DWE and Other Offenses


There has been quite a trend in law enforcement lately to crack down on drunk drivers, and no doubt that's a good thing. But I think that a lot of it has to do with the fact that they have a machine that supposedly measures drunkenness and gives out nice scientific .10% and .15% readings that courts of law like to see so they can pass judgement on us. The real reason we're cracking down on drunk people is supposed to be safety, right? Our law enforcement agencies have a habit of telling us they are doing something for our safety when really there is another reason for it. Like speeding tickets. I heard that in Japan they really wanted to stop people from speeding, so they just slapped a mandatory $500 dollar fine and that was it. So what do we do? We design the penalties to be just enough that we can claim we want to make the roads safer, when actually it's a way for the state to make some serious money. They rake in millions, and the cops can look busy and not have to be doing more dangerous and less visible cop activities like catching criminals. And there is always a new machine somebody can sell to every municipality in the nation and make lots of money.

This drunk driving thing is just a bugaboo, and what they should be after is unsafe drivers. I maintain that with legally drunk blood alcohol levels some people can still drive better than a lot of idiots who have never touched a drop. I feel there are lots of other kinds of unsafe drivers that also should be systematically removed from the road or fined large amounts of money. Shouldn't we also crack down on over-emotional drivers, stupid drivers, senile drivers, drivers who didn't wear their contacts, and, especially, tired drivers? All they need is a machine that you can test people with to tell if they are exhausted. DWE, Driving While Exhausted... I wonder just how many accident deaths were caused by people falling asleep at the wheel. There's no way to test a corpse in an autopsy and determine if the deceased was yawning when he jumped the median strip, so they just stick to measurable stuff like alcohol. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that tired drivers cause as much damage in our society as drunk ones. Our society encourages people to work too much and drink too much coffee and latté and push themselves; people boast to each other publicly about how little sleep they have had this week and how cool they are because of it. Maybe our toll booth operators should call the police when they detect a tired looking driver coming through. Maybe we need "Sleep that Extra Hour and Drive Safely" campaigns, complete with film strips to show our school children along with the "Say No To Strangers" and Say No to Drugs" and "Safe Sex" and all the other indoctrination. Maybe we need designated "I'm Awake" drivers to bring the other tired partyers home, and pamphlets outlining the truths and myths about exhaustion. What if somebody got in a terrible accident that cost some lives and could prove that their neighbor's lawn mower that morning deprived them of sleep and made them too tired to drive. Should they be allowed to sue? It doesn't seem much more absurd than allowing people to sue a bartender who served them a final drink. "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Tired" bumper stickers would be great.

So would "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Mad." Think of all those angry and heartsick drivers out there, so emotionally caught up in the dramas of their lives that they don't see children crossing the street. Think of all the day-dreamers and all the people driving around fantasizing. "FANTASIZING AND DRIVING DON'T MIX" the slogans would say. Let's start MOTHERS AGAINST DAY-DREAMING DRIVERS clubs and start lobbying our congressmen to do something about the menace of abstracting drivers. Not to mention the horny ones. Surely there must have been a lot of lives lost due to lonely, horny men gawking out their windows at shapely female pedestrians and not attending to their driving. This has to be stopped. Maybe there should be stiff fines for that, and maybe the women should be sued for being accessories to the accident. Maybe if a guy gets too horny and wrecks his car and kills someone, the last woman he was with could be liable if she didn't sleep with him. Maybe we should also go after people with low blood sugar, or people who drank too much coffee and are wired up. I know that I am a menace when I stop at McDonald's and have a Coke in one hand and a Big Mac in the other and am pulling onto the highway, wiping ketchup off my face and driving with my knees. I think these other classes of drivers merit as much law enforcement attention as drinkers. What are we waiting for?

© 1987 by Harvey Reid

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This web site concerns the music and life of acoustic musician, writer & music educator Harvey Reid.

If you don't find what you want, or if you have comments or questions, please email to

 

WOODPECKER MULTIMEDIA
5 Fernald Ave York Maine 03909  USA
phone (207) 363-1886


Lyrics About Harvey Reid
Concert Schedule Lyrics
Catalog of Recordings Buy From Us
Say Hello to Us
Books The Song Train
Newest Recording About Joyce Andersen
Newsletter About the Partial Capo
Listen to Audio Lyrics
Hot News Listen to Audio
Guitar Tunings Interviews
Articles & Essays Reviews
Publicity Info Out of Print Music
Publicity Photos Lyrics
Downloads Listen to Audio
Say Hello to Us Favorite CD's
Harvey's Gear Booking Information

Harvey Reid Concert Schedule |Harvey's Blog | About the Liberty Guitar Method|Catalog of CD's and Tapes|Discography|About this Web Site & What's New Here | Hot News | Woodpecker Home Page | About Harvey Reid |The Song Train | Video | Audio | About Joyce Andersen | Books by Harvey Reid | Get On the Mailing List... | Concert & Record Reviews | Interviews with HR | Lyrics to Harvey Reid Songs | Harvey Reid Annual Newsletters | HR's Guitar Tunings | About the Partial Capo | Articles & Essays by HR | HR's Gear | HR's Favorite CD's | HR's Career History | Booking Info | Publicity Info & Download Files |


This web site concerns the music and life of acoustic musician, writer & music educator Harvey Reid.

If you don't find what you want, or if you have comments or questions, please email to