Firstly, I don't mean to absolve people of responsibility, let me make that clear. I'm just arguing the degree of premeditation, and the resulting degree of punishment such people should be given.
at the point you have the drink/take the drug and know your only way out is driving,
I think a lot of people don't do that. They drink/take the drug WITHOUT thinking about the next three hours. A child will run out into the street after his baseball without thinking about the fact that he could get hit by a car.
We KNOW cars are a lethal weapon.
They may know it factually, but they do not internalize it to a point where they will act upon it. A slightly more mature kid will think about the fact that cars drive across the street all the time, but will believe he can make it.
This sort of thought process (I feel) would also lead to the same population that's more likely to get into drunk driving accidents, also having higher levels of lung cancer (smoking), and STDs and teen pregnancies (unprotected sex). I need to read more about Piaget's cognitive development theory, but I'm under the impression that he says while most people get these decision-making skills in their teen years, for some it takes a lot longer, if they ever get there.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-04-06 12:05 pm (UTC)at the point you have the drink/take the drug and know your only way out is driving,
I think a lot of people don't do that. They drink/take the drug WITHOUT thinking about the next three hours. A child will run out into the street after his baseball without thinking about the fact that he could get hit by a car.
We KNOW cars are a lethal weapon.
They may know it factually, but they do not internalize it to a point where they will act upon it. A slightly more mature kid will think about the fact that cars drive across the street all the time, but will believe he can make it.
This sort of thought process (I feel) would also lead to the same population that's more likely to get into drunk driving accidents, also having higher levels of lung cancer (smoking), and STDs and teen pregnancies (unprotected sex). I need to read more about Piaget's cognitive development theory, but I'm under the impression that he says while most people get these decision-making skills in their teen years, for some it takes a lot longer, if they ever get there.