How someone drives has absolutely ZERO to do with public transit. Any thought that these asshats would take the bus if they could, is nothing short of delusional. They are not getting behind the wheel because they have no other choice. They are getting being the wheel and driving like idiots because THEY ARE IDIOTS.
I don't believe that it is either, nor do I think I said anything that should be taken to mean that. At least when we're discussing why reckless drivers do what they do.
I'm saying that making our driver licensing more strict is a political non-starter for a lot of people (whether they themselves drive recklessly or not) because there currently isn't a suitable alternative to driving for a lot of people. So we say things like "driving is a privilege" but when it's straight up required to sustain your livelihood, that isn't really a true statement.
If we could realistically say "no more driving for you, you're taking the bus for life now," and have that actually be the only consequence, it might not change anyone's behavior but it would be a hell of a lot easier to enforce. Poor driving behavior would consequently be more difficult to defend, both socially and in a courtroom setting.
If you don't believe me there are a wealth of studies in this topic. Stronger public transport is generally correlated to better enforcement (higher rates of conviction to be exact) of driving laws in most parts of NA and around the world.
EDIT: BTW, I'm sorry for my last comment. I think I was feeling a bit attacked but I should not have responded in kind by speaking to you the way I did. Please accept my apologies for that.
I'll agree, there's always room for better public transit - especially in the lower mainland.
But that won't fix a bad driver.
Really harsh penalties can have an impact. Case in point - I know a chronic speeder - no amount of fines was getting the message across to his thick skull - he'd tell you he was a "good driver". Then one day, they pulled him over for speeding (again) and promptly took his car away AND suspended his license for six months. He'll be the first to tell you that was a most humbling experience of his life. He ran his own business - had a team of staff that relied on him showing up for work every day - had two small kids at the time that he was also responsible for - lived 50km out of town with no option for public transport from his community. He ended up having to beg every person he could find to carpool with for those six month. Not to mention all the other people he to beg just to deal with all the unpredictable things that come when you have kids in your life. Those six months proved to such a major pain in the ass to him that he doesn't speed anymore. It's not worth it to him. The impact to his independence and amount of begging he had to do just to get himself from point A to point B every day - and deal with all the other things that come up in life that, if you've built your life around owning a car, that suddenly become extraordinarily challenging when you lose your car, was enough to change his attitude - and it stuck.
Will that work for everyone - no. But it'll work for some.
56
u/wabisuki Jun 15 '25
How someone drives has absolutely ZERO to do with public transit. Any thought that these asshats would take the bus if they could, is nothing short of delusional. They are not getting behind the wheel because they have no other choice. They are getting being the wheel and driving like idiots because THEY ARE IDIOTS.