# Does taking away driving privileges really "ruin someone's life"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 4, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-taking-away-driving-privileges-really-ruin-someones-life/334058 "2005-12-04T18:19:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-taking-away-driving-privileges-really-ruin-someones-life/334058/41 "2005-12-06T16:22:38Z")
> [@SaintCad](#): > > PS: Does he get his text messaging access revoked as well? I think you’re on to something here. Maybe we need to start taking away cell phones from people who do things like this. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-taking-away-driving-privileges-really-ruin-someones-life/334058/42 "2005-12-06T16:33:02Z")
> [@Jotun](#): > > I guess if you live in the middle of nowhere, it should give you more of an incentive _not_ to lose your license by running someone down while text messaging. Every time I’ve heard about a reckless-driving case like this, it’s always some urbanite or suburbanite who didn’t need to be out driving anyway. People who NEED to drive, and who aren’t just going to the mall or something, tend to be more careful about their driving. In general. What I’m wondering is, how could anyone continue to drive after killing someone? If I ran someone over, whether it was my fault or not, I would be psychologically incapable of ever sitting behind the wheel again. Am I just weak? Or are some people just really debased? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-taking-away-driving-privileges-really-ruin-someones-life/334058/43 "2005-12-07T23:49:07Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > and you can’t transport livestock in a taxicab (although it’s an interesting mental picture). I’ve thought of this too. It makes me think of a horse in a taxicab, arriving at the airport, and saying to the driver, “…and dang if Farmer Bob didn’t forget to close that barn door. So I just walked out and…oh wait, this is my airline. Drop me here.” ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-taking-away-driving-privileges-really-ruin-someones-life/334058/44 "2005-12-09T15:42:58Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > “…and dang if Farmer Bob didn’t forget to close that barn door. So I just walked out and…oh wait, this is my airline. Drop me here.” That sounds very Gary Larsonish! I have this mental image of the windows rolled down and a sheep sticking its head out the window, tongue flapping in the wind, wool streaming back. I did actually transport a badly injured goat to the vet in the front seat of my truck. I held the goat in the passenger’s seat while my wife drove. I’ve seen several people around here with calves in their trucks. When the weather gets very cold and calves are born early, they’ll pull the calf inside the cab and turn on the heater so it doesn’t frostbite. ---
**Author:** ![Myrtonos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@Myrtonos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrtonos)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-taking-away-driving-privileges-really-ruin-someones-life/334058/45 "2011-07-30T08:43:18Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > I was reading through [this thread about a cyclist who was killed by a motorist](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=347787) and getting pretty mad over the people who say it’s “just a mistake” and how it will “ruin his life” if he’s not allowed to drive again. I also skimmed an MPSIMS thread a week ago (sorry no link) in which the OP had had their license revoked for three DWIs and got it back three years later, and was rejoicing over being allowed freedom. This, to me, is not acceptable. > > I believe that driving privileges are too easily handed out and too easily given back. We use our societal reliance on cars as an excuse for giving dangerous people their licenses back. Oh, it will ruin their life if they can’t drive, we say. Well, I can’t drive, and while I’ve had to make some lifestyle changes due to that (living in a bus-equipped city, turning down employment that would take me away from bus lines) I can adjust to it. Why shouldn’t a killer (albeit one who didn’t mean it and is real real sorry) be forced to make these lifestyle changes? It doesn’t “ruin their life;” it changes it, and I think that after one has acted recklessly with a car one deserves to have his life change. Is it really such a punishment to have to bicycle, or take a bus, or rely on another person to take you places, for the rest of your life? Many of us cope with such limitations daily, and haven’t even killed anyone! > > I think that people who have committed vehicular manslaughter should have their right to drive permanently revoked, and people who have any more than one DWI/DUI should suffer same. I can excuse one mistake, but the minimum suspension of privileges should still be something like five years, and after that, they should have to have an attendant/witness in the car with them for one year. This could be their spouse or a relative, anyone over 16 who knows them. > > We wouldn’t let a murderer (even one who was drunk, just-acting-recklessly-and-didn’t-mean-it, or insane) legally get his hands on a gun again. We limit his freedom despite the fact that a gun can be quite useful, and your life might be limited in some ways if you don’t have one. Why do we let these driving killers have access to their weapon? Does it really “ruin someone’s life” to have this privilege revoked? I think not. Does anyone know the medical standards for motorists, they must be pretty leniniant. While the standards for a commercial license are understandably stricter, a person who is declared inapt for driving a taxi might be still be pemrittied to drive a personal car without being limited as to the number of passengers they may carry. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-taking-away-driving-privileges-really-ruin-someones-life/334058/46 "2011-07-30T09:33:41Z")
My industry requires me to work abroad. I take extra cautions to make sure I don’t get infectious diseases and that I don’t do things that could affect a security clearence. Models need to make sure they do not get acne. and don’t get fat. Teachers can’t post their drunken revels on facebook. a pilot can’t become a raging alcoholic. A snger should probably not take up sword swallowing. A computer programmer should not get caught hacking, and a child care worker shouldn’t abuse kids. We all have a list of “dumb shit we can do that’d fuck our career.” Why is driving somehow sacred? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-taking-away-driving-privileges-really-ruin-someones-life/334058/47 "2011-07-30T11:57:05Z")
This is our land, our resources that, in this case, we use to drive and make a car. It is a common heritage of the children of the earth. Restricting it for some unjust reason is immoral and harmful to a free society. This case looks like a unjust restriction, we are all human, we all have driven distracted, it comes with being human. If you feel that this guy should not drive again, you should not drive again. I’m not saying that there are not times when driving should be suspended as a form of intensive learning to repair damage of the past, such as what it appears in Norway penal system [Is Norway's "luxury" super-max prison really that comfortable? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=617907) . But being human, which means distractability, is not a crime less we are all guilty. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-taking-away-driving-privileges-really-ruin-someones-life/334058/48 "2011-07-30T17:09:17Z")
Driving is a priviledge, not a right. I was relieved when my grandfather was finally forced to give up his license (which he should have done LOOOOONG before) ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-taking-away-driving-privileges-really-ruin-someones-life/334058/49 "2011-07-30T17:57:39Z")
Around here, if they lose their licenses, hell - they just keep on driving their cars without their licenses. Not letting a little thing like that stop them, by god! ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-taking-away-driving-privileges-really-ruin-someones-life/334058/50 "2011-07-30T18:25:39Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > This is our land, our resources that, in this case, we use to drive and make a car. It is a common heritage of the children of the earth. Restricting it for some unjust reason is immoral and harmful to a free society. None of this is remotely true (or even comprehensible). When their licenses are taken away, are they not allowed to ride bikes? Seems like a reasonable solution for getting around. Take a cab to get groceries. If you’re transporting livestock (surely a tiny fraction of what most people use their vehicles for in this country) and get your license taken away - well, you were a dipshit for doing something serious enough to get it taken away in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-taking-away-driving-privileges-really-ruin-someones-life/334058/51 "2011-07-30T20:00:16Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > And there’s something preventing you from _pulling over_? > > :rolleyes: I for one would not want to stop & pullover if I saw zombies wandering around by the roadside. And if I did see zombies, then hit someone, I’d be too afraid it was a zombie (or about to become a zombie) to stop. I’d probally prefer to actually call 911 though instead of trying to text message them. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-taking-away-driving-privileges-really-ruin-someones-life/334058/52 "2011-07-30T20:18:44Z")
And…closing it. It doesn’t make much sense to keep this open as it relates to a news event of six years ago. Please start a new thread if you wish to continue this discussion. To whoever does decide to start a new thread, you can PM me and I will put a link to the new thread at the end of this thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-taking-away-driving-privileges-really-ruin-someones-life/334058.md?page=2)