criminal law.