3 ms·

I personally believe that both are stupid, but they shouldn't necessarily be illegal. Not wearing a seatbelt doesn't really affect anyone else, so it shouldn't

I personally believe that both are stupid, but they shouldn't necessarily be illegal. Not wearing a seatbelt doesn't really affect anyone else, so it shouldn't be illegal IMO. However, I could see an argument for insurance refusing to cover you for medical injuries if you weren't wearing a seatbelt. Texting and driving is a bit different and I would consider that "reckless driving", which already is an infraction. If you're operating your vehicle in a manner that is unsafe to other road users, you should have your driving privilege suspended. However, just making it a fine makes it seem less serious IMO, and handing out tickets for innocent use of a phone while driving also seems wrong. If you're not endangering others, you shouldn't get a ticket. I think this should apply to all infractions of the legal code. If you're driving over the limit, but there's nobody around, then you either shouldn't get a ticket or it should be a much smaller one. However, if you are endangering others, the penalty should be far more severe than it is today. The same goes for alcohol. There are a lot of other ways for you to be driving dangerously, but being slightly over the limit is often safe for many people, while being under the limit could still be dangerous for others. For example, driving while sleepy is often more dangerous than driving drunk, yet I don't think I've heard of anyone getting their license suspended for driving sleepy. Also, driving with screaming kids is also dangerous (as a parent, I've been there). You should only be pulled over if you present a higher than average risk to other drivers, and that needs to be proven independent of things like your BAC. I don't think, but I also don't think it's fair, especially since some state levels are quite low (e.g. I live in Utah where we have 0.05% limit).

fzeroracer 8y ago
The reason why some states put the level so low is because you shouldn't be driving after any drinks, period. Your argument that 'being slightly over the limit is often safe' does not work, because it relies on people being able to rationally judge how good they are at driving while drunk. Which, as it turns out, generally does not work and leads to accidents. And even if there's 'no one around', that relies on a judgment call made while drunk and impaired. If you told a lawyer 'Sorry, I didn't think anyone was around when I drunkenly drove into them', you'd be laughed out of court and straight to jail. Which is why they're illegal. If you drink and drive, you've established that you're putting yourself and others at danger while driving. The same can be true of driving sleepy, but that also happens at a far less rate statistically than driving drunk in the US.

fzeroracer 8y ago

The reason why some states put the level so low is because you shouldn't be driving after any drinks, period. Your argument that 'being slightly over the limit is often safe' does not work, because it relies on people being able to rationally judge how good they are at driving while drunk. Which, as it turns out, generally does not work and leads to accidents. And even if there's 'no one around', that relies on a judgment call made while drunk and impaired. If you told a lawyer 'Sorry, I didn't think anyone was around when I drunkenly drove into them', you'd be laughed out of court and straight to jail. Which is why they're illegal. If you drink and drive, you've established that you're putting yourself and others at danger while driving. The same can be true of driving sleepy, but that also happens at a far less rate statistically than driving drunk in the US.