I fail to see how this is going to help

[Kim, Proud Queen of the Fat and Fabulous!]

The NTSB wants to lower the blood alcohol level from .08 to .05 to help prevent drunk driving. O.K. For years I have said that they will not be happy until one drink and you are drunk becomes the rule. This is it. In a 100 lb. woman, one drink and you are legally drunk. 100 lb. man, 2 drinks. This is about one shot's worth of liquor, one beer,or one glass of wine.

220 lb woman would need 2 a man 3.


M.A.D.D. is not happy with this proposal and wants it left at .08 and combine it with stiffer penalties and devices that keep you from starting a car if you have been drinking. (Urban legend has it that mouthwash can make you blow a .08, so if that's true, brushing your teeth would keep you from driving.)

Am I saying it's just fine to drink and drive? Oh, H***NO! What I am protesting is this back door prohibition that is trying to be forced on us. Yes, there are many people out there that should not be driving due to alcohol related issues. One of my good friends growing up lost her mom to a drunk driver and a really good friend from high school was killed by one after we graduated. In both cases, both victims had not been drinking nor were they with anyone who had been either. They were legally at a red light and a stop sign (respectively) when they were hit by a drunk driver who disobeyed basic traffic laws.

I know that one drink and your reflexes are not as good. I'm not arguing that. What I am arguing is that lowering the level will not keep those who need to be kept off of the road, off of the road. They do and will find a way, from driving without a license to using another car. What we need to do is actually enforce the laws we have and not allow for plea bargains or for other allowances. First offense? Oh, well. You pay the consequence.

Period.

Lowering the limit will only suffice to make more people pay fines.....which when you think about it, is probably where this is going. Making money.

I think we need to worry more about those who drive without a license, insurance and other more damaging things. People have been drinking and driving since the wheel was invented. They used to ride drunk! (Tis' true!)


I wonder what smoke screen this is really for?

[Kim, Proud Queen of the Fat and Fabulous!]

I wanted to expound upon this a little further. We all know that we are not supposed to drink and drive and the ones who do it repeatedly are the ones who cause accidents but are not in them,plea out when caught,end up without a scratch when in the accident, or some seeming combination of these factors. We all know the consequences of this and since it is a first offense, you can be cited for it off the bat and not have to have it be part of a traffic stop,like seat belts.

Now, unless you are a teenager in Ohio, you can be sited for texting while driving as a second offense. Teens are subject to using a cell phone and/or texting while driving as a first offense. This means that if a teen is observed by an officer, they can be pulled over and cited for breaking the law across the state. Adults can only be cited if they are already being cited for a traffic violation,unless the city they are in has made it a first offense.

Here's part one of the problem. Many adults who have been cited for this have not faced penalties, fines or any other punishment because it is not being enforced, they plea out, or they are given a warning. So how does this make us safer on the road?

Here's part 2 of the problem. People text/talk and drive at all hours of the day and night, so how is this any different from driving drunk? Studies have proven that distracted driving is WORSE than drinking and driving and that you can have a reaction time 3x's the reaction time you would have at legally drunk.

If this is more prevalent,then how is lowering the legal limit going to help?

[Kim, Proud Queen of the Fat and Fabulous!]

In local news, the city of Cleveland has approved more red light cameras as the state moves to ban them.

Now, red light cameras are often called traffic cameras,which is incorrect. A traffic camera is a type of CCTV camera that monitors traffic and modifies lights at intersections to keep traffic moving. Red light cameras or speed cameras, are the type that take your picture when you run a red light/yellow light and or exceed the speed limit. Our cameras are positioned at intersections and not on the light poll, like in some cities. They are in marked areas and there is a blatant flash when they go off, if they work like they are supposed to. In many cases we have see them going off when birds fly by, for no reason at all, or when a tree branch waves if front of it. They have also caused accidents when people have slammed on their brakes upon seeing one.

I fail to see how these cameras have helped with anything but making the places that install them more money. Too many eyes are on us now, and adding more will not stop the problem as people become used to being watched,it does not create the deterrent you want it to be. Last week I was at one of these intersections and watched 3 cars blow through a yellow light, speeding mind, and a 4th on the red and the camera never flashed. Yet, this is supposed to make me safer?

[Kim, Proud Queen of the Fat and Fabulous!]

As of July 1, Ohio is going to raise Rural highway speed limits to 70 MPH. I love the reason. So people can get where they are going faster. Like they don't take the speed limits as suggestions now? So many drive at speeds that seem like they are confusing the route number with the speed limit now (and let me tell you, on I-71 that's not too bad, but I-480.....)

I can only imagine that is this to garner more gas taxes as people will use more gas. Too many cars with fuel economy is not making for happy tax collectors. I fail, again, to see how allowing people to get there faster is making us safer.

Yes, now think about this one. Raise the speed and lower the blood alcohol limits, while people will still be using cell phones and texting....

I think I will stay off the roads from now on.