Git yer hands off my booze, bubbah!

At the beginning of 2010 it became illegal to drive while babbling into a cell-phone in the great province of British Columbia. Personally, I am totally behind that. I can't count the number of times in the past few years when I was out walking and some nimrod who just absolutely has to talk on the cell-phone rather than pay attention to where he or she were driving has tried to run me down for daring to cross the road when I have a green light. Or maybe when some bonehead would run a stop-sign as though it weren't even there under the mistaken idea that when one is talking on the phone the rules of the road no longer apply. Well, you are all screw-heads and now if you get caught it's a nice little fine (I would rather the fine were a little more hefty, a lot more hefty actually. Maybe that's just me.)

At the time there was some squawking by all the usual self involved types; how dare anyone infringe on their right to drive like a moron while gabbling on the phone (my deepest apologies to all the morons out there who don't talk on the phone while driving. No offence). That's Communism or something. Really though, there was a lot less whining than I expected and I suspect that this was because most people are intelligent and were capable of understanding that they did not have the right to risk other people's lives just so they can talk on the phone. Then there are the hardcore babble addicts - those who just can't stay off the phone for any reasonable length of time. Those with the usual addict attitude that their pathetic little lives are more important than anything else. It's sad, really, but there it is.

Recently in British Columbia the drinking and driving laws were toughened up giving the RCMP more powers to get drunks off the road. Once again, I am totally behind that. My family and friends all use these same roads and the thought of some cretin murdering one of them because they decided to drive while drunk is pretty hard to take. It is now easier for the police to yank these jerks off the road. Good. What really surprised me was the amount of anger over these changes. The complaining has been right off the chart. People are actually arguing in favour of drinking and driving? I definitely never saw that coming.

Restaurants and pubs are complaining that revenue is down. People are no longer having wine or beer with their meals and apparently all the usual crowd is no longer heading out to the pub to get all plastered up before driving home, and according to some this is a bad thing. I disagree: drunks off the road = a good thing. And to look at this realistically, the line is a blood alcohol content of .05, say a couple of glasses of wine or a couple of beers for the average person. Now throw a meal in with that and spending a hour or so in a restaurant and I would be very surprised if anyone had a .05 reading. If anyone who is in a restaurant having a meal who has to pound more than a couple of beers or glasses of wine probably has a bigger problem than new drinking and driving laws anyway. Now those who go to a pub or bar to tie one on should just plan ahead a little bit. Why drive when you know you are going there to pour in the liquor? Have a ride home arranged. I mean how much easier could it be? Whining that it is your right to drive while shitfaced is just wrong. Also, consider, when was the last time you were pulled over, for anything. How long ago was that? Really, what are the chances that anyone is going to get pulled over at random? If someone who has had a couple of drinks is getting pulled over, it is for a reason, and if that person gets pulled off the road for thirty-six hours or so, good. Maybe that person will learn a lesson.

The Liberal Occupying Government (L.O.G.) in Victoria, which surprised me by doing something I liked, are actually considering backing down on this one. There have been MLAs who have said that the rules may be loosened up, showing the same backbone as your average worm. Typical. They accidentally do something right, and then they back off right away. Here's an idea for free: get rid of the Harmonized Sales Tax, make the fines for driving while using a cell-phone higher, and keep the new tougher drinking and driving laws. In return, I will appreciate it. Okay? Okay!

Anyway... Humouroceros