Poll: Drivers under the age of 25 banned from driving after 10pm

[DoctorWhat]

Yesterday, there was a great hubbub here in Ireland because of new road safety measures proposed by the Road Safety Authority (RSA). These included things such as lowering the legal alcohol limit from 80mg/100ml to 50mg/100ml. But the big change they proposed was imposing a 10pm curfew on 17 - 24 year old male drivers.

Apparently, this measure is to protect the most vulnerable drivers until they have enough experience not to kill themselves...

Spoiler: Wrong Wrong Wrong

But imagine this: You're a man. A manly man. You've just passed your driving test, you're now free to drive without a full licence holder looking over your shoulder the whole time, and then you remember that you've got to be out of your car by 10pm or face points on your driving licence, which could lead to a ban if it happens a few times. If you need to go somewhere after dark you still need someone to give you a lift.

Here's the pincher though, your twin sister, who took the test at the same time as you, is perfectly free to drive whenever the hell she wishes! She doesn't need someone to drop them places after dark. She doesn't need to keep taking the bus even though she has her licence. She is truly free of learner limitations...

So, Escapees, what do you think of this proposal? Do you think it will help cut down on road deaths? Do you think it's stupid? A good idea?

EDIT: found a newspaper link: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/byrne-hints-at-late-night-curfew-for-young-drivers-99385.html#ixzz0PITEpxLM

EDIT 2: Shit. The radio lied to me!!! I'm sorry, it turns out that the radio station I listened to had their facts wrong too... Having read the newspaper article in depth, it turns out that males were just used as an example... So, it's not just Males... So, what do you think of this proposal now that sexism is out of the picture? Also, I have changed the poll in light of this.

 

[Irandrura]

Institutionalised gender discrimination is never a good idea.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

If your girlfriend goes into labour at 10:01, do you really think something like that is going to stop you?

 

[Pandalisk]

Ah Sexism is okay in some cases is it? Horrah
Where are the Mananist!?

oh and there is Ageism there as well, Damn them.

and who cares what time it is, noone gets drunk at 10 PM here, its more like 2 PM, and i've seen plenty drunk at ten in the morning as well, you dont need a curfew you need to make it clear that you shoudnt be drink driving for fucks sake you cant just ban all males after ten.

 

[Joshimodo]

That would be ridiculous. Unfair, unnecessary, and pointless.


Also, it wouldn't stop the retarded boy racers. Plus, it would cut even more money from the police's funding, for no reason.

 

[wordsmith]

Bollocks to that. That's known as "sexism", and it'll get thrown out.


On the flip side though- if I can't drive after 10pm, it means I'll have no reason not to drink when I go out. If I can drink, I'll get drunk 2-3x more often, so I'm 2-3x more likely to have an accident whilst drunk (i.e. accidentally hitting someone, accidentally stealing a traffic light, accidentally urinating into a convertible that the owner hasn't put the roof on)... and it's all the state's fault.

EDIT: I just thought... You take ALL male under 25's off the road after 10, you're pretty much cutting the traffic in half. No traffic on the roads makes for great racing, and if you're stopped for racing then you can expect points on your license anyway (Driving without due care and attention, speeding, causing a public disturbance etc. depending on how long they're following you). If someone's going to race, they're not stopping long enough for the cops to check the age on the license.

 

[Archer147]

If your girlfriend goes into labour at 10:01, do you really think something like that is going to stop you?

your girlfriend can drive herself, she doesn't have a curfew

 

[Legion]

It's bullshit, but I seriously doubt it will be put into effect.

Who the hell said yes? Come on, own up.

 

[Proteus214]

Yikes. Just because it fits a certain statistic doesn't mean it should be made into a law. With the number of people that die in their beds, we should never never sleep in a bed ever again!

 

[Pandalisk]

If your girlfriend goes into labour at 10:01, do you really think something like that is going to stop you?

your girlfriend can drive herself, she doesn't have a curfew

isnt their a "No Pregnancy driving" rule? i mean its hard to drive when someone is kicking you in the crotch from the inside.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

If your girlfriend goes into labour at 10:01, do you really think something like that is going to stop you?

your girlfriend can drive herself, she doesn't have a curfew

I'll wait for you outside the vasectomy ward when she hears that.

 

[Cargando]

No. It's very stereotypical to say male drivers. I think it's very unfair.

 

[Smed]

I work nights, that would effectively fire me. Strikes me that it's not thinking things out anyway.

Say that sister from the example realizes at 10:30 that she's WAY too drunk to drive herself home, and calls her erstwhile brother to rescue her. "Sorry sis, I can't come pick you up, it's past curfew. Maybe one of the boys at the party will risk it, but not me!" After all, what law-abiding brother would drive past curfew? So sister gets a ride from Tom T. Rapist (non-traditional pronunciation) and is never seen from again.

If only you could drive past curfew!

 

[RRilef]

If I was in control of this, there would be two stages of drunk driving. The first would be low, and breaking it once would result in a fine. The second time it was broken, their license would be taken away. The second stage would be higher BAC and having it would result in instantly taking away the license. Refusing to take a breathalyzer would also be considered an obstruction of justice and could be punished by jail time.

But what Ireland is doing is a terrible idea, that not only takes away the privelage of driving, but is also sexist.

 

[Bofus Teefus]

I can't picture that passing in the US, but is it likely to pass where you're at? Not the silliest law I've ever heard of, but close.

 

[fix-the-spade]

What?!?

Well it's a good excuse to get pissed up and blag parental/girlfirend lifts home. Although I'd try and organise it so every teenage male driver in Ireland goes out for a drive at 9:59pm on saturday, see how well the constabulary enforce it then.

Lodge a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (or get someone else to), I'm sure there's some kind of discrimnatory violation going on there. Or move to NI and enjoy English rule!

They'd never make that law stick, it fills just abuot every unreasonable/unenforcable box possible.

 

[DoctorWhat]

I can't picture that passing in the US, but is it likely to pass where you're at? Not the silliest law I've ever heard of, but close.

Probably not, I reckon it was a publicity stunt, but still... The fact that they even suggested it...

 

[Mister Ash]

How would I get home from work?

(I work in a bar, finish work around 1am most days, no busses, and taxis cost way too much.)

in other words... that monumentally stupid.