Road Toll 2005

The NZ Herald includes an article on this years road toll.

Some interesting paragraphs are included below (in itallics)

People who run red lights and overtake on double yellow lines should lose their licence....

AND

Mr Duynhoven agreed with police that 95 per cent of New Zealanders were good drivers but 5 per cent were letting the side down.
He believed that 5 per cent should be made to pay.

I am inclined to agree with these statements, and would like to point out that personal responsibility has always been the issue in my opinion. The Government and their enforcers ie. The Police, have always gone for the soft targets - The Mum's and Dad's and the rest of the 95%.

Dont get me wrong - I in no way condone the wrongdoings of the 95% - in fact I believe that we all have to follow the laws of the land. It's just that, as a country, we seem to turn a blind eye to the 5%.

Examples of their behavior include;

People who rack up fines to a point where the courts wipe them - as they cant pay them.
People who drive without a licience - and never intend to stop doing so.
People who always drink and drive, and simply dont care if they do or dont.

There is no point to having laws if a certain percentage of the population dont intend to follow them. We all have a vested interest in our society flourishing - it's time to weed out those that survive on the fringes, supported by those of us that choose to live by the rules.

In order to hit these people where it hurts we must take away their ability to cause trouble. I'm thinking as I type this - but how about these for ideas...

If you drink and drive - your car is impounded and sold. Unless the car is stolen - If the car is someone else's then the car will be impounded for a time period decided by the courts.
If you dont have a licience you can't buy a car.
If you cant insure a car - you cant own a car.
If your car is not registered - your car will be impounded for twice the duration of the lapsed registration. You will then only be able to recover the car - after it's been registered.

Well that will do for starters. Personally I'd vote for a zero alcohol level for drivers - then there is no confusion over the amount to drink. The the No Drinking and Driving message would then make some sense.

And as for the problem teens driving under the influence - that would stop once they lost their car (or their parent's car). The responsible teens who were obeying the law would be able to carry on unhindered - after all they've done nothing wrong.