Times Advocate, 1999-10-27, Page 6TIMES-AIDVOC:ATE
6
Exeter Times—Advocate
Wednesday. October z t . 1
APS& ig
Editorial&Opinipn
i
PUBUCATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511
Jim Beckett
Publisher and Editor
Don Smith
Deb Lord
General Manager Production Manager
Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited
424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850
Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • (519) 235-1331
EDITORIAL
Pus tat
"envelope" as
far as it takes
premier Mike Harris has stated his willing-
ness to "push the envelope" by increasing
penalties for those convicted of impaired
driving. A lifetime ban on driving for someone
who kills while drunk and behind the wheel
was mentioned as a real possibility.
This one is not as simple as it sounds. Few people
would complain about the need for strict enforcement
of laws against drunk driving, especially when some
police estimates indicate about half of all accidents
causing injury or death are caused by impaired dri-
vers.
At the same time, the moment a lifetime ban is men-
tioned, people start wondering why someone with no
previous criminal record, who stops at a bar and has a
couple of drinks or however many it takes to hit red on
the breathalyser, then has an unfortunate accident on
the way home, should be hit with such a high penalty.
There is a touch of, "There but for the grace of God
go t," in those musings. Most of us at one time or
another have operated a vehicle when we should not
have been behind the wheel. Perhaps we discovered
that two beers on top of a serious lack of sleep and a
shot of cold medicine equals impairment. We might not
have hit anything or anyone, but we could easily have
done so. Perhaps we celebrated a bit too heartily and
had every intention of driving home, but a good friend
had the sense to grab the keys and call a cab. Perhaps
we remember a time or two in our youth when the
drive home from the Friday night gathering was done
with one eye closed, because it was too difficult trying
to focus both eyes at the same time.
Perhaps it was only a sneezing fit or a fascinating
and distracting conversation with a passenger which
made us realize how easy it is to lose concentration for
that crucial and deadly, split-second behind the wheel.
But a lifetime without a driver's licence seems too
much.
There are legal consequences, negative social impact,
and severe economic repercussions to losing one's dri-
ver's licence even for a year, much Less a lifetime.
That said, perhaps such a penalty is what is required
to drive home the fact impaired driving is a serious
criminal offence, not something everyone does at one
time or another.
There is no doubt that person who consumes a large
quantity of alcohol, then picks up a gun and shoots
someone, is a criminal, a killer, who deserves punish-
ment. No one cares much whether or not the killer is
young, or has no other criminal record.
Why the squeamishness over imposing a serious
penalty on someone who substitutes another piece of
machinery for the gun, and uses a car to kill someone?
Back in the days of the horse and buggy, a drunk,
could fall into the wagon and trust the horse to make it
home eventually. A glance through old newspapers
reveals that even then, accidents happened because of
drunk driving.
These days, automobiles hurtle down the roads in
great numbers - tons of metal, glass and burning
gasoline. However much a part of our life the automo-
bile has become, familiarity must never breed con-
tempt. A car is a complex piece of machinery, which, if
operated without thought, can kill the driver, passen-
gers and anyone else it its path.
Society's attitude is gradually changing about drink-
ing and driving, but it is an uphill struggle. As long as
there is even a hint that drunk driving is naughty '
rather than criminal, there will be needless deaths on
the highway. Perhaps it is time for "pushing the enve•
-
lope".
The sanctity of a ni
It happened last Thursday night. 1 had an entire
evening to myself — no meetings or events to
attend.
It was wonderful. I rearranged the furniture in
the spare bedroom, finished one book I'd been
working on for nearly a month, cracked
open a new book, watched ER and got
eight hours of sleep.
It used to be, the topic of conversation
in the office would be about the places or
people staff saw the evening before.
Increasingly, the noteworthy event to
report is spending an evening at home.
Most people want to be involved in
everything — sports, church, clubs etc.
With government cutback people are
also weighted down by meetings to save KA.
their schools, hospitals and arenas. TAKES
As soon as children start school, they get
on the busy highway of life and never get off.
Good luck catching a retired person at home;
they're just as busy as people in the working
world.
It's great we have so many opportunities but the
time has come to evaluate our priorities.
I was talking with a family recently trying to
slow down their pace by narrowing down the
sports their two sons play. One plays hockey and
the other plays baseball. In the summer, the fami-
ly goes to the ball diamond together and in the
411 • 1`i►ti11�,
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ter � sea N ON
ar
tat home
winter, they do the arena circuit together. _
I think they're on to something. Would partici-
pating in one less extra -curricular activity have a
negative impact on your child's development?
What would you lose by playing on one less ball
team or resigning from one committee?
Are there big consequences? Perhaps a
bigger issue is to consider the conse-
quences of not eating dinner or breakfast
as a family or setting aside one night a
week as a family night.
I've heard sitting down together for din-
ner is a thing of the past for families. Is
spending an evening to go for a walk at a
conservation area, play a game or even
watch a movie a thing of the past as well?
The benefits of a night off are immense.
Parents get to know their children and vice
versa. You'll be doing something you
enjoy. You get a good night's sleep and go to work
the next day well rested.
A friend once told me if we keep running around
at 100 miles an hour, we never have to stop and
think about what's really happening in our lives,
what we really want to do and how we're pro-
gressing towards our goals. Wouldn't that be
frightening?
As we get into the crazy season of shopping,
concerts and parties, make a pledge to spend an
evening a week with your family.
ihait
KATE
MONK
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