Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Common Sense Rules that Should be Laws

At school, we require students to come up with ideas that they could either argue for or against, or we give students a prompt that asks them to use persuasive language to convince others to do what the author wants them to do. Today, I am trying to find out what I should do.

Imagine this scenario:

It is snowing. The wind is blowing the snow all over the road. Visibility is nearly a zero. You want to get home safely, but it is hard when the oncoming cars don't even have their headlights turned on, because it is still technically daytime. Even the local police car that is driving to inspect the roads does not have its headlights turned on!

What should a regular person like me do in this situation?

  • Send a letter to the local police department and inquire about their "turning on headlights policy?"
  • Request that my local government official propose a bill that would make turning headlights on in bad weather a LAW in our state (like it is in many other states)?
  • Do nothing and just hope that "un-turned" on headlights will never be the reason that a driver is injured or killed?
  • Start a petition?
  • Invent an app that would turn on the oncoming car's headlights with a touch of a button?
  • Design a sensor that would automatically turn on the car's headlights when natural light reaches a certain percentage? Making it possible to add this even onto old car models?

What do yo think? Do you have any additional ides that I could use to persuade the people in my state to make turning on their vehicle's headlights a priority?

road rant, rainy day rule

How and what could my state learn from Ohio?

19 comments:

  1. I love the idea of the app--but I might be tempted to abuse it for entertainment! I am glad Indiana has a law that requires headlights in bad weather. I also love my new car that turns on headlights (and dash lights) as needed. I never have to worry about turning on lights--or turning them off when I get out of the car. Good luck.

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    1. I guess that I just have to wait for the future when all cars have automatic headlights!

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  2. I think you may need to put a bug into a legislator's ear to pass the headlight law. Missouri has the same wipers on headlights on law as Ohio. Of course that doesn't mean everyone follows it, but it helps. You have a creative mind creating all the options (several made me chuckle as I read them). Good luck with your cause.

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    1. Elsie, I would love to have an app that I could turn another car's headlights on! That would be some much fun!

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  3. We have the wipers on headlights on law in PA, but I still see many vehicles not abiding by it. I think the worst are the gray cars that just blend in and you don't see them until they are on your trunk. Talk about ghost cars!

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    1. Ghost cars....I have never thought of gray cars in this way! I have to make sure I don't get too close to any ghost cars--especially at dusk.

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  4. We have this law in New Jersey - apparently it's the only one that we follow as far as traffic is concerned, and it really helps.

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    1. NJ people follow this law even on the bridge? It is a good thing that some laws are universal!

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  5. I remember when that became the law in NJ. It made a difference! I hope you get that one soon since it had quite an impact. (Like arjeha, I know live in PA and see plenty of cars without their headlights on in the rain and snow.)

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    1. Stacey, it is good to know that this law has made a difference!

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  6. This is my husband's biggest pet peeve! He thinks he is the headlight police!

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    1. I don't go quite that far, but I do mumble to myself when driving in the snow and rain. Seriously, how much effort it really takes to turn on your headlights??

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  7. First, here the triple A link to all the states headlight laws! http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/headlight-use/ In Denver, we seem to have acquired the habit of many having headlights on always! It increases visibility even in the day time, & I don't remember when it started, but it did. Maybe a letter to the state government with these laws I sent, especially if your state isn't there? Sorry for the time you've had-scary!

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    1. Thank you Linda! This might become a writing project with my Sheltered English class. It would be interesting if my students would come up with similar reasons as I did.

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    2. I like the idea of student writing. Or you could write yourself. One letter from you, may be another from someone else and things might start changing.

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  8. Haha, I was all ready to comment that we have this in Ohio... and then I saw your picture and last line! I definitely agree this is an important law. You should write to your legislators, and maybe a letter to the editor of a newspaper too! (As an OSU fan, I just have to say... just another way Ohio is better than that state up north!) :-)

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    1. I think we will be writing letters and essays in my hs class.After driving home today in the snow, I am convinced that I need to do something. It was snowing, slow driving when we were not at standstill, and still some drivers did not feel like reaching their hand a few inches and turning on their headlights! Unbelievable. I might have to concede that in some ways OH might be better.

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  9. I am glad you got to write this all out. I do not know what the most effective solution would be. It is hard to legislate common sense!

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    1. Stay tuned. I know I need to do something, but not 100% sure of what exactly.

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