tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post7772063890527677065..comments2023-06-15T09:13:45.467-04:00Comments on Liberty's Torch: Lethal Vanity: A Personal TiradeFrancis W. Porrettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862584203772592282noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-89808008273805317002014-10-25T01:17:34.831-04:002014-10-25T01:17:34.831-04:00The LIE is certainly an example of highways across...The LIE is certainly an example of highways across the nation that require you to take your life in your hands. Forty years ago I traveled it almost daily, from Lake Ronkonkoma to Yonkers, visiting my father in a cancer ward at Cross County Hospital (is it still there, I wonder?). Bumper-to-bumper at 70-75 was the rule even back then.<br /><br />Some of the highways in the Bay Area move at 80-90 mph. The same with I-75 through Florida. I have no problem with the speeds involved, but it seems more and more people are incapable of driving with any skill whatsoever. Even when they aren't on their phones talking and/or texting.<br /><br />Just as when I drove a motorcycle as my primary mode of transportation, you have to drive as if you expect everyone around you to intentionally try to kill you. Only then will you experience some modicum of safety.Reg Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14099612693763932005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-17250965585317475982014-10-22T10:58:21.238-04:002014-10-22T10:58:21.238-04:00"Lethal Vanity" -- Great way to describe..."Lethal Vanity" -- Great way to describe this behavior. These people have no concern for others, no concepts of risk, nor can they conceive of any of the long-term effects of their behavior. They will choose options that seem to benefit only them for the short term, regardless of how it might impact everyone (including themselves) in the long term.<br /><br />Unfortunately, this is the way most Americans now vote. Not what is good for the long-term health of our country, but only what they are told is good for their own short-term benefit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-72746500276053239972014-10-22T02:29:06.056-04:002014-10-22T02:29:06.056-04:00This is really just another extrapolation of the, ...This is really just another extrapolation of the, "we are all fine," meme.<br /><br />We are not. Life is hard. Driving needs careful attention.<br /><br />The awareness, calculations and care needed to make nearly-instantaneous decisions when tons of metal are moving at 50-70 miles an hour under human control are more complex than global warming predictors would ever trust their lives to.<br /><br />We give "license" to drivers - who get drunk, reckless or distracted - far easier than we give license to the majority of gun licensees who see the need to be armed against the current government or culture.<br /><br />A good comparison: take the number of drunk, negligent licensed drivers who cause unconsidered death or injury as a percentage of all drivers. Now take the percentage of drunk, negligent registered gun owners who cause unconsidered death or injury as a percentage of all registered gun owners.<br /><br />I'll bet my internet connection that the former is greater than the latter.<br /><br />Now, realize that not only can ANYONE get a driver's license more easily than they can get a constitutionally-protected firearm, when they get that license, they will probably be given a right to vote - with nothing more than a local water bill or a dead person's social security number. <br /><br />America has become sort of backwards. Ann Barnhardt is not wrong.Tim Turnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-553922554961825822014-10-21T11:39:23.373-04:002014-10-21T11:39:23.373-04:00Traffic engineers pay particular attention to avoi...Traffic engineers pay particular attention to avoiding geometries or elements that "violate driver expectation." Sadly they cannot design for the vanity driver who does that.Weetabixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06106614092497408546noreply@blogger.com