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DVD-Watching Driver Charged with Murder
joke-boy writes "CNN reports that a driver in Alaska is being charged with second-degree murder for allegedly causing a fatality accident by driving while watching the movie 'Road Trip' in an in-dash DVD player. The driver contends he was just listening to music. Alaska has no laws prohibiting drivers from watching DVDs, although many other states do."
I think you may be trolling here but I guess I will bite.
I actually live right off the Seward highway and was returning home from a fishing trip when this very accident occurred. I was stuck at a standstill with 10,000 of my closest friends for about 45 minutes.
During the summer this road is the main artery from Anchorage (pop. about 300k) and the Kenai Peninsula (where all the fun is). This narrow winding road is literally glutted with motorhomes, trucks towing large boats, and rental cars on weekends. Often it is moose that cause accidents on this road but more often it is people drifting over the center line. If this guy was watching a movie he deserves to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
It is not enough to succeed, others must fail. - Gore Vidal
If anything I see this case as proof that we DON'T need to update the laws.
Reckless and careless driving are ALREADY illegal in every state.
This is where we get into trouble, lawmakers have these crazy ideas that they must be constantly making new laws.
Honestly I can't think of ANY new laws that are needed, we don't need new rules, additional restrictions, additional things which require licenses.
In fact there are quite a few things we need to abolish. DMCA, fishing licenses, gun restrictions, FOID cards, pretty much ALL spam/internet legislation that has been passed, pretty well all the government contract legislation needs either abolished or reformed in a manner that reduces restrictions and complexity.
Although we have certain guaranteed freedoms (I'll pretend there haven't been so many instances where they've been ignored, disregarded, or somehow overturned despite the fact that no branch of state, local, or federal government is supposed to have the authority to overrule them), what we don't have anymore is day to day freedom.
The average man, who is doing nothing wrong and living his life should have as few controls, restraints, and tracking as humanly possible. Instead he must register, submit, fill out paperwork, file for a SS#, submit to tracking via that number, maintain an updated legal address, etc.
If a man wishes to have money in the bank, the government wants to know about it, and more they want to know how much and if too much they want to know where it came from. I say, bust me for drugs and then you can investigate my bank accounts, otherwise, leave me the hell alone!
In short, new laws and additional restrictions are bad. Especially when the only purpose they serve is to tack on another charge to give the states attorney a better hand when plea bargaining.
You know, we had a section in the Alberta Highway Traffic Act that expressly stated "no televisions or video systems except in a motor coach" and that "it must be at no time visible to the driver of the motor vehicle".
The laws were updated into the 2003 Alberta Traffic Safety Act, and that section has been totally removed.
Similarly odd was the removal of act that required all 4 wheel motor vehicles to have mudflaps and they be a minimum of 6" off the ground.
Is it justified to repeal laws when enough people stop following them?