tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20657858.post7595657382699296042..comments2024-03-28T04:06:09.130+01:00Comments on Spanish Shilling: The LimitLenoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12933569673776013122noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20657858.post-25977906794353726942008-01-02T17:06:00.000+01:002008-01-02T17:06:00.000+01:00Hi Lenox:I agree with you about the apparently inc...Hi Lenox:<BR/><BR/>I agree with you about the apparently increasing presence of the "nanny" state, but is not a "nanny" one who is responsible for non-responsible persons (i.e., children)? I have a friend who reacted in much the same way when our government, years ago, mandated the obligatory wearing of seat belts in automobiles, by all drivers and passengers; she felt the government was intruding in an area where private responsibility was more important; was she right? I'll have to ask her is she still feels this way. BTW, she always wore a seat belt, even before this legislation; she just felt that the government should stay out of it.<BR/><BR/>P.S. I wish I were in Mojácar: it's about minus 14 here today, with a sensación termica of minus 30. Enjoy! ¡Feliz Fiesta de Los Reyes!<BR/><BR/>Here's an article from a national paper this morning; it's on topic, I think, but I shall end with it, before I bore you (and your readers mind-numbingly)<BR/><BR/><BR/>The National Post Toronto, Ontario, Canada <BR/>Wednesday 2 January 2008<BR/>Drunk drivers “not getting the message,” Fantino say<BR/>STIFFER PENALTIES URGED<BR/>By NATALIE ALCOBA<BR/><BR/>Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino says his force plans to provide the government with a list of recommendations aimed at making the roads safer from drunk drivers. <BR/>The suggestions wi1l include stiffer penalties for individuals convicted of drinking and driving, he said, and reducing the administrative duties so that more officers can be patrolling the roads. <BR/>Commissioner Fantino also advocates for giving police the power to impound the vehicle of an alleged drunk driver for 30 days after a first offence, and 60 days after a second offence. "There's a number of things that we need to do," Commissioner Fantino said in a telephone interview yesterday. <BR/>After almost 40 years of policing, Commissioner Fantino said he is shocked that motorists still are not getting the "Don't drink and drive" message. <BR/>"There is no lack of information. What is in fact lacking is the ability, the commitment of people to heed the warning, to listen to the advice ... to anticipate that we're not invincible, that alcohol and driving is a lethal mix.” <BR/>He said drunk driving has been "sanitized" to appear less serious than, for example, shootings - but both crimes can be just as deadly. In an open letter written days before New Year's Eve celebrations. Commissioner Fantino noted that "drunk driving is the leading cause of criminal death in Canada." He was responding to new statistics that show drinking and driving is on the rise in Canada. Of the more than 440 traffic fatalities on Ontario highways last year, more than 70 involved alcohol, the commissioner said. <BR/>On Sunday, police charged two men with impaired driving after an accident on Highway 401 in Toronto. The first driver was apprehended after fleeing the scene. Then, while emergency crews were attending to the accident, another car reportedly crashed into a fire truck. That man was also charged with impaired driving. <BR/>"In the absence of other things kicking in, like people taking responsibility and taking a more common sense approach to these things, I think the system has to kick in; Commissioner Fantino said. <BR/>That’s why the OPP has ramped up its R.I.D.E. {Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) program from a seasonal initiative to one that is enforced year round. <BR/>He noted that the Ontario government heeded the OPP's "reasonable recommendations" to crack down on street racing. Now, anyone driving more than 50 kilometres per hour over the speed limit is treated as a racer, and can have their vehicles impounded. <BR/>"We have similar plans that hopefully will make Ontario an even safer place for all of us," Commissioner Fantino said.<BR/><BR/>National Post <BR/>nalcoba@nationalpost.com<BR/><BR/>(P.S. Lenox, I am not sure what this final, veiled but possibly ominous comment means, about "similar plans..." RMW)RM Woodshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14869804949719895154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20657858.post-12462064768943143462008-01-01T17:29:00.000+01:002008-01-01T17:29:00.000+01:00There's no hard and fast answer - but I'm taking t...There's no hard and fast answer - but I'm taking the corner for less government control, Big Brother, and those deeply-troubled people who assume their moral right (especially when not elected) to restrict our freedoms, habits, occupation and pass-times.<BR/>It's (sort of) why so many people like to live in another country - where the ever-more vigilant control over society is - since they are now not citizens - to a degree is relaxed.<BR/><BR/>At a local level - the town where I live in southern Spain has eight hundred bars and a population of just eight thousand. It only takes one person to decide against drinking up his beer and the whole community crashes to the ground.<BR/><BR/>Happy new year to everyone. I shared a bottle of 'champán' with the Missus last night, comfortably at home.Lenoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12933569673776013122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20657858.post-90913116923785887402007-12-31T20:34:00.000+01:002007-12-31T20:34:00.000+01:00Wow, Lenox, do I detect a note of bitterness in th...Wow, Lenox, do I detect a note of bitterness in this post of yours? I guess you have never had a relative or friend killed (or almost) by a driver who had drunk too much (or even a little). The fact is (I think it's a fact) that even a little alcohol starts to dull the senses and perception as soon as it hits the brain, making most (if not all) drivers less than capable of handling their powerful piece of equipment (I'm talking about autos here!). Here in snowy Canada there are daily reports in the media of drivers, who, while not "drunk" or "wasted" or whatever, have not been able to control their vehicle as well as they might. <BR/>Ask someone (like me) who has had family members suffer - thankfully only one killed - from someone who was at or over the "limit." Even though there may be some "suffering" inflicted economically on some, or even many, restaurant/bar owners, the fact that persons less than thoughtful of the safety of others will be encouraged to choose another way home, perhaps using a "designated driver", makes me much less wary about where I go at night for cheer and company, knowing that the drivers I may see on the road will be at least haze-free in their driving responses.<BR/>Happy New Year!RM Woodshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14869804949719895154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20657858.post-45470811019684757312007-12-28T14:10:00.000+01:002007-12-28T14:10:00.000+01:00Sling him in jail, probably. But I'm talking about...Sling him in jail, probably. But I'm talking about the drunken drivers who missed you. It can happen.Lenoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12933569673776013122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20657858.post-19642989011061004342007-12-28T11:14:00.000+01:002007-12-28T11:14:00.000+01:00Riding a pushbike in Barcelona a couple of years a...Riding a pushbike in Barcelona a couple of years ago, I stopped at traffic lights and was hit at speed by a drunken driver. How do you propose to prevent that?The Singing Organ-Grinderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04487387301124491134noreply@blogger.com