public transportation – Adam's Auto Advice

County in Ireland Legalizes Drunk Driving

: SilkTork / Foter.com / CC BY-SA

Lots of advocates and politicians want to put a stop to drunk driving, but in Ireland they are taking a bit of a different approach to drunk driving at least in Kerry County, which is located in the South Western part of the Ireland. Councilman Danny Healy-Rae actually put forward a motion to legalize drunk driving. His reasoning behind this is that in rural areas people don't have an easy way to get to and from their home without using a car. Public transportation isn't easy to use for these people, so it makes sense to let them drive drunk.

“A lot of these people are living in isolated rural areas where there’s no public transport of any kind, and they end up at home looking at the four walls, night in and night out, because they don’t want to take the risk of losing their licence,” said Councilman Danny Healy-Rae. “The pub is invariably the only social outlet left in rural Ireland and they’re getting scarce now – just one or two in every village.”

The current maximum blood-alcohol level is 50mg per 100ml of blood for most drivers and 20mg for learner and professional drivers. Although it varies depending on driver, this is roughly equivalent to less than one pint of beer. The level of fatalities on Irish roads dropped significantly over the past five years with the introduction of lower alcohol limits for drivers and alcohol checkpoints.

The motion passed put forward by Councilman Dan Healey-Rae passed the council vote 5 votes to 3. Healey-Rae understands the opposition and it still requires Government approval. If passed the people of Kerry County would be given special permits to drive drunk. It seems this is an important issue for Healey-Rae. I think we probably know why though.

I guess to a certain degree this makes sense. Living in Baltimore city it is much easier to get around if you are tipsy. Still… legalizing drunk driving? Guinness is my favorite beer so maybe I could just move to Ireland along with a bunch of bros! 🙂

Leave your thoughts and opinions about this below. I am sure people will have a lot to share regarding this story.

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Source: Journal.ie

Day 8 Chicago Continued

I stayed in Chicago an extra couple of days because of Hurricane Irene. When I would have been driving back would have put me in the middle of the storm. Baltimore apparently did not get hit that bad, but the power outages are wide throughout the city. You can always look at the positive, since this enabled me to explore and do more in Chicago.

First I went to Millennium Park and saw the famous bean, Pritzker Pavilion, and some other cool art pieces. There is an area with glass structures that have water coming out of them. Kids play in the water and people seem to really enjoy themselves in that space. After that I went to the Art Institute. I saw some very interesting and cool art. None of which I remember the name of! After walking around there for a little over an hour I headed to the Chicago Architecture Foundation to do a walking tour. We went to the Marshall Field building, a hotel, Millennium Park, and few other places. The tour guide was ok and not quite as good as I had expected. My relatives here in Chicago said the tours usually are very good. Supposedly the legend is if you have a Firefighter give you a tour that is the best person to get a walking tour from. They know building construction in and out. After the walking tour was over around 3:40 I went back to get lunch at a place called Al's Beef. It was a very Chicago place with hot dogs and sandwiches. I got a Buffalo Chicken sandwich that was good but a little gross. After my late lunch I went back to The Art Institute until it closed around at 5.

I am glad I got to explore Chicago more. It's a great city.

Day 7 Downtown Chicago

Last Friday I went around Downtown Chicago. It was awesome. Chicago is a great city.

Public transportation is really easy. I took a train from 91st – Beverly Hills to LaSalle Station right downtown. I got on the 12:35pm trains and came back on the 5:20pm train. For the most part the trains are clean and comfortable. The trains are actually Double-Decker so you can sit up high. It's nice, easy, and efficient. Wish Baltimore had good public transportation like Chicago.

I mainly walked around downtown with no finite plan on what to do or what to see. First I was aimlessly walking around then saw the Chicago Public Library building on State St. It's an absolutely beautiful building. I would recommended stopping in there. I did walk and see Buckingham Fountain (pictured above) and stopped in at the Chicago Architecture Foundation. I wanted to do a tour, which is a highly suggested thing to do in Chicago, but it was too late in the day. I also considered going to the Art Institute of Chicago but you know it was 3:30 and the museum closes at 5. I did walk around the to on the “Magnificent Mile” which is the shopping center of the city. It's got some great stores, most which I would not go into, but it was fun to see it anyway.

What do I not like about Chicago? Gas prices! They are ridiculous. Over $4! No thank you Illinois. I will not be moving here. If there were lower… I might consider it.