[Superfraggle]

Originally Posted by zuluking

I don't think it's about right or wrong. If that were that case, driving is inherently unsafe and therefore wrong. It's about the risk profile. Drunk driving is a bad analogy in my opinion as giving a drunk driver something to focus on enhances their ability rather than detract (ie. a pace car.) Bad study, in my opinion.

Speeding is a better example. If I'm on a barren stretch of road in the middle of Alberta, I would assess the risk of speeding (or talking on the cellphone) and, yes, I would be at greater risk than if I didn't, but the risk increase may be so negligent that I would choose to anyway. Do I look at that herd of antelope? Sure. Not alot of traffic, straight highway, low risk. If I was on the Deerfoot, I'd do none of the above.

I'm talking about our ability to leverage common sense to guide appropriate decisions based on the situation, the brain processing a million inputs in seconds. And I've already mentioned that many drivers fail to exercise this ability and therefore we are all legislated down to the lowest common denominator. It happens and, in many cases, is completely justified as is this one.

Hmmm... all of a sudden I think we're on the same page. Well said.