Drunk driving = salary cut

[HelperElfMissy 42]

you've got a story to tell Rob. That is clear.

 

I agree about driving being a responsibility.

I agree people who drive drunk really need to be taken off the road.

I am appalled at the amount of people driving WITHOUT a licence.

 

Our family had a very narrow escape a number of years ago with a car driving the wrong way in our lane at very very high speeds - ended up in a high speed car chase and a drunk driver wrapped around a telephone pole.

 

I have threatened Papa with divorce for driving home over the limit (I will always get up and go pick him up).

 

So I am certainly not disagreeing with you in principle.

I am questioning the limit.

I do not believe a glass of wine or a corona is going to impair your judgement. A dozen certainly is. Where is the reasonable limit. I think it is about right at 0.05.

[NoFakie 45]

Originally Posted By: RobBright

I for one think the salary cut is a good idea - especially in position of responibility as teaching. You are supposed to be a role model to the public. Think herself lucky - if she was caught taking illegal drugs, then she wouldn't have a job.

I compared drug taking and drink driving in response to this. Personally I think drink driving is the worse of the two for a teacher. Maybe Rob does too.

A postman in Japan who gets caught drink driving will be banned from riding the scooter they use to deliver the mail(!) so maybe the sack is in order there. For the wider point about crimes and employment, I guess it comes down to the nature of the crime and the company's policy. There are lots of different circumstances.

[grungy-gonads 54]

Well yes a postman drives his scooter for work, so there are definitely implications. Bad example! How about a bakery worker? Can't remember "driving" in any form being part of a teachers job, in fact I know a few myself who do not drive (out of their own choice).

[Go Native 70]

Originally Posted By: RobBright

I grew up outside of London. Got my license at 16 at my first available opportunity, because my friends and girlfriends tended to live out in the sticks. If you going to make assumptions GN, please make sure you at least know the person before you make them.

OK GN & MB - wait till someone you know dies because the driver of that car, a car that crashed into theirs, or knocked them over, has had a drink or two in them.

I think in all countries, the legal limit should be 0.00% not just in Japan

Wouldn't be an assumption if I knew you now would it and probably no point making an assumption if I did know you?
I've known a few people die from drink driving including a close friend. Another friend lost control whilst drunk and killed a 3 yo girl, he ended up in jail for 5 years. I've seen a drunk driver plow through 5 people, instantly killing 2 right in front of my eyes.
Um, so what?
Doesn't mean I can't drink and drive responsibly.
This is a weird country though isn't it? We have 0.0 alcohol limit, ridiculous speed limits and yet I see kids jumping around the back seats all the time or mothers holding onto infants in the front seat. It's just nuts...

[wendy-cake 0]

...don't forget the kids on the mums backs and being squashed as she sits in the car - with the baby still there!

[wendy-cake 0]

I don't think the 0% is a bad thing, though certainly don't see why you should be punished differently depending on what your job is. Get fined/stuck in jail for the offense and that's it. If that affects your job because your job is a driving one, so be it. If your job has nothing to do with driving then the offense has nothing to do with the job.

[muikabochi 208]

I know of one guy, a teacher, who basically got a permenant pay cut, was demoted and his chance of rising up to be a head teacher or anything else totally erased. The crime? He was caught driving home after having a bottle of beer a few hours earlier.

[Zer0star 0]

I thought for teachers it was automatic expulsion if they get caught drink driving... guess it depends on the local board of education's decision.

 

had my japanese flatmate get done for drink driving with 5 of us in his car. he knew he was done so he bolted and tried to outrun them. i could suddenly see the headlines in the paper of 5 dead in a drink driving crash so i pleaded with him to stop. we stopped and i got told by my other japanese mates to act like i was asleep cause passengers can also get done for the same charge as the driver (though in reality it's rarely enforced). my mate dropped some names of yakuza mates, we got a daiko taxi to come and he seemed to get off. said he had to pay a fine but still had his license. if this happened in australia you'd be thrown straight in the cell and for good reason!

a few weeks later he was killed driving home from work at a bar at around 4 in the morning. police say he had alcohol in his system. luckily it was a single car accident and didn't take anyone with him.

 

and yet my mates still drink drive, drive without seatbelts, etc.

quite sad really.

 

 

 

saw something rather unbeliveable the other day... a guy riding a scooter with a tiny baby strapped to his back. couldn't have been more than 6 months old... and for some reason he was wearing a helmet. just in case, you know, he crashes or something.

[HelperElfMissy 42]

see....that stuff does not make sense to me...

 

Your mates know they are breaking the law by having one beer after work...so why stop there. The 0.00 law did not stop them and it has not changed thier behaviour.

 

However if you had a 0.05 law then they may have said "you know what, I have had a brew or two, and I better stop now and have a coffee or a water, so that I am under the driving limit" - they would then also be capable of driving responsibily - whereas a couple MORE drinks and they would not.

 

I may be WAY off base with my assumptions, but I would really like to see some research done to show whether complience with drink driving regulations is higher for 0.05 laws or for 0.00. What point is there to having tighter restrictions if they are flagrantly ignored?

[Zer0star 0]

I think the important thing is making people informed about how alcohol affects them when they drive. I think australia does a good job here and people are quite knowledgeable about it. In japan i know some people who think that one sip is gonna make them go crazy and crash their cars.

same thing with drugs i think. people need to be made know what something will do to them and what the consequences will be. zero tolerance policies rarely work in my opinion..

[HelperElfMissy 42]

Originally Posted By: Zer0star

zero tolerance policies rarely work in my opinion..

Agreed!

Now one thing we are doing really BADLY on the roads right now is licencing new drivers.
There needs to be some serious changes here before we have a whole section of the community driving around unlicenced and therefore uninsured (and unknowledgeble).

Changes were made recently to 'improve' the skills of our young drivers to reduce the high risks of young men (particularly so) behind the wheel of cars. But the hoops that have to be jumped through, and the high costs involved are making obtaining a drivers licence something of a privilage. The cost and the delays are so much that there are LOTS of youngsters just driving without a licence.

My eldest boy failed his first test (appointment was 6 weeks after contact- was the first available) for 'speeding'. He was doing 51km/hr, but he drove past a red traffic cone, which apparently means the zone is now no longer a 60km/hr zone, but a 40km/hr zone (even without signage) - so he got an automatic fail for driving at 11km over the speed limit. I called to rebook a 2nd test immediately - and the first available appointment was 3 months later (which he passed). He was capable and competant on the day of his first test (Mid December 2008), but he is STILL today unable to drive without supervision, as they now have to complete a 6 month LOG BOOK. While I am all in favour of kids learning to drive properly, I do think this new system is SO onerous as to encourage people to not be bothered with it.

He is eligible to obtain his P plates on the 10th of September this year, IF he can get in on that day for a computer simulation Hazard Perception Test and IF he passes said test, and IF his log book records are considered adequate.

What are the driving qualification requirements in Japan?

[Zer0star 0]

so glad i got my license in australia before all that log book crap came in. seems rather complicated these days.

my dad told me a story of when he got his license out in the sticks in western nsw- they asked him if he wanted other licenses too and so starting ticking boxes for a bike, truck license. thanks to that he can legally drive anything up to those massive road trains!

 

in japan everyone goes to driving schools to get their licenses. no mummy and daddy teaching here. costs quite a bit it seems too. schools seem like a good idea but people really need a good amount of hours driving before they should be given licenses. not sure how many road hours are required in japan but you see the learning cars all the time.

i think they need some proper school hours in australia. i fluked my p's test but should have had a lot more tuition.

[Go Native 70]

When I got my license it was a really hot day and the instructor wasn't in the mood to take too long. Plus within seconds he obviously realised my skills had probably already surpassed his own so the whole test was less than 10mins!

I went on and did a defensive and an advanced driving course as well which I definitely think has helped no end with my perfect driving record.

[Zer0star 0]

i reckon a great teacher for driving is computer games. get a pretty realistic game like Forza 2 and you learn a lot about car physics and how to handle speed, cornering, braking etc..

i also found driving on dirt roads in australia to be great practice for snowy/icy roads in japan!

[thursday 1]

this is very heavy.

 

I should try for a super license in case F1 calls.