Abide

In his recent Top Gear magazine article Jeremy Clarkson (155, p52) had a rant about dummkopfs on the road and in the toilets. He says things like “If daft people are removed from the road, it will cut the number of accidents dramatically.” I would agree with him.

Here’s another thought along the same lines. Rules, and laws for that matter, are made for the stupid, and as guidelines for the rest of us for when we are in a state where we don’t want to have to think about it.

Let me expound. Mr Tolo *thinks* he knows how to drive, but mostly shows off by driving too fast and weaves in and out of the traffic causing others to brake or otherwise evade. I drive fast, maybe above the speed limit, maybe even “racing speed”, but still within the vehicle’s performance envelope, and more importantly, within *my* performance envelope. On my return trip, I’m tired and I don’t want to use all my senses (read energy) to focus on driving – my level of alertness is lowered and my speed matches. (As a sideline, one could throw the cliché “there’s a time and a place” in here.)

The Biblical laws – thou shalt not kill etc – are still not (4000 years later) inbred in every human. There are still some numpties that challenge these basic principles and the laws of the land will punish them accordingly, because the laws of the land, are ultimately founded on these fundamentals.

Apparently British law – they like to say – is based on “reasonableness”. “Is the thing reasonable for an average person?” What’s average these days? And if the performance of motor vehicles is a factor in determining motorway speeds, then with the significant advances in motor technology in the last 30 years (ABS brakes for example), why aren’t the speed limits higher? Oh! Because there are more “below average” people driving these days. It balances out.

While we’re doing Biblical: “love your neighbour as yourself”. Or in other words, don’t do anything that will inconvenience or endanger anyone else. This is one of my fundamental principles that I live (and drive) by. Mr Tolo breaks these two frequently.

When I was in high school, I pulled my classmate’s tie, causing the knot to tighten up. A HOD happened to see us, and I was caned. Perhaps a bit harsh a punishment, considering (a) it was all in good nature, and (b) I had had my tie pulled just moments before. Nevertheless, I had caused an inconvenience to my buddy.

I’ve heard of a guy riding his bicycle with his kid on the pavement, and being told by the cops that it against the law and he shouldn’t. So take the 5 year old to go ride in the road? Where’s the wits in that? (Maybe I missed the other half of the story, that the father and son were actually cycling up the pavement of a Saturday morning high street, which wouldn’t have been appropriate.)

So the question is, how do we maintain laws, and at the same time apply that reasonableness test to them? Or rather, how can the “people who could out-Forrest Forrest Gump” (as Mr Clarkson puts it) be kept in check, while the rest of us get a little leeway to act, like I say, in a way that doesn’t inconvenience or endanger anyone, yet may be outside the strict letter of the law?


(Tolo is Portuguese for ‘fool’. Nothing against the Porras of course – it’s just a cool, descriptive word.)