Driving Miss Crazy

TRENTON, NJ - New Jersey Attorney General Zulima Farber resigned on Tuesday after a special prosecutor concluded that she violated her department's code of ethics in going to the aid of her boyfriend at a traffic stop in May. She had long come under attack for her own driving record, which includes 15 tickets, three license suspensions and two bench warrants since 1979.

As anyone who drives knows, driving is a skill that not everyone possesses in equal degrees. The trouble is, almost everyone has to drive, so whether you are any good at it or not has nothing to do with your level of participation.

When I was in high school, I tried tennis, but soon found out that I stunk at it. The racket stayed in the closet, and I went about trying to find something that I was better at than chasing fuzzy little balls around [insert joke here]. The fact that I was a lousy tennis player was only a danger to me and the fence behind me.

Driving, however, is another matter.

In issues of public safety, it falls on the government to keep certain individuals off the road in the interest of society. With all of Zulima’s infractions, she (and others like her) shouldn’t be on the road, yet they continue to drive. It’s just common sense – which seems to be lacking in such instances.

We have no trouble taking drunk drivers off the road, so why should someone who drives like that (evidently sober) be allowed to continue? After a reasonable amount of time, it should be obvious to everyone that driving isn’t a good idea for the driver, their insurance company or others around them. Imposing temporary restrictions on people like her do not offer a long-term solution. They have poor motor skills [pun intended] and need to be relieved of their driving privilege so that people can feel secure on the road.

I think it’s about time we took a tougher stance on the bad drivers of the world and made them realize that walking or public transportation are their best options.