DG: > Dan asks what's next...cell phones! Would love to see those ban when > driving. >
Minneapolis has the word "ban" too firmly implanted in the front of our collective minds. Everyone seems to think that their pet-peeves should be eliminated by ordinance. I see the word "ban" on this list so often, its beginning to loose all meaning. Ban leaf blowers, ban smoking, ban truck idling, ban refrigerator trucks, ban cell-phones, ban bad food, ban "scary" inflatable creatures. Come on, people. I thought this city was supposed to be a center of "tolerance." Seems no one here can tolerate anything. In my present line of work (driver), I could not actually perform my job without using either a cell-phone, or two-way radio while driving (we use the Nextels with walkie-talkie function). Many other professionals have the same dilemma. Are we to be ticketed for performing a requirement of our jobs? While driving, should we ban: Passengers (can be very distracting), Smoking (I bet everyone would like that!), how about babies? Listening to the radio (especially talk radio - can really get one going), eating, drinking coffee (imagine how poor a person's driving would become after spilling a hot cup of coffee in his lap), drinking anything, for that matter. No matter what we ban, SOMETHING will always be the "number one" cause of accidents. By labeling something as causing x% of accidents, or being the #1, it makes that something seem a logical target for elimination, but by that reasoning, everything will eventually have to be banned. Say cell phones are the #1 cause of accidents. 1 in 20, right? Ban them. Now, we have a new #1 cause. Let's say it's smoking (I have no idea). Say it's 1-30 accidents. Ban it while driving. Now, we have a new #1 cause. Say it's drinking coffee. 1-40 accidents caused by it. Well, it's the number one cause of accidents, and we can do something about it, so by God, it's our duty to protect people from this terrible scourge. It's the NUMBER ONE CASUE OF ALL ACCIDENTS! Ban coffee!!! So on and so on. News flash: #1 cause of accidents: Drivers. Ban them. Dan McGrath Longfellow http://www.smokeoutgary.org REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
