Reckless Driving
More car crushing idiocy…
It would appear that Australia is taking a page from Californias law book of senseless and excessive practices:
Street racers in Australia will soon see their beloved cars being deliberately smashed by the authorities in videos posted on the Internet.
The often flashy, souped-up vehicles will be wrecked in crash tests under laboratory conditions, the New South Wales state government announced. – [Yahoo/AFP]
Now I’m sure some of you out there are thinking “Serves them right!”, but I assure you, this law is not a good thing. There is a reason this hasn’t been done in the past. This is technically a violation of an individuals rights. When convicted killers go to prison, even they do not have their belongings destroyed. They may be confiscated and cataloged, but they get them back when they get out. If they get out.
So how exactly can anyone think that this is a fair penalty for any lesser crime? I’d rather impose this penalty for drunk drivers, rather than street racers. At least the street racers are actually in full control of their faculties, and some of them (let me iterate the *some*) are actually really good drivers. The same cannot be said for drunks. But the kicker is that ultimately, as a deterrent, it wouldn’t work for that either.
These kinds of knee-jerk, intimidation-based legislative decisions set very dangerous precedents that could have very profound future ramifications. And to top it off, it’s not like this is going to deter anyone from street racing anyway. Most of the folks who street race will do it regardless of the penalties. Literally. These laws are little more than public displays to make others feel like something is being done about the problem, when in fact, it will have little effect on any hard core racers.
However to their credit, the Australians have adopted a better use for the vehicles than just crushing them. They will be used for crash tests. Which is orders of magnitude better than Californias pointless “crush ‘em all” solution. But both laws are seriously troublesome. The law will have to be very specific on what constitutes “street racing”, and even then I’m sure many police officers will still abuse it, much like how the “aggressive driving” box is seemingly checked on tickets at will, as opposed to, let’s say, the tickets of drivers who actually meet the legal definition of “aggressive driving”…
Aussie street racers to see cars crashed by govt – [Yahoo/AFP]
A minor “Hit and Run” with tragic consequences…
It never ceases to amaze me the lengths to which some people will go to avoid bearing the responsibility of their actions, as displayed by the ff article submitted by a friend:
A woman, fleeing the scene of a wreck that she was involved in, crashed her car into a tree Thursday night, killing her child, police said.
The woman, who was not identified, was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. But the boy, believed to be between 5 and 7 years old, died at the scene, said Atlanta police Officer James Polite.
Police said that minutes before the collision, the woman – who has not yet been named – was involved in a minor wreck on Jonesboro Road and Cleveland Avenue in Southeast Atlanta. – [The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
You know, even though we don’t know the details of the original accident that caused this woman to decide to flee, and eventually careen out of control, it is easy to see the trail of bad decisions that got her there. First, a “Hit and run” is just plain irresponsible.
We may never know why she decided to run that day, but regardless of who is at fault, if you are involved in a traffic collision, to drive away from the scene without ascertaining the condition and well being of anyone else in the collision is just not acceptable.
But to then decide to drive your vehicle so fast that you lose control of it going round a curve with your young son in the car is just plain negligent. Plain and simple. I firmly believe that the most honest measure of our character can be seen in how we react when we are faced with difficult situations. And to be quite frank, I think this lady was of very poor character. And she paid for her bad decisions with the life of her young son.
Some people seem to think that responsibility is something that can be shucked when it is inconvenient. In fact, the opposite is true. It is at the times when it is the most inconvenient that being responsible is of the greatest value. Is is sad that such a small inconvenience had to cost so much. Had this woman understood that, her son might still be alive today…
Woman kills her child after fleeing minor wreck – [The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Sheriffs Deputy drunken shenanigans…
Just read of an unusual DUI case involving an off-duty Sheriffs Deputy:
Charlotte Moore, 36, a jail deputy, was off duty driving her 2004 Pontiac Grand Am on Saturday when she was pulled over by her husband, Elko County Sheriffs Deputy Mike Moore, a police report said.
In two separate accounts of the incident, Mike Moore indicated she initially was pulled over for either speeding or making an illegal turn.
She allegedly left before being administered a portable breathalyzer test, the Elko Daily Free Press reported.
Mike Moore pulled her over again and called for backup. He left shortly after another officer arrived. – [Yahoo/AP]
Now this case is of interest to me for several reasons. First, obviously, as a sheriffs deputy who had probably jailed many inebriated drivers, she should have known better than to drink and drive herself. But the other more interesting point for me was that her husband actually pulled her over twice, and allowed her to be arrested for DUI.
Now I can only speculate about how strong their relationship is, but things like this have a tendency to become points of embitterment. How many people, given the opportunity, would have simply taken the easy route, covered it up, taken the wife home and let her sleep it off? Maybe he had a choice and maybe he didn’t. But if he did have that option, and chose to take this route, I think he did the right thing, and only hope that his integrity is rewarded.
Though I have to admit that in this day and age, I doubt that it will…
Husband pulls over his deputy wife twice – [Yahoo/AP]
The blind driving the dumb…
The same blind man I blogged about earlier has been caught behind the wheel yet again:
“We arrested the same blind man driving his car again on Saturday in the town of Torvandi, near Tartu (in southern Estonia),” said Marge Kohtla, a spokeswoman for Tartu police district. – [Yahoo/AP]
What can I say. This guy must really really have a thing about driving. I suppose the insignificant little fact that he cannot see doesn’t seem to have had much influence in the decision making process. Or he was too inebriated to even care.
This article illustrates what I consider the worst side effect of drinking. Severely impaired judgement. The bad reflexes, jacked up motor control, all these things are bad. But the worst is your inability to realize that you are, for all intents and purposes, JUBAR. But you don’t need to take my word for it. Just ask the blind man…
Blind driver caught again – [Yahoo/AP]
A nation of finger pointers…
In writing this blog, I learn things about people and life in general that I might not have had I sat blissfully ensconced in my own world behind this monitor. I find I think about things a lot more if I have to write about them.
Some of the conclusions I end up with sometimes catch me off guard. Like I realized today that we are, by and large, a nation of hypocritical finger pointers. Conflicted blame shifters. Flip-flopping fault finders. Myself included. Well I’m a conflicted finger pointer, dunno about the rest 
Let me explain. I came across an article today about Americas opinions about texting and driving:
Ninety-one percent of Americans believe sending text messages while driving is as dangerous as driving after having a couple of drinks, but 57 percent admit to doing it, a poll released Tuesday said. – [Reuters]
Now my math is not exactly known for it’s infallibility, but by my calculations, that would mean that at least 48 percent of the population are texting while driving, all the while advocating that it should be banned. 48 percent. Forty-Eight.
Now doesn’t that seem strange to you? That almost half the population of the United States of America is engaged in a practice they believe should be illegal? And this occurs while completely sober? Here’s another example. I recently came across a message board where some unfortunate sap got caught for speeding in the wee hours of the morning on an open stretch of deserted road.
He came to the board asking for legal advice. He got his advice, but not before enduring some scathing remarks about breaking the law by a few other folks on the board and, apparently, an active law enforcement officer. To his credit, he tried to explain that he attempted to pick the safest optimal conditions for his “speed run” however one particularly vigorous poster immediately flamed him to death for “breaking the law”.
Now I ask you: how many of those people do you think have never broken a law before? How many have gone just that little bit over the speed limit because they were late? Hogged the passing lane doing 5mph under the speed limit, while a line of increasingly irate drivers grew behind them? Had a cellphone conversation while driving? Took a pen home from work? Put on makeup/did their hair on the road? Ate lunch on the road? With a burger in one hand, a shake in the other, and a knee on the steering wheel?
I could go on, but I think you get the point. Nobody is perfect, but everyone insists they are better than everyone else. Everyone likes to be able to point a finger at another and say “He/She broke the law! That Idiot! That imbecile!”. The guy who decided to speed in the safest environment he could think of, (and actually consciously thought about it before doing so) gets flamed, while people are talking on cellphones and texting in the middle of traffic on a busy highway (without a second thought for safety) is somehow culturally more acceptable?
Whose actions are more irresponsible? Do you think the law adequately addresses the more dangerous action? My opinion: (like I have to actually say it) No! The law isn’t perfect. You should see some of the silly laws that have passed (some are still on the books!). And more to the point, people aren’t perfect. The fact that I can effortlessly find enough ludicrous stuff to talk about here, on a daily basis, is testament to that.
We all want compassion, mercy, and tolerance and yet we are so reluctant to show anyone else the same. We blame everything for our problems, TV, video games, guns, sex, drugs, rock ‘n roll, frequently each other. But never ourselves. We are so quick to point a finger at everything/everyone else. But we always ignore the three pointing back at us. We suck. Big time. Epic Fail. I wish there was a reset button on this game…
Nine in 10 Americans say ban texting while driving – [Reuters]
First no arms… Now no sight? Aren’t these driving hazards?
Look, I have nothing against differently abled people trying to remain mobile. In a previous post I talked about a guy with one leg and no arms who taught himself to drive. Remarkable. I would not attempt to impose my own limitations upon what they should be able to do. But anyone with a modicum of common sense would apply some self imposed limits on what they should or should not be doing:
Police in the Baltic state of Estonia stopped a man who was driving erratically at the weekend, only to find he was blind.
The 20-year-old was driving in the southern city of Tartu early Sunday — helped by instructions from his 16-year-old passenger.
“At first they thought he was just drunk, but the man kept missing the tube for the breath test, then they realized he was blind” and arrested him, Tartu Police spokeswoman Marge Kohtla said Monday. – [Reuters]
I suppose if you watched the move Scent of a Woman in which Al Pacino plays the part of a blind ex-military man, you may remember the scene where Chris O’Donnells’ character is persuaded to let him drive, guiding him verbally, as they careen through the streets of Brooklyn NY.
Newsflash! That was a movie folks!! Trying this for real is simply irresponsible. Driving is a visual sport. You can’t have blind folk driving any more than you can have a boy girl scout. What was he thinking?!
It is hard enough to drive when you can see. Forget it if you can’t. At least until technology comes up with cybernetic optical implants. Then you can do whatever you want. Really. You can. You will. Just wait and see. Literally…
Blind man arrested for driving car – [Reuters]
Armless Driving… Wow…
there are stories that I occaisionally run across that leave me both laughing and questioning at the same time. This happens to be one of them:
A man with no arms and one leg who wouldn’t stop driving despite a long list of traffic violations was sentenced to five years in prison Friday on felony driving and drug charges.
Wiley taught himself to drive after losing both arms and a leg in an electrical accident when he was 13. He has already spent more than three years in prison for habitually driving without a license, kicking a state trooper and other charges.
He once had a valid license, but it has been suspended several times since 1985, according to his attorney. He starts the car with his toes, shifts with his knee and steers with the stump of his left arm. He turns on the lights with his teeth.
In his most recent brush with the law last May, Wiley sped off in a Ford Explorer when police approached him at a convenience store, officials said. Officers pursued, but called off the chase after eight minutes because they did not want to put others in danger, police said. – [USA Today]
I hardly know what to say. While it is admirable that this guy taught himself how to drive in spite of his crippling accident, it is unfortunate that he had the poor judgement to use the one good leg he had left (or the prosthetic replacement for the other) to assault a police officer.
I suppose that it would be difficult for anyone to have to live with the kind of limitations this guy has had to. I’m sure I would hate to have to be tied to one place day after day. I can see why he wanted to be able to get out and about. Things like this prove that being disabled is usually a challenge of the mind. If you can overcome your own or others misconceptions about what you can and cannot do, you find that you really aren’t that limited. It’s just a pity he has so many other problems to deal with.
Armless man gets 5 years for driving – [USA Today]
Stop The Press!! We Got Speeders!!
I ran into this little news gem earlier today:
The Washington State Patrol says a trooper arrested two men speeding 141 mph on I-5 in Snohomish County. The patrol says the trooper thought he was hearing an airplane early Sunday as the cars whizzed by going north, a 2005 BMW 330i with a 2007 Honda Accord right behind. – [Yahoo/AP]
OK, Here’s my question. Why, exactly is this news? Was it the speed? Were the cars violating some heretofore unknown laws of physics? Are cars physically not supposed to be able to move that fast? Were the drivers too young? What? Is there some point about this particular reckless driving case that makes it so terribly different from the gazillion other instances of speeding that occur in the united states on a daily basis, that it needs news coverage?
Drivers arrested for speeding at 141 mph – [Yahoo/AP]
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