Eric's Autos: If Distracted Driving is Bad
Thus, a guy with a .10 BAC who runs a light and T-bones a minivan and kills a family is considered a cretin - and (rightly) subjected to severe criminal as well as civil sanction. But an old person with glaucoma who can barely see anymore who does exactly the same thing is treated much more leniently. Yet both chose to drive while impaired. Does the form of the impairment make a difference?
Why? How? Back to "safety" buzzers and lights. A cop will pull you over and ticket you for texting while driving because that's "distracting" and presumably, "unsafe." But the federal government can mandate (or the car companies fit their cars with) lights and buzzers that are objectively as or more distracting and that's ok.
If I wreck because I was startled by a buzzer or momentarily distracted by a suddenly flashing red light, will the company that put this stuff in the car receive the bill for damages?
How about if I wreck because I can't see what's behind me on account of the twin Matterhorns (i.e., the huge "anti-whiplash" headrests that all new cars are afflicted with) which occlude my view to the rear by 30 percent or more? Can I sue the bureaucrats at DOT who mandated these "safety" features? Will someone give them a ticket... please?
The irony is that while the cars of the pre Safety Cult era (circa 1980s and older) were less crashworthy, you were arguably less likely to have a crash while driving one. There were fewer distractions. And you could see. In a very real way, those old "unsafe" cars were safer.
Moreover, you tended to pay attention to driving when driving one of them - because the situation demanded it. Cars were not idiot-proofed in those days. People were expected to not be idiots. As a result of this pressure, there were fewer idiots.
Today, the reverse. The cars are more capable than ever. The average driver, much less so - having been encouraged to be so. He is no longer expected to pay much attention; to avoid collisions, wandering over the double yellow (and backing up over children) on his own. Technology will be his safety net. And a net it surely is.
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www.ericpetersautos.com or EPeters952@aol.com for comments.
