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New law in Texas will make drunk drivers who murdered parent or guardian to pay child support until the child is 18 years old.

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[-] neanderthal@lemmy.world 55 points 1 year ago

I don't disagree with drivers paying damages, but I see laws like this as whack-a-mole with symptoms of the problem of car dependency. Bars and restaurants serving alcohol with car dependent design is just a bad idea. No amount of laws is going to prevent drunk drivers from killing people as long as they remain the only way to get to or from places people consume alcohol.

[-] knoland@kbin.social 12 points 1 year ago

Liquor licenses should not be granted to establishments without public transit during business hours.

The American idea of DRIVING TO THE BAR, many of which have parking lots, is completely an utterly unacceptable.

[-] ethicalthinker@mstdn.social 0 points 1 year ago

@knoland @Sensitivezombie @neanderthal That is an interesting idea, but also very urban-centric. For most of my life I lived in places that had no public transit. So even if I went to a bar that had transit, it wouldn't have gotten me home.

[-] knoland@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

Rural places can have public transit. Many rural communities in other countries are served by busses.

[-] Vinegar@kbin.social 43 points 1 year ago

It is supposedly a personal moral failing every time someone drives too old, too tired, or too impaired, but if trains, busses, & walking were the default ways to get around then this chronic societal problem would diminish dramatically. For the vast majority of US citizens busses, trains, walking, biking, etc are not viable options because US infrastructure & city planning overwhelmingly neglects everything but the automobile.

Incompetent driving is rooted in systemic failures, not personal moral ones.

[-] AfricanExpansionist@lemmy.ml 21 points 1 year ago

Exactly. In the US, we put bars in strip malls and remove most public transport, then arrest people for driving drunk

[-] bettybarcode@urbanists.social 2 points 1 year ago

@AfricanExpansionist
Agreed. Separation-of-use zoning spawns drunk driving.
@Vinegar

[-] Sanctus@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I doubt we'll ever see anything but the treating of symptoms in our lifetime. Especially sunce ~~Corporations~~ Citizens United still exists.

[-] Quacksalber@sh.itjust.works 21 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

That is a law I can absolutely get behind. I'd go further and say that if they cause serious harm, they have to pay until the guardian can fully resume their duties to the child.

[-] Cozy@feddit.de 7 points 1 year ago

I'm quiet shocked it isn't the case in the US or Texas already. I'm from Germany and if you harm anyone while being drunk or just stupid you have to pay for every problem you caused. E.g. falling asleep while driving, causing an accident and hurting a pregnant woman, damaging the infant maybe a brain damage or stuff, it would be calculated by statistics how much money the child won't earn in life cause of you and you had to pay for every medical treatment for ever. Every cent not earned or spent because of your actions is yours to pay.

[-] Nakoichi@hexbear.net 11 points 1 year ago

Wow incredibly rare Texas W.

[-] authed@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago
[-] Nakoichi@hexbear.net 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Yeah I am not typically in favor of punitive measures as a solution to a problem that could be solved by building robust public transit free at the point of use, but I have also had a lot of friends killed by drunk drivers so fuck them.

[-] pjhenry1216@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago
[-] authed@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

Wow that was a fucking lazy abbreviation

[-] pjhenry1216@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

I think it's more slang than abbreviation. Might have evolved from FTW. But I've heard folks say "take the L" so it may just be from that as well.

[-] gullible@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago

Given the finances of drunk drivers with records, this is akin to a death penalty or an induction into slavery. I can’t say they don’t deserve it.

[-] TrudeauCastroson@hexbear.net 5 points 1 year ago

This is probably good justice, but idk if it's going to reduce drunk driving.

It's crazy to me that in America drunk driving (with no victims) isn't a felony on its own. In Canada it's their version of a felony and generally a way bigger deal. In America you seem to only have consequences when someone's hurt.

Crazy that MADD was able to lobby to get all states to have 21 as the legal drinking age but not able to lobby to make drunk driving a felony because it's too ingrained into America since people like going to bars but don't wanna pay for cabs and have no other transit options.

this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2023
233 points (98.3% liked)

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