posted on Apr, 12 2015 @ 08:17 PM
I want to begin by saying that in no way shape or form do I encourage or support driving while under the influence of anything that might diminish
driving ability.
That having been said, after seeing someone pulled over doing a field sobriety test the other night I got to thinking about something. And it led me
to start this thread.
Currently there are DUI laws in every state with varying levels of intoxication considered the legal limit. Some are seemingly high compared to
others, but they all supposedly serve the same purpose - making the streets safer by keeping dangerous drivers off the road. And that is the problem I
have with this system. It doesn't work.
Imagine two drivers. Driver 1 is the best driver in the world. He is a natural behind the wheel. You could drop him in an Indy car and he would win
the 500 easily. He has perfect reflexes, intuition, attention, common sense, vision, hearing, and any other skill or ability that will make someone a
great driver. In short, he is the perfect driver. Then there is driver 2. This is a guy who considers himself lucky if he can get the cereal in the
bowl on the first try. He is well intentioned and a nice person, but he isn't too bright, sluggish, has a remarkably short attention span, is easily
distracted, clumsy, and couldn't find his butt with both hands if you gave him a mirror and a map.
Now, on any day of the week driver 1 would run circles around driver 2. And on any day of the week driver 2 is a danger to himself and the people
around him where driver 1 is safe as a baby in a cradle. But, if we give a couple glasses of beer to driver 1, all of a sudden he is a threat to
himself and the people around him. We need to arrest him, fine him, jail him, suspend his license and cause him significant personal humiliation and
financial despair. Even though at the moment of his arrest driver 1 was still a hundred times safer behind the wheel than driver 2, we punish driver 1
and shower driver 2 with gold stars for trying so hard.
In reality we haven't arrested driver 1 for being dangerous to himself or anyone else. We have arrested him for failing to live up to our
expectations. Driver 2 is a threat every single minute of the day and we know it but we look the other way because he is trying his best. Its only
after he kills someone that the idea to take his license away is actually brought up.
Its the same thing for people of advanced years. I have seen some older folks who were great drivers and I have seen some that literally bounced from
one curb to the other all the way down the street. (yes, I have actually seen that happen)
So instead of sobriety checkpoints, how about IQ checkpoints? If you are too stupid to drive, I don't care if you are drunk or not. Seriously though,
there has to be a way to get bad drivers off the road before they kill someone instead of after. In the old days we had to take a drivers test to get
a license and repeat that test at scheduled intervals or we didn't drive. I haven't had to take an actual driving test in God knows how long. Its
been many, many years. I honestly cant even remember when the last one was. I have had a lot of experience behind the wheel, both on and off the
track, and I consider myself a good driver. And every day I see people do things that, were it not for the grace of God, would get them killed. I know
I am not the only one who sees this stuff. How do we get these people off the road and still maintain some form of civil liberty better than sobriety
check points?