Deadly Driving - Combating Irresponsible Drivers

Enough is enough! When will the authorities finally realize their laws are not being followed and the rules of the road are open to debate. Usually by the driver might I add. Drunken driving, wreckless driving, excessive speeding (and I'm not talking about those that drive around 5 - 10 miles over the posted speed limit!), road rage and stupidity are just a few of the commonly dangerous actions we encounter on a daily basis while driving on the shared, open roads. Actions that kill or seriously hurt and devaste other people!

What is being done about all this? For the most part, NOTHING. There isn't enough revenue or man-power to enforce the already one thousand plus laws out there. So what do they, meaning legislation and city councils, do about this? They create MORE laws that are not able to be enforced! Oh sure, they'll ticket you for not wearing your seatbelt or for driving 5 to 10 miles over the speed limit regardless if you are driving safely or not but they'll let the thirteen time convicted DUI driver heading straight for your family off with another conviction to do it again and again and again! This is an outrage!

In all my wisdom from using basic deduction of common sense, I firmly believe all drivers, including myself, must undergo an annual driving exam to maintain the priviledge to drive. Does this conflict with the individual's rights? NO! Driving is NOT a right! It is a priviledge to those that hold the credentials to get behind a three thousand pound missile. A priviledge that seems not to have responsiblity these days due to all the libral cries of personal freedoms. As stated above, this driving test would be held annually for all drivers. If any particular driver should fail this test, they would have their driver's license suspended for one month up to six months, depending on the failure score and previous driving history, while that person attends a skilled driving school on their dime and learns all the laws and skills of driving safely on the road.

What would happen if that individual should fail directly after completion of the skilled driving course? Easy! They wouldn't be issued an active driver's license! They would re-attend, on their dime again, the skilled drivers course until they passed. If the individual should fail the next annual driving test, they would simply lose their priviledge to drive for good based on the overwhelming evidence they're to irresponsible to stay safe. Simple as that. For those that have multiple offenses or habitual offenders, they would simply lose their license permanently. No if's, and's or but's. The DUI offenders, multiple or first time offenders, sorry, but all of you should be in prison. I would rather pay to have you behind bars than behind the wheel of a vehicle where you have the potential to murder some one or someone else (for those who have and have gotten off.), which I do not believe in, but that's another article for a different time.

Speeding was the most common reason for being pulled over, accounting for 54.8% of all traffic stops in 2002 as stated in the Department of Justice.

According to the FBI, in the year 2003, an estimated 1,448,148 drivers were arrested for driving under the influence. That's 1,448,148 potential vehicular murderers on the streets! Potential murderers that share the road with us and our loved ones!

Does speeding kill? You bet it does! And so does the irresponsible driver hitting a pedestrian while traveling 35 miles an hour! I'm sorry but speed is not the killer! It's the DRIVER! Of course one could argue with speed comes lack of control due to not being able to react quick enough in a situation and I would agree with them. However, please put emphasis on words "react quick enough" and combine them with the words "responsbility and irresponsiblity" and you'd still be placing the blame 100% on the driver's shoulders where it should be. You can be traveling 70 miles per hour and still be able to drive safely and avoid being in an accident if you are responsible enough to drive that fast. Please note as well, that I'm also assuming that the driver is driving accordingly to road conditions and visibility.

Ever read the articles and news stories regarding SUVs now-a-days? They make it sound as if the SUV had a mind of it's own and the driver had absolutely zero control over the vehicle during the accidents by making statements such as:
"It (meaning the SUV), swerved and slammed into the on-coming vehicle. The driver sat stunned behind the wheel!"
"The steering wheel spun in the driver's hands and forced them off the road"
Blah, blah, blah! Come on people! Since when did we start letting people off the hook just because they drive a certain vehicle make? We need to start placing the responsibility back onto the driver regardless if they have enough money or self-inflicted debt to drive an SUV!

I'm sure I'm not the only one out there that feels like they are surrounded by idiots behind wheels and I'm sure that no matter what I say or what laws they make, I will always be surround idiots behind wheels. But I truly hope that others like myself will stand up and say "Enough is enough!" and get things changed!

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