Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!harpo!decvax!ittvax!wolf
From: wolf@ittvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: safe drivers and annual tests
Message-ID: <810@ittvax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 23-Jun-83 17:09:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: ittvax.810
Posted: Thu Jun 23 17:09:40 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 24-Jun-83 16:07:30 EDT
Lines: 56

IS IT FAIR TO TEST VERY YOUNG OR OLD DRIVERS?

It is very easy to say that the unsafe roads are the fault 
of "young" drivers or 
of "old" drivers or 
of  drivers.  

Having special tests or procedures for a particular group of drivers 
does not work in a society where one is innocent until proven guilty.
One could just as well argue that since most men
are stronger than most women, a job that requires strength can never be
given to any specific woman, no matter how strong she is.
I don't think that people would stand for giving a woman a special strength 
test every year to prove that she was still strong enough, because that would
be discrimination. Special tests for very young and old drivers would be 
the analogous to this.

Maybe you argue, but this is a matter of life-or-death safety!
we should allow discrimination in this case!  
Since the population is getting older, teenagers won't have much of a 
vote anyway, and retired people can surely afford taxis.
Nobody outside of the effected age-groups will care,
so it will probably happen.
	
Enter sarcastic mode:
	Also, by the same argument, since most black people are less well 
	educated than most white people and since practicing medicine
	requires a lot of education, maybe Blacks should take a special annual
	test in order to retain the priviledge of practicing medicine.
	I mean, we don't want people operating who don't know how!
Close sarcastic mode.

COME ON PEOPLE! Is this REALLY worth it?

I don't have the statistics under hand about who causes accidents.  
Does anyone else?  What about, say... single men in their 20s who own
their own car.  I know that they pay a lot for insurance.
It is just TOO expensive to test everyone.

WHOM SHOULD WE TEST?

Perhaps the above is necessary. I hope not.
However, we should FIRST deal with those people who have
demonstrated that they are bad drivers. 
I speak of those who have caused accidents, 
gotten their licenses revoked or suspended, 
and then proceeded to acquire licenses in a different state.  
If there is such a thing as a "bad driver" (and I think there is), 
then THESE are the people we should keep off the road until they 
can prove they can drive.  THESE are the people who should take tests.
States should also share information about who these people are.
I believe that there are plans to have a computer with this information
on at it some time in the future, but I don't know details.

	-- Mary-Anne Wolf
	   (decvax!yale-com!mwolf or decvax!ittvax!wolf)