Toyota and Nissan want us to prove we’re not going to drink and drive
I drink less than most people I know and I never drive drunk. So, the odds of me ever having to worry about not being this are remote. Yet, I’m concerned when I read that Toyota is hoping by 2009 to roll out shut-down systems in their cars if they detect you’ve had to much to drink and not allow you to drive it. I’m even more concerned when I read that Nissan has similar plans.
Yeah, I know that drinking and driving is a problem. No, I don’t want anyone drinking and driving. And, yes, I’m quite sure that people will argue that lives will be saved by this and if only one life is saved than it’s worth it. Well, I’m going to take a side that some might not like, but I disagree.
See, my biggest pet peeve is when someone decides to treat everyone like criminals. I don’t like when I must prove my innocence. If you tell me that in the United States we are innocent until proven guilty, why would you ask me to prove I’m not drunk in order to drive my car? This is the same beef I have with the music companies. You can’t sell me a song in mp3 format – even though it’s the one format that will play on every portable music device out there – because you assume that we’ll all put them on the Internet for everyone to download free. You assume we’re all pirates.
When I go to the mall I always see the alarm go off at one store or another. In most cases, the person just gets waved on by the store clerk. Sometimes the scanner just didn’t demagnify the product and the guy runs it again and sends the shopper on their way. Either way, false alarm and annoyance to the customer. We’ve all seen it. For all the false alarms, I’d love to know how their theft has gone down. (By the way, what happens when your car has a false alarm and suddenly you can’t drive to work that morning? There’s no clerk around to wave you on.)
Is the inconvenience of so many worth the few that you’ve stopped? Some might say yes, but I don’t agree. It’s just a matter of principle to me. Personally, I think the overwhelming majority of people are good. And I don’t like it when I’m asked to prove that I’m not one of the few bad ones.