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From: geoff@ncr-sd.UUCP (Geoffrey Walton)
Newsgroups: net.legal
Subject: Re: Driving as a right or privilege / "for your own good"
Message-ID: <314@ncr-sd.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 28-Oct-85 18:24:55 EST
Article-I.D.: ncr-sd.314
Posted: Mon Oct 28 18:24:55 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 29-Oct-85 14:44:56 EST
References: <193@l5.uucp> <805@x.UUCP> <150@nitrex.UUCP> <3717@dartvax.UUCP>
Distribution: na
Organization: NCR Corporation, Torrey Pines
Lines: 77

> In article <150@nitrex.UUCP> rob@nitrex.UUCP (rob robertson) writes:
> >In article <805@x.UUCP> jb@x.UUCP (Jim Burnett) writes:
> >>Driving as a right not a privilege?  That is one of the most absurd 
> >>statements I have heard in a long time.  You think just because you
> >>are of legal age and can somehow procure an automobile, you should
> >>be allowed to travel on PUBLIC highways.  Wrong...wrong...wrong.
> >
> >This isn't so much of a flame as a point to ponder about the American reliance 
> >on cars, but unless one lives in a big city with a rapid transportation
> >system, if you don't have a car you don't have a livelyhood.  I mean
> >who in America lives close enough to walk to work, to the supermarket and
> >to a department store?  This is something our society really has to address.
> 
> Here, here.  Although there is an awful lot of responsibility that goes
> along with it.  Driving is a right.  
> .

*** MASSAGE THIS LINE WITH YOUR REPLACEMENT ***

GIVE ME A BREAK!!

Driving is a privilege accorded to those who demonstrate the
maturity and responsibility to deal with the daily and frequent
use of a potentially leathal weapon.  The ability to drive a
three-quarter ton (or more) projectile through crowded streets
is NOT sufficient qualification; what is required is the
maturity to understand the inherent dangers and to deal with the
ever-changing situations encountered while driving.  Those who
do not display this maturity, or who demonstrate a lack of
concern for the safety of themselves and others, while driving,
do not deserve the PRIVILEGE.

Is ther anyone out there in net.land who hasn't said, "That
clown is a menace," on "God, there goes an accident looking for a
place to happen," or "S/He must have gotten his/her license out
of a Cracker Jack box," or some such comment?  If so, you're
lucky; if not, you know that some people drive with the same 
level of attention they exhibit when they brush their teeth.

THIS is a problem which needs be addressed by our society.

Before you light that torch and tune-up for your best "that's
easy for you to say" flame, let me put the record straight:

1.  I lost my license to drive quite some time ago, and thought
(at the time) my rights had been infringed upon.

2.  I live thirty plus miles from my office, and still manage to
get to work every day.  I ride three buses each way and spend
three hours a day in transit.

3.  I live two and one half miles from the nearest super market;
but still manage to eat.

4.  If I can't get somewhere by bicycle or bus, and I really
want -- or need -- to get there, I ALWAYS find a way.  It may
not be fast, or easy, but I ALWAYS get where I'm going.

5.  It is possible to survive (yes, even in California) after
the revocation or suspension of one's driving PRIVILEGE.  It may
not be as easy, but it is possible.  And after all, who is
responsible for the loss of privilege, or for its maintenance?

In a few months I get my license back; it will have been three
years.  In that time I've finished a masters degree, changed
jobs twice, bought a house, and --recently-- gotten married.
But more than any of these, I've had a LOT of time to think --
mostly on buses.  I've also spent a lot of time looking out the
windows of those buses, watching the rest of you drive to and
from wherever.  I must admit, the prospect of driving myself is
both thrilling and frightening.

Think about it,
Geoff
{wherever}!ucbvax!sdcsvax!ncr-sd!geoff
Even the smallest problem becomes unsolvable if enough meetings
are held to discuss it.