How stoned is too stoned to drive?

If society was actually serious about reducing road trauma, there are several far more effective ways to go about it than testing drivers for intoxicants.

  1. Make it easier to not drive in the first place. See the motoring lobby’s effect on public amenity over the last century.

  2. Stop handing out driver’s licenses on the back of cereal packets. Every time I’m in the car, I see folks on the road who have no business there, at least until they get a fucking clue. A good place to start would be heavily scrutinising those who buy Camrys (new, not second-hand); most of whom seem to be the Volvo drivers of yesteryear. No interest in cars or driving, they seem to consider cars as whitegoods, and apparently figure that if they’re not breaking the speed limit then they’re doing everything right.

  3. Driver education that goes further than a hysterical one-eyed emphasis on speeding and drink-driving. An appreciation for other road users and the dynamics of traffic flow would go a hell of a long way…use your damn indicators and keep left (or right, depending) unless overtaking, dammit.

  4. More resources (even some?) deployed to assist recent immigrants with getting up to speed with the dominant driving culture, instead of letting them drag it down.

  5. Some sense employed in intersection design - less traffic lights, more roundabouts, less extraneous signage, more lines on the road, etc.

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