Are you the kind of person who likes to eat a nice, big dinner while watching your favourite television program? It’s OK if you do. I really don’t have a problem with that.
What I have a problem with is if you choose to be chowing down big time and watching episodes of Futurama on your iPad ….. while driving at 90 kilometres per hour down the highway. That’s maximum craziness right there. And in case you think that’s just a strange idea I’ve concocted, let me assure you that I saw this happening while motoring along Reid Highway last night.
A guy in an old gold Mitsubishi was careering along the somewhat busy road, stuffing his face, with a dash mounting bracket securely directing his full sized iPad toward the driver’s seat. I can’t be 100% sure it was Futurama but it was certainly some kind of animated program that had his attention. When I noticed what was going on I chose not to stay in his general vicinity, preferring to get as far away from this impending car crash as soon as possible.
I wrote last year about seeing a young woman being Driven to Distraction as she applied a face full of make up while hurtling down the freeway. I just wonder what goes through some people’s heads. Obviously not a lot in many cases.
It’s time to stop the madness on our roads.
Over the last week there’s been a discussion in the media over whether senior drivers should have to display ‘S’ plates to alert other drivers to the fact that an older driver is on the road. The topic was raised by an insurance company which thinks it’d make our roads safer. I was thinking about it all and came to a very simple conclusion. Either people are fit to drive or they’re not. While some seniors might well need to hand in their licenses there are some young and middle aged people that should be slamming their licenses on the desk down at the local licensing centre saying, “I’m sorry, but I really don’t deserve this. You can keep it.”
No one ‘deserves’ a drivers license unless they are fully capable of doing everything necessary to safely operate a vehicle. If a 99 year old can pass the standard test they should be able to drive without being labelled with an ‘S’ plate. If a guy in his forties thinks that a meal and a show can be enjoyed at the same time as driving in traffic at speed, he doesn’t need special plates, he needs to lose his license.
One of the recommendations coming out of the media discussion this week was that anyone over the age of 49 should be re-tested for their license. I’m 52. I’ve been driving for over 35 years without a road accident. It would be inconvenient having to find time to get tested. But I’d be happy to endure the inconvenience if it meant that fewer people on our roads considered driving an automatic entitlement.
What are some stupid things you’ve seen while driving? What do you think of added testing for drivers? Should seniors be forced to display ‘S’ plates?
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