End the Road Carnage... (Slow it Down)

In the past couple of weeks we have had some of the most horrifying displays of loss of life due to reckless driving and wanton speeding on our nation's roads, with the innocent and the onlooker alike being dragged into the melee and their presence being announced in rivers of blood. Somewhere along the way we seem to have forgotten that driving requires a license granted on a tested understanding of all rules and laws that govern the use of the road and at least some demonstration of vehicular control. These rules seem to have faded from importance and steps have to be taken to curb the carnage by enforcing the law.

There are those who believe the solution rests on the State through law enforcement but that is not the only solution.  Drivers need to be reminded of the responsibility they agreed to when they were licensed and the revocation of that privilege needs to become a real and immediate consequence for breaking the law. As a start I would like to propose that any accident resulting in the loss of life should result in all drivers involved having their licenses suspended until the completion of a police investigation into cause.

This is no place for deflection of responsibility or misdirection and to allow the conversation down that road is to abdicate the more serious responsibility, that of saving lives from the careless and the lawless combined. If in an ideal world all of the rules would be obeyed and all road users would get to their destination safely, then we need to get ourselves to an ideal world quickly.

While it is accepted that we will always have accidents, the level of destruction displayed in some of these recent, tragic events is a clear indication of the speed these vehicle were traveling at when they hit. Without question the consequences of mad driving needs to be more onerous so as to garner top of mind when the average driver gets behind the wheel and one wonders if driving instructors are teaching their students that while zero to sixty is one thing, sixty to zero is something else entirely.

Speed traps work and generate much needed revenue so we need to utilize speed traps as often as possible in as many varied locations as possible; There is nothing like a twelve hundred or fifteen hundred dollar fine to lighten that accelerator foot and all fines and penalties need to be logged against the driver's permit. More than three fines in any six month period should result in a six month license suspension at the bare minimum so as to discourage repeat offenders. It is well known that the best way to end lawlessness is to enforce the law and I strongly suggest that we try this approach for a change.

Some other suggestions:

- Shut down the modification for speed industry completely. Close down all shops that sell and/or install turbos, nitrous and other kits. 

- Seize and impound all cars found to be 'street illegal' or modified for power and speed beyond the manufacturer's specifications. 

- Cease the licensing of 'over-powered' stock vehicles capable of ridiculous speeds. Ban the imports of vehicles pre-modified for speed like Evolutions, Skylines and Subarus to name a few. Yes I know not every owner of a race car races, but how about we remove the temptation.

- Make drag racing a serious crime with the penalty a twenty five thousand dollar fine on the first offense with a six month permit suspension escalating in value and time on subsequent convictions.

- Create a visible 'Highway Patrol' that should be seen cruising all highways at the speed limit so as to deter would be speeders.

- Install automatic speed traps with radars and cameras to catch offenders.

This list is by no means conclusive and there will be many other suggestions that can work. My suggestion is that we try them all until we find the right model for our country as we need to send a clear message to the lawless on the roads that we as a nation are not interested in having our citizens plowed into and killed to satisfy their need for speed.