Drink Driving
Todays announcment by the government about revisions to the drink driving laws will of course bring stern rebuke from a corner of society that has little regard for others on the road, but more about how they feel and the power they perceive they have when completely wiped off the planet drunk.
And that is where my point of view mostly comes from.
Yeah I could easily draw on my religious background and say zero levels for all, in fact, booze becomes illegal in New Zealand, aswell as smokes, but I'm not going to do that, because I believe in a firm separation of church, ANY church and state.
But I think that regardless if it creates a new class of criminals in New Zealand and further increases our prison population, but then what is it doing? No punishment encourages crime. Look at the school situation. Look at the home. Discipline gone out the window and so have societies values.
Are we allowing a plea of temporary insanity to those who drink, drive and kill by not reducing the limits and increasing the consequences? I think we need to look at all quarters of society in terms of those who drink responsibly and dial a cab or have a designated driver. But there is that corner of society, young and old who don't give a toss about others and become lethal weapons on the roads with no control over what they do.
I've been a designated driver. I have gone out with a group of mates, all of them adults plastered beyond belief. One of them tried to take the keys to the van off me. I locked them in the boot compartment. I still cannot comprehend the attraction to getting so rip roaring drunk that within 1km of the venue, you've power vomed twice. My logic just can't comprehend the attraction.
Ultimately, my desire to see drink driving tolerance down to 0% is this. I do not want a police officer knocking on my door late one night saying my wife has been killed by a drunk driver. And I'm sure the reverse would be true. If I were a police officer, how would I address that to a family? Sorry, your loved one has been killed by someone who didn't have the decency to be responsible with alcohol, got in their car, drove to fast, and decided to take out your loved one...but they are in hospital right now...being treated and may survive.
Ultimately the person makes the choice (however impaired) to drink and place themselves in this situation. Someone mentioned alcohol doesnt kill people, people kill people. I'm totally down with that. Guns are tools which people use to kill. A gun dosen't leap up and suddenly go off and kill someone. A person has to make the choice to use the gun to kill.
I am not advocating a ban on guns or alcohol, but I believe that they are better suited to a safe and secure use...and I do not believe the road is an acceptable place for alcohol or those who have consumed alcohol. Sure, drink yourself stupid all you want...just have the decency to not get behind a wheel while your drunk. Is that such a bad thing to ask?
And that is where my point of view mostly comes from.
Yeah I could easily draw on my religious background and say zero levels for all, in fact, booze becomes illegal in New Zealand, aswell as smokes, but I'm not going to do that, because I believe in a firm separation of church, ANY church and state.
But I think that regardless if it creates a new class of criminals in New Zealand and further increases our prison population, but then what is it doing? No punishment encourages crime. Look at the school situation. Look at the home. Discipline gone out the window and so have societies values.
Are we allowing a plea of temporary insanity to those who drink, drive and kill by not reducing the limits and increasing the consequences? I think we need to look at all quarters of society in terms of those who drink responsibly and dial a cab or have a designated driver. But there is that corner of society, young and old who don't give a toss about others and become lethal weapons on the roads with no control over what they do.
I've been a designated driver. I have gone out with a group of mates, all of them adults plastered beyond belief. One of them tried to take the keys to the van off me. I locked them in the boot compartment. I still cannot comprehend the attraction to getting so rip roaring drunk that within 1km of the venue, you've power vomed twice. My logic just can't comprehend the attraction.
Ultimately, my desire to see drink driving tolerance down to 0% is this. I do not want a police officer knocking on my door late one night saying my wife has been killed by a drunk driver. And I'm sure the reverse would be true. If I were a police officer, how would I address that to a family? Sorry, your loved one has been killed by someone who didn't have the decency to be responsible with alcohol, got in their car, drove to fast, and decided to take out your loved one...but they are in hospital right now...being treated and may survive.
Ultimately the person makes the choice (however impaired) to drink and place themselves in this situation. Someone mentioned alcohol doesnt kill people, people kill people. I'm totally down with that. Guns are tools which people use to kill. A gun dosen't leap up and suddenly go off and kill someone. A person has to make the choice to use the gun to kill.
I am not advocating a ban on guns or alcohol, but I believe that they are better suited to a safe and secure use...and I do not believe the road is an acceptable place for alcohol or those who have consumed alcohol. Sure, drink yourself stupid all you want...just have the decency to not get behind a wheel while your drunk. Is that such a bad thing to ask?
Labels: alcohol laws, drinking age, driving
posted by Wiremu Bayliss at
6:42 pm
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