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Booze, Prescription Drugs, Street Drugs, Excessive Speed, Failing to Stop, Using A Cell Phone, Reading, Unroadworthy Vehicle, No Insurance, No Licence….

I firmly believe that almost all drivers have driven while they shouldn’t, or in cars that they shouldn’t be driving, or without the proper documentation, or done something they shouldn’t be doing while they were driving.  (oral sex, or searching for a pack of cigarettes in your purse, for example )

The most common really stupid thing drivers do is use their cell / mobile to talk / text / surf the internet / watch sports while they are driving.  And, don’t try to tell me you’ve never done that, because I won’t believe you.

Texting while driving increases the risk of accident 23.2 times over unimpaired driving.  ~  Virginia Tech Transportation Institute

But, and without a shadow of a doubt, the worst road crime is driving while intoxicated.  A hell of a lot of other illegal stuff can be put down to people drinking and driving ~ excessive speed for example.  And, driving under the influence of booze is not just dumb, it’s amoral, criminal, and dangerous.

I really don’t believe anyone who says they have never driven while intoxicated, or under the influence of prescription / illegal drugs.  Everyone who drives and who also sometimes drinks booze, or sometimes takes some form of mind-altering drugs, (including prescription painkillers), has driven when they shouldn’t.

There’s no question that we need tougher drunk-driving laws.  We need to take a lesson from European countries where driving isn’t a right but a privilege.  ~  Jesse Ventura.

Back in the day I knew an alcoholic who had been a very senior police officer in charge of road traffic accidents.  He shared that almost all really bad accidents involved a drunk driver.  He also shared that it wasn’t seeing so many deaths, or even the dead and horribly maimed children, that had pushed him over the edge into depression and booze.  What really destroyed him was the decapitations, bodies without heads and heads without bodies.

If you are involved in a road traffic accident and you suspect / know the other driver has been breaking the law ~ texting while he rear-ended your car for example ~ then call the police, and take a shed-load of pictures.  You may get lucky, and the police might shoot arrest the miscreant,

If you are the guilty driver, then don’t expect any sympathy whatsoever, from anyone except another dumb criminal

Think about this ~ do you want to be the one to run down a child, destroying her life and the lives of her family in the process?

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jackcollier7@talktalk.net