I'm awake...

I'm currently suffering through a bout of insomnia the likes of which I haven't experienced for about a decade. It's not pleasant. Bouts of almost obscene exhaustion alternate with periods of lucidity and alertness. Unfortunately the clear periods tend to be between eleven and about four in the morning...I'm sure you can guess when the fatigue hits.

Anyway, I'm up for a while, I might as well get some thoughts out.

One--Ontario's passed a few new laws governing teenagers and their drivers' licenses. Drivers under twenty one years of age are now subject to zero tolerance for alcohol in their systems, and the first speeding offense will result in a thirty day suspension. Also, teenage drivers are only permitted one teenage passenger, not counting siblings.

I'm more than okay with the first two laws. The third, while well-intentioned, is not very well thought out.

Suppose you're a responsible teen driver. (They do exist: in fact, they're probably the majority.) You are no longer allowed to act as a designated driver for your drunk friends; nor can you drive your co-workers home after an evening shift wherever you work. If you live out in the country, where a car is a necessity, you're pretty much pooched as far as a social life is concerned. (You can just tell these laws were thought up and approved in downtown Toronto.) 

If I was a driving teen, I'd be up in arms over this.

Back when I was in school, it was common to hear from teachers (and parents) that "a few bad apples spoil the bunch." I remember getting in a long, involved argument with my parents on the subject of car insurance for teenagers. (At the time, I still had every intention of joining the rest of the world behind the wheel: it was only later that my driving phobia asserted itself.) It irked me to no end that teens paid more in insurance, simply because statistics showed they were more likely to get into an accident. They even broke it down further, as I recall: boys paid more than girls, and you could get a discount for being a A student, as if that had anything to do with your inclination to drive like an idiot. I guess it does, actually: some actuary says so. But what really bothered me was that this all-seeing actuary could look at me and determine,  on the basis of my age alone, that I was an asshole driver and should be dinged accordingly. 

That was the first argument among many where I'd made up my mind and no amount of reason could make me see any different. So much so that I still feel exactly the same way twenty years later.

My worldview is at odds with most peoples'. I think people are fundamentally decent. I trust people until they give me a reason not to. That's not because I'm some kind of saint: I've just noticed over the years that most people live up or down to your expectations of them.  That's totally contrary to the spirit of insurance, which distrusts one person not because of anything they've done, but because of what other people they don't even know are wont to do. That's simply not fair.

Cue the parent-voice in my head: Life's not fair, Kenny-me-boy.

Yeah, well, sometimes life can go ---- itself. 

I think everyone should pay the same insurance rate to start out with, and those who drive like assholes should pay the asshole premium. But only after they've been proven to drive like assholes. Likewise, once you've got your full license (which, by the bye, I'm not averse to making it much harder to obtain), you should be free to operate your vehicle any ol' legal way you please...with the understanding that anything illegal you try will be punished. Regardless of age.

And that's the first blog. The tiredness is starting to creep back in. I think I've got one more of these in me before I can (hopefully) sleep.