A simple thing you can do to help prevent DRUNK DRIVING.
Clock Loop
Posts: 2,069
I am collecting news paper clippings talking about DRUNK DRIVERS KILLING PEOPLE, I would appreciate it if you would save your newspaper clippings for me, and send them to me in the mail when you get a bunch!
I was thinking of making a facebook/web page about it so I could collect thousands to make a massive collage to bring to the capitol.
Would anyone be willing to help?
Email me at: thereisnoelectron AT gmail.com or send me a PM.
I know this doesn't have to do with parallax, but I am trying to get the word out about this massive and ambitious project.
I was thinking of making a facebook/web page about it so I could collect thousands to make a massive collage to bring to the capitol.
Would anyone be willing to help?
Email me at: thereisnoelectron AT gmail.com or send me a PM.
I know this doesn't have to do with parallax, but I am trying to get the word out about this massive and ambitious project.
Comments
you can just google michelle divicino ,CT and you can get all the copy you would like.
I think its great you are trying to help I just dont understand what it is you are trying to achieve?
I am trying to get as many people involved in this simple to do project as I can, so I can have newspaper clippings coming from all over the unites states, from LOCAL newspapers.
This helps to show that the problem is nation wide, and needs to be dealt with on a nationwide level.
If you read most of the newspaper articles about the DRIVERS who drove drunk, and the punishment they received for it, you will see that most are getting off very light, for some odd reason the attitude today is that one can't be held fully responsible for their actions due to "being under the influence".
If the FEAR was struck into the hearts of everyone that reads these stories, due to the PUNISHMENT that the drivers received for their mistake, then you would see MANY more people NEVER taking the risk of driving drunk due to the SEVERE consequences that results from making such a bad decision.
Today, many people complain about how "they only had a few" and should be able to still legally drive.
This attitude is what gets people to get behind the wheel when they are drunk, they continue to think that "they have only had a few" when in fact they are so smashed that their eyeballs are going cross eyed. If they read in the newspaper about how a drunk driver got 10 years in jail for their first dui, they would think twice about ever driving, even after 1 beer.
I am attempting to get people to see that laws ACROSS the country need to be so severe that no one would DARE drive even after 1 beer. If people had that kind of fear, there would never be the attitude "i have only had a few, i can drive".
him get into his car CAN you BELIVE THAT they poured this moron into his car laughing ,, please feel free to use any articles of mine you wish
Your story is exactly why I am doing this. No one is taking the stories seriously. The drivers themselves are not either.
I would like to use your articles, but this project involves the actual newspaper prints, for some reason this resonates with people. (you have probably kept your own story, if it made it into the paper)
I don't want to take your copy, unless you have more than one, or if you really want to contribute it. I will be making a website, and facebook page that has actual scans of the newspaper articles I collect.
So far I only have two clippings, due to my own effort. I can only collect from my local paper, this is why I am asking for everyones help. The two clippings I have are off the charts as far as the punishment the drivers received, they got off easy. When I read the articles, I was beyond dumbfounded on how easy these people got off for KILLING another human being.
If you have a news paper article to add, or if you would like to start collecting them, please email me when you have one or a bunch that you would like to mail to me in a cheap envelope with stamp, and I will email you back with my address. I will update this post when I have a website and facebook page setup.
thereisnoelectron AT gmail.com
This is a good idea, thanks!
I have a way that drunk drivers could get 10 years for their first DUI; call it “Premeditated Attempted Vehicular Homicide”. Now I am by no means a pot head (have friends who are), I tried to find how many deaths there were from marijuana, I found 0 deaths. But on average there are about 80,000 deaths a year from alcohol. Now in the state I live in you can get in a lot of trouble for having a small amount of pot, but you get somewhat of a slap on the wrist for alcohol. And I think I understand why it is such a week punishment. Think of how many important people out there drink and drive. And then think if everyone that got pulled over and was charged with a 10 year prison sentence, there would not be anyone in congress.
Better to be more realistic and pursue regulations that take driving a motor vehicle more seriously. As it is now our culture considers driving as something very casual, a right more than a privilege.
The privilege of operating a motor vehicle should be reserved for those that can demonstrate and maintain a proficiency of operation.
Rich H
I'd start by automatic confiscation of the car being driven by a person with a suspended license, regardless of who owns the car. Want the car back? Fill the public coffers a little. Was it not properly registered? Off to public auction. I'd love to suggest jail stays for chronic repeat offenders, but I'm not sure we could afford that.
I'd bet that the drunk driver who killed Vetterz' daughter didn't have a valid license at the time. Am I right? And I'll bet he got his car back after he committed the crime with it. And I'll bet he has been pulled over again since, but got nothing more than a fine - which he ignored. Right?
Firstly, I found that I no matter how often I decided not to drive drunk; I would still do so. And then, when I did drive drunk, I enjoyed zooming along at high speed. I never killed anyone or put another person in the hospital, but I'd have to say that was just dumb luck.
FYI, about 10% of the general population drinks 50% of the booze produced. And about one-third or 3% are alcoholic in their behavior. And about 1-2% of the alcoholic population successfully recover. And of the other 50% of the population, the majority don't even have one drink per year.
On the other hand, when I stopped drinking, 50% of all automotive deaths were from drunk drivers. I don't know the rate today, maybe cell phones have taken over some of the toll. But driving is a privilege and requires complete attention. More people have been killed in automobiles than in all the wars in history.
BTW, I have no articles to contribute as all the local newspapers are in Chinese. So my postings are the best that I can offer. And I never have been cited for DUI.
There supposedly may be no deaths from marijuana (I won't bother to argue with that) related to auto, but I never found a pot head that made a good carpenter (too many errors, too many mistakes), but they made wonder ditch diggers (they really enjoyed digging holes).
Too much of my own youth was wasted in a fog and thinking I was being cool. Too many of my friends died young from car wrecks that were at least contributed to by a party attitude. It is a competitive world and young people need a clear head and an open mind to evolve into good adults. Sure marijuana may be harmless, if that were all that was in the joint. But dealers soon learn to mix crack cocaine or opium in with the pot and introduce a new product to young buyers.
I don't drink but the problem is that people's attitudes have to change in order for it to happen and it won't happen because there is too much adult peer pressure for people to not change. The advertising won't change and the commercials will not change. Prohibition won't change it.
In 1982 there were 43,945 fatalities on the roads. 26,173 of them described as alcohol related. That's an appaulling 60%.
In 2008 there were 37.261 fatalities 13,846 of them alcohol related. That's an improvement, down to 37%.
But wait a minute, this looks a bit odd. In that time total fatalities went down a little, by 15% but alchol related fatalities went down a huge amount 47% !!!
So it seems that all this campaigning to get drinkers off the road over the years has worked to a large extent. Only problem is the end result is that the carnage on the roads remains at about the same horrific levels.
As it points out in the link above "alcohol related" does not mean that the driver was drunk. Rather that someone involved had been drinking, could have been a cyclist, pedestrian or what have you. Some might speculate that, as a first guess, only half the "alcohol related" fatalities were due to the driver of the vehicle being drunk. This makes the stats for "normal" drivers even worse.
Reality is that normal, everyday, level headed, sober drivers kill people with their cars. Everyday. One death every 14 minutes in the USA.
Something has to be done but targeting the drinkers now a days does not seem to be the most effective approach. Societies attitude to these dangerous machines and ones freedom to operate them has to change.
I might ask, for example, what right has a car or huge truck got to be traveling any faster than walking pace in any area that pedestrians can normally be expected to be walking? Let's slow them right down.
Sound crazy? Why?. Every day I have to walk across a busy road to get to my nearest store which is in an otherwise quite residential area. One day I might amble out into the road and be killed. My fault? Perhaps, but what if I'm tired or sick or old or for one of a million reasons not paying attention that day? Why should I die when trying to get my breakfast just because drivers rule the road?
Every life is precious regardless of method of death, or amount, I just chose to ask for your help with newspaper clippings on a specific one, thanks if you can.
If you feel this is not worth your time, then skip putting that newspaper page aside for me.
And sometimes even the most well-meaning citizen groups get carried away in their zeal. Take M.A.D.D. (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) for example. What began as a good and effective platform for public awareness and harsher sentencing of DUI offenses has now become an all-out temperance campaign. It's as if the drinking alone is considered to be the crime and not the driving.
Thankfully, when it comes to distracted driving as a whole, state laws are beginning to catch up. In Washington State, for example, driving while texting or chatting on a handheld cellphone is now a primary offense. Many states are also penalizing drowsy drivers. The problem for enforcement, of course, is that these drivers have to be caught in the act. There's no breathalyzer test for drowsiness or recent cellphone use.
Clock Loop, I wish you the best with your efforts. But I would urge you to broaden the scope of your reporting to include other forms of distracted driving.
-Phil
Postscript: There is one lifetime penalty that those given the most lenient DUI sentences cannot escape: travel restrictions. Anyone convicted of DUI in the 'States (and, presumably, other countries) will not be allowed to enter Canada for any reason -- ever. And there are probably other countries with the same, or similar, restrictions against entry.
Being a passenger whilst traveling with my former boss was downright terrifying. Being a director and a go-getter he would naturally be driving as fast as allowed all the time. Normally no problem. BUT as soon as he started yakking on his mobile phone at the same time you would be very hard put to tell that he was not completely drunk. Swerving all over, braking late, missing stop signs etc etc.
And I concur, people in cars make mistakes and the results can be tragic. One of those mistakes happens be taking a drink first there are many others as the statistics show. There is a fundamental sickness in societies attitude to all of this. If a pedestrian steps out into the road unexpectedly and is killed it's "just one of those things", "wasn't my fault he/she came out of nowhere, I was not speeding" etc etc etc.
Reality is, the driver of a car can be coming at high speed into my space. The space where I have to walk or cycle to get to the store or the bus stop or visit neighbors or whatever. Why do I have to die for a momentary lapse of attention in that situation? Why does it become entirely my fault?
I urge YOU to do something about causes you feel worthy of YOUR time, as you see fit. My opinion URGING you to do MORE/LESS/CHANGE what you feel is best for your life, is not my place, unless your asking me for this.
I choose to focus my attention onto a specific cause that interest me because having a broad scope tends to distract, fragment, and dissolve the potency of specifics, getting nothing done in any direction, accomplishing .... nothing.
I URGE you to come up with worthy causes you enjoy and feel are worth your time, or do nothing if you think that's best. I will not try to change your unique direction in life, unless you ask for guidance.
If you have specific focus, and I feel its worth my time to contribute, and your asking for that, I will help, not try to convince you to change your direction.
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Pennsylvania-Doctor-Gets-Jail-Time-for-8th-DUI-105028019.html
But regarding cell phones, they have certainly added a new dimension to the problem.
A few years ago, I was stopped at a traffic light here in Taiwan and witnessed a motor scooter run a red light. The driver took quite a hit from a car (whose driver stopped) and was knocked off the scooter and flat on his back in the middle of the street. But the really odd thing was rather than try to get up, he just remained prone and talking on his cell phone.
Some people just think rules are for other people.
I admit that prior to getting married I use to use my phone while driving on the highway in Manitoba a lot. Why because there is so few people that I literally will have 10min periods where I would not have anyone within a 10 km range of my car. I stopped because my wife wanted me to. Any law would not effect my decision since I have the space to know I will not hit anything and only ever used it in times like that.
Interestingly Manitoba recently implemented a law making it illegal. Since then the number of cell phone related accidents has doubled since people are taking there eyes off the road longer to use the phone where people can't see it. Just today I drove 10min each way to go return a movie I rented. In that time I saw 6 drivers behind me that were continuously looking down presumably at a phone.
LAW IS NOT THE WAY TO FIX A PROBLEM EDUCATION IS
It does not matter how severe the punishment is it will only ever deter a few. The majority will assume they will not get caught.
I would not be able to show the self control needed to not m****r this kid. I'm sorry (and angry) for your senseless loss.
It is nice to see these news laws passed into legislation but I can't help but wonder how they will enforce the texting law. It seems like the cop would have to grab your phone after pulling you over and make sure you weren't just dialing someone. Would there have to be a partially written text in your Drafts folder to be punished? I can see a lot of lawyers lining up to defend this one. An they will probably win more than they will lose. There is just too much room for doubt.
looVax
@Clock Loop: If I see any newspaper articles I'll get them for you.