Why does the Goverment, Take the Impaired drivers cars or trucks and crush them.and mount them on the side of the highway.With cars and trucks costing $35,000.00 to $80.000.00 this would be great. The fools could look at their property,Sitting crushed,while they are still paying for it.

Should of read Why does not the goverment.

Should of read Why does not the goverment.

The vehicles of those convicted of driving impaired should be confiscated and given to law-abiding needy people who are hard working and are having a difficult time finding or keeping a job because they can't pay for a reliable vehicle out of their own meagre income.

Or the vehicles can be
sold at auction and the proceeds given to the many charitable organizations in our city who are struggling to keep afloat.

People need to remember that driving is a priveledge not a right. I think that when you are caught for the first time you should have your license taken away for a predetermined amount of time. For those dependant on driving they will learn how hard it is to get around without a license and therefore hopefully never do it again.

The laws we have are strong enough. Let me run this past you--what did you ever learn from someone elses mistake? Especially when you were young? Giving cars to the 'needy' would be stupid because the more you give to people, the more they resent you. Who would choose the needy people? Murray Krause? He would give them to the bottomfeeders on George ST. Gimme a break. Drunk driving laws are tougher than murder right now and you all know it. Stop being such a bunch of self-rightous dorks. Drinking is legal, the govt lowered the age so the young would start doing it. Gambling houses are owned by our government. Hello?? Keep voting Liberal and things will get worse. How bad have things become at the federal level? Our Prime Minister defending the shooters in Toronto ?(poor little things--so hard done by) We are reaping the benefits of a 'liberal' society. Maybe now you will look up the meaning of liberal in the dictionary before you vote.

Yep-I hereby admit I am not a "holier than thou art" individual.
I remember the days well when I drank and drove.
All my friends did!!!
I recall driving home one night-actually about 1 A M, and I was what I would consider "soused." I prayed all the way home, asking God to let me make it home safely and I would never drive under the influence again.
I was blessed-and how thankful I was when I pulled into my driveway.
I kept my word!!!
I never got behind the wheel drunk again.
Now, the odd glass of wine is all I care for, and those big time party days are long gone.
Hard for me to sit in judgement, as I definitely am not entitled to "cast the first stone."
Happy New Year to everyone, and especially to those who drank, drove, got caught, and will now pay a heavy price. Heck of a way for them to bring in the New Year. Just have to remember-it would have been much worse if they had been involved in an accident.
Cheers-and toast the New Year lightly!!!

>Gambling houses are owned by our government. Hello??<

It was under the direction of the provincial NDP government that the slot machines were installed at the Casino Hollywood, delivered in the middle of the night because Prince George City Council had voted against slot machines in this city!

Just blame it all on the Liberals because the NDP simply can never do anything wrong, ever.

>Giving cars to the 'needy' would be stupid because the more you give to people,<

Rather than crush vehicles and litter the countryside with them (now that is a real very stupid moronic idea!) I suggested giving them to those who can make a living with them.

That's all.

Diplomat the only posts people should take seriously, are ones that people put their REAL name on .fake names as in DIPOMAT deserve NO RESPECT.You are a coward who can only be brave HIDING behind a stupid name, get some balls.

Cheers to Gypsy. I like your positive approach I still sudder at the things I did in younger years. Yet to this day my worst thoughts are of a driver in my lane driving at 100 km's and being cold sober. I still thank god that there was awide shoulder on the road.

>Diplomat the only posts people should take seriously, are ones that people put their REAL name on .fake names as in DIPOMAT deserve NO RESPECT.You are a coward who can only be brave HIDING behind a stupid name, get some balls.<

Don, if that is your real name (mine is John Diefenbaker), just remember that this Opinion250 site has a motto that says: " Fresh Thinking For The 250."

You, Sir, prove by your posts that you are a very bitter and angry person, incapable of fresh thinking.

You may think that you have balls, and that other people don't, but let me inform you that the grey matter called brain cells does not reside in testicles.

Since you don't like my name DIPLOMAT I may change it to something else, just to keep you guessing.

Man, this site is a lot of fun, isn't it?

It was under the direction of the newly formed liberal government when the bingo hall in Ft St John was bought with your tax dollars to the tune of 5 mil. It was the rebuilt into a brand new casino with the BC lottery corp name om it. Try to blame the NDP for that!

I too was a drinker for many years. A christian drinker too. I drove drunk all that time and never had one accident -- not even a fender bender and no charges. Now that I'm sober I'm probably a worse driver. Who knows? I do know that raising the penalty has done nothing. Public education has done incredible amounts of good. Lets continue with the response that works rather than a scare tactic. Communism and socialism only have one differnce--the means of enforcement. Communism uses physical force and socialism uses legislation. Real Conservatives use common sense.

Mike Hawryluk

Don Mackenzie

Prove to us that you are Don Mackenzie and it is not just another pen name. Until you do that, you are no different than many of the rest of us.

>Try to blame the NDP for that!<

I wouldn't blame the NDP for any of the expanded gambling in B.C. that has occurred under the Liberals - it wouldn't be fair!

The NDP didn't object to it, although the social consequences were well known.

Gambling is here to stay. No future government will ban it as it is one of the biggest cash cows ever.

Come down to Greyhound Tues to Sat 1600-0000 Look around I will be there. You can hid in your car if want or you can walk up and say HI. I will show you my ID,I wear my name tag on my uniform.

should have said...if you want...looking forward to seeing you Owl'

Impaired driving is not as prevalent now as it was in the 60's and 70's, however it is still a major problem.

At any given moment on a Friday or Saturday night you could get any number of impaired drivers at .08 or over. A few years ago when pressure was put on the prosecutors and judges to enforce the impaired driving mandatory 14 days in jail for the second offence, our jails quickly filled up and people were doing their time on week-ends, or at home with ankle bracelets, and in the case of women they would do time at the Phonex Transition home on the weekends because there were no jail facilities available for women.

The bottom line is that there are no limits on the number of impaired drivers you could catch if you really wanted to.

A number of years ago the Police were allowed to issue 24 hour roadside suspensions, which in effect gave them discretionary powers (Which they should not have) and they can therefore arrest some people and allow others to go home while leaving their vehicles parked.
It would be an interesting statistic to know who in the past 10 years have benefited from the 24 hour suspension rule.

The implication that only a certain element of society drives impaired is of course not true. Would anyone care to make a guess as to how many people acutally drove impaired last night. The number arrested has absolutly no bearing on the number of people actually driving over point.08.

Some statistics indicate that in any given group of people, ie; Doctors, Lawyers, Airline Pilots, Government Workers, Military Personel, etc; that approx 10 percent of them will have an alcohol or drug problem. If true what that means is that we are surrounded by people who have a problem and are probably driving with it.

As in a lot of cases we like to assume that the people on the bottom of the food chain are the problem. You will notice that the prostitues on the street get all the publicity while the high class ones working as a business get none. The same thing applies to drugs. We would be foolish to beleive that only the down and outers, or the criminal element are on drugs. There would be no money in the drug trade if dealers had to depend on the lower income people for their income. The same applies to gambling. Poor people dont have any money to lose in gambling. This is a middle or upper middle class form of entertainment.

The police have to keep up the pressure on impaired driving, however it probably wouldnt hurt to set aside the 24 hour suspension for a while and charge all people driving with .08 or over without any exception, that would include police officers, judges, lawyers, politicians, businessmen etc; once we got a better sense of how big the problem really is then we could continue to try to resolve it. (Lots of luck)

The cops would be further ahead handing out tickets for seat belt infractions.
Make more money.
6 impaired in a city of 77,000, probably consisting of at least 40,000 adults.
Let's assume 10,000 go partying, and the good party people are the good drinkers.
So, hypothetically, say 4000 are "loaded to the gills."
And the cops manage to get 6.
Now that is hardly what I would consider performance!!!
Lousy record in my estimation.
Not too impressive.
No offense meant, but there was probably more cops driving drunk than the 6 they charged of the general public.
Maybe the majority of cops got New Years Eve off.
Sure going to stop impaired driving at the rate they move on it!!!!
I lived with an alcoholic for years. This party had to drive drunk, was not cold sober that often.If sober, was looking forward to the next drink as soon as possible to get that "wake up call" that another drunk was in order.
They are surely a sad lot, but seem pretty lucky about escaping those road blocks, and, of course, daily driving does not leave them in too much danger of being caught.
Lots of underage kids drink as they are brought up with feeling liquor is an acceptable drug.
Then they think fighting under the influence is acceptable-also relates to violence in the home.
Enough already!! Makes me sad!!!!
No_I won't go have a "drink."

Don ... thanks for the invitation ... I will do that and you can then decide whether you wish to "out" me here .....

There were a few who knew who I am almost from the beginning because I told them; there are enough others who have since found out from others or from knowing me and noticing the types of things I post and the points of view I present ....

Holy C**P Give it a rest Don and others. Comment on the issue not on who's got bigger balls.
Is this high school?

Supetech, you hit the nail on the head.
way to go.