From: Dr Sebby (drsebby@hotmail.com)
Date: Fri Jul 19 2002 - 20:04:44 MDT
...this topic is such an inflammatory one due only partially to truth, but
moreso due to advertising campaigns designed to tug at heartstrings and
offer instant-hero status to anyone capable of saying things like, "drunk
drivers should be executed" and other such 'brave,noble and responsible
rhetoric'.
...the fact of the matter as hermit has pointed out is that people and
alcohol mix in full spectrum of ways. example: if im drinking vodka
everyday or scotch everyday, i can then consume quite an amazing amount,
drive conservatively instead of aggressively as usual and i will be quite a
safe driver...compensating for my mildly slowed reaction times by
purposefully avoiding situations/driving styles which might put them to the
test - not a hard thing to do. another person with a "drunkards reaction"
to alcohol will pretty much be on blackout auto-pilot after 2 shots. but
then, if i didnt drink at all and then got rather tipsy, i wouldnt be fit to
drive...or if i did a change-up on my alcohol selection...eg...drinking
vodka all month then suddenly drinking an equal amount of scotch would
result in the same situation: unsafe.
...when i mentioned "very drunk" etc in my first post i was merely referring
to the legal limit and how it is measured. driving wise, i was at my best
having had a bottle of wine, 6 beers and a few shots of J.D. and eating half
a pizza...all over about an 8hr period...with the wine being in the last
hour and a half. if i know or suspect that i might not be adequately safe,
i will arrange to sleep elsewhere so as to not drive. but if know that
after conservative adjustments to my driving style i will be no danger to
anyone..and/or undetectable by a cop as a drunk driver, i will proceed with
whatever is convenient knowing that with my adjusted driving, i am most
likely much less likely to get in an accident than if i were sober and
driving aggressively.
...if a kid ran out into the road in front of me? well, first off he
probably has it coming anyways, but considering i will be driving just
slightly slower and not taking my eyes off the road or changing lanes
constantly as i normally do, he probably has a better chance of not getting
hit by me if i were 'drunk'.
...if i were the type of problem drunk driver, it wouldve ended unhappily
long ago...but from my personal observances, what i lose whilst drinking is
emotional inhibitions, and obviously physical imparities...but i do not
become reckless, short-sighted or unaware of reality.
...funny sidenote: the woman who started MADD got a DWI a few years ago.
drsebby.
----Original Message Follows----
From: "Hermit" <hidden@lucifer.com>
Reply-To: virus@lucifer.com
To: virus@lucifer.com
Subject: Re:virus: Re: Re:Drink driving
Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 17:48:12 -0600
[Andy Brice] Are you seriously advocating that we should abolish drink
driving laws and trust people to be responsible?
[Hermit] Nope. I have just spent far too much time pointing out that the
laws as currently implemented are intrusive and ineffective, in that they
intrude on the lives of responsible people, and are ignored by the
irresponsible. This perhaps indicates the way to success.
[Hermit] 1 Prevention: Implement performance based testing using something
like the system described in "virus: Interesting technology", RavenBlack,
2001-05-01
(http://virus.lucifer.com/bbs/index.php?board=45;action=display;threadid=21108;start=0)
as an integral (and continuously operating) component of motor vehicles.
[Hermit: Note that the original link in the article no longer functions, but
I assume that it relates to the EyeCheck produced by MCJ Inc. of Rockford,
Ill.] Such a system could be implemented using perhaps $20 more in
components (a video camera and interface) and software over the current cost
of a vehicle, i.e. a lower cost than that imposed on society by attempting
to enforce the current, ineffective laws and vastly less than the cost
imposed by impaired driver related accidents.
[Hermit] If a driver cannot pass a performance-based test, they should not
be driving. Period. The cause of impairment is not particularly relevant.
[Hermit] 2 Deterrence: To prevent "cheating," anyone who is detected
bypassing or attempting to bypass such a system should receive a severe jail
sentence and the vehicle in question confiscated.
[Hermit] Within a short period, the problem should disappear - along with
many others (e.g. driver fatigue - a major killer, and the use of other
performance reducing drugs). As a side benefit, once such a system were put
in place, many existing regulations could be scrapped and the responsible
members of society could live with fewer worries about becoming collateral
statistics of either incompetent drivers or law enforcement.
Kind Regards
Hermit
---- This message was posted by Hermit to the Virus 2002 board on Church of Virus BBS. <http://virus.lucifer.com/bbs/index.php?board=51;action=display;threadid=25721> DrSebby. "Courage...and shuffle the cards". _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
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