Re:Should the US drinking age be lowered to 18?
by geebee on Wednesday August 20, 2008 @12:51PM
(#281648)
I'm hesitant to say this, because I don't think anyone's opinion should be dismissed because they haven't had a tragic experience. This is a matter of policy, and it affects everyone. In short: you don't need to have experienced what you described to have an opinion.
But actually, I have. A good friend's wife was killed by a drunk driver as she jogged on the sidewalk. The guy was way over 21, and absolutely blitzed. It was a repeat offense. Another very good childhood friend of mine had to be pried from his car by the "jaws of life" after getting slammed by a drunk-driven pickup truck on the wrong side of the freeway. Fortunately, he lived and did experience what I believe was a complete recovery.
That is what MADD was originally formed to combat, and it was (and I mean this without any irony) a righteous cause.
But now, we're at the point where people will be arrested, thrown in jail, and carry a criminal record for driving at BAC levels that have a lower incidence of accidents than driving while chatting on a cell phone ($50 fine in California as of last month). To me, this is clearly the neo-prohibitionists at work. It's wildly out of proportion.
I've also been stopped (in Palo Alto) by cops who saw me walk out of a restaurant/bar and get into my car. They pulled me over because - and I swear I am not making this up - "your idle was running loud... have you been drinking this evening, sir?" Not a single traffic violation, no speeding, no running a stop sign, nothing. They pulled me over because my "idle was running loud" (my car was an old peugeot, I was a poor recent college grad, so yeah, the idle did run a bit loud, though I wasn't aware this gives the police the right to pull me over and make me be their trained monkey for fifteen minutes).
They put me through a bunch of tests (stand on this leg, stand on that leg, look in the sky and count backwards) and another cop car showed up as they gave me a breathtest. Oh, what do you know, the guy with long hair who drives a peugeot isn't drunk. Well, so long sir, be safe tonight.
I was on a date - it's really fun to go through this while your date is watching from the passenger seat.
Considering my experience with drunk drivers, it's pretty remarkable that the police and Madd have managed to turn me into someone who is instantly suspicious of the motives of people who claim to be combatting "drunk driving". I see it as a way to pursue prohibition, and to erode a citizen's protection from random search of their property and person.
But actually, I have. A good friend's wife was killed by a drunk driver as she jogged on the sidewalk. The guy was way over 21, and absolutely blitzed. It was a repeat offense. Another very good childhood friend of mine had to be pried from his car by the "jaws of life" after getting slammed by a drunk-driven pickup truck on the wrong side of the freeway. Fortunately, he lived and did experience what I believe was a complete recovery.
That is what MADD was originally formed to combat, and it was (and I mean this without any irony) a righteous cause.
But now, we're at the point where people will be arrested, thrown in jail, and carry a criminal record for driving at BAC levels that have a lower incidence of accidents than driving while chatting on a cell phone ($50 fine in California as of last month). To me, this is clearly the neo-prohibitionists at work. It's wildly out of proportion.
I've also been stopped (in Palo Alto) by cops who saw me walk out of a restaurant/bar and get into my car. They pulled me over because - and I swear I am not making this up - "your idle was running loud... have you been drinking this evening, sir?" Not a single traffic violation, no speeding, no running a stop sign, nothing. They pulled me over because my "idle was running loud" (my car was an old peugeot, I was a poor recent college grad, so yeah, the idle did run a bit loud, though I wasn't aware this gives the police the right to pull me over and make me be their trained monkey for fifteen minutes).
They put me through a bunch of tests (stand on this leg, stand on that leg, look in the sky and count backwards) and another cop car showed up as they gave me a breathtest. Oh, what do you know, the guy with long hair who drives a peugeot isn't drunk. Well, so long sir, be safe tonight.
I was on a date - it's really fun to go through this while your date is watching from the passenger seat.
Considering my experience with drunk drivers, it's pretty remarkable that the police and Madd have managed to turn me into someone who is instantly suspicious of the motives of people who claim to be combatting "drunk driving". I see it as a way to pursue prohibition, and to erode a citizen's protection from random search of their property and person.