[seruzawa]

Seems to violate probable cause. What if you are sitting in your car and not moving after drinking three beers and someone who is sober except for taking Valium loses it and crashes into you... not an uncommon situation since Valium really screws up judgement. Watch the guy who is minding his own business get arrested while the Valium addled soccer mom waltzes off scot free.

I say, if you are going to test everyone then you test for any other common drugs, legal or not. Most people are unaware of how many people are driving under the influence of pain killers, anti-depressants, antihistamines, etc., that are just as dangerous as alcohol. Some don't mess with the motor reflexes as much as they screw up the judgment. Someone on Valium or Prozac might just drive through a red light simply because he doesn't give a shyt whether he kills anyone or not. Some of these drugs are known to cause homicidal urges. This might explain many of those cases of extreme road rage. Don't tkae my word for it. Check the FDA labeling on these drugs. Homicidal ideation is a side effect of many of them.

 

[seruzawa]

I would think killing someone would be enough probable cause.

Oh heck I don't care I was just imagining what the defense lawyers are going to say.

 

[seruzawa]

USA alcohol...

The problem is that if someone has alcohol in his blood the guy gets nailed whether he caused the accident or not.

That's how the logic of the moral majority goes. If you smoke and you get cancer, hey, tobacco killed you. So what if many people who never smoked die of cancer.

We had just recently a big hulabaloo in Finland of deaths caused by narcotics. If you bothered to read the small print, anyone with a whiff of pot was classified as "death caused by drugs" even if the hapless dude was in the backseat of a Fiat Punto stamrolled by an eighteen wheeler.

- cruiz-euro

...accident stats are misrepresented in the same way. If only one passenger is drunk in a fatal wreck and all the drivers are sober the wreck is still reported as alcohol related. We also count people up to 23 years old as "children" in gun related deaths.

Gotta keep that agenda alive. Without those ever increasing stats the govt agencies and the related NGOs like MADD and HCI might get a funding cut.

 

[seruzawa]

My favorite is...

Wait, are you saying statistics are altered to meet the need of certain "studies"? I'm shocked.

... the statistic that says that 10% of Americans have diabetes. I guess some groups think that the best way to garner support for their fund raising is simply to tell as huge a lie as possible.

 

[seruzawa]

Yeah, but....

The beauty of statistics is that you can structure the study to "prove" anything you wish...scientifically and without prejudice. Yeah right.

"There are lies, damn lies, and statistics." Sam Clemens said that, I believe.

... it's especially funny when the lies backfire. For instance the methods used to calculate SAT scores have been changed twice to cover up the degrading state of public schools in the US. In spite of lowering the standards the scores continue to plummet.

Dishonety always exposes itself. Whether the average person has the courage to face up to the truth and demand change is another matter entirely. In the case of public schools apparently the public is prepared to accept any level of incompetence. The public is perfectly willing to accept the most obvious of lies as long as it makes them feel good and someone else can be blamed for their own lack of responsibility.

 

[seruzawa]

Well, then....

Hey, wait a minute, I said I wouldn't put any political crap on this site. YOU TRICKED ME! I DIDN'T MEAN TO SAY IT!! NEVER MIND!

...let's pull it back to motorcycles. The "accident stats" are almost invariably purposefully cooked to achieve a predetermined outcome. Even though fatalities have been falling per mile traveled for more than a decade the stinking NHTSA still manages to create the atmosphere where the dangers appear far worse than they actually are. The numbers are manipulated to justify more power and influence for the NHTSA. Oh, yes and for their masters at the IIHS. Heh heh. follow the money.