enthalpy

Saturday, November 19, 2011


Interesting piece on "distracted" driving. Sadly, the answer to these problems is never less regulatory hysteria; it's more. So instead of MADD dialing their crazy back, it just means MAT (Mother's Against Texting) is just now getting started.
Maybe we should just abolish drunk driving laws. “Several studies, such as a 2005 paper in the British Medical Journal, have found that talking on a cell phone, even with a hands-free device, causes more driver impairment than a 0.08 BAC. A 2001 American Automobile Association study found several other in-car distractions that also caused more impairment, including eating, adjusting a radio or CD player, and having kids in the backseat. . . . Doing away with the specific charge of drunk driving sounds radical at first blush, but it would put the focus back on behavior, where it belongs. The punishable act should be violating road rules or causing an accident, not the factors that led to those offenses.
What? Wait for someone to actually commit a crime before you throw them in jail and ruin their life? That's just insane.



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