Outrageous Behaviour
Matthew Pritchard, writing in the Costa Blanca News column “Spanish Insight”, highlighted the good news of declining road traffic deaths, something I have also done in this blog. One of the reasons that the death toll has been so high is that of driving while drunk.
I came to Spain ten years ago and the first thing I noted was the attitude to alcohol. I noticed people having a brandy with their morning coffee, then a full litre of beer with the mid-morning bocadillo, followed by a bottle of wine with the menu del dia. In between, stops were made for a café cortardo con whiskey, and perhaps more wine at night. In other words people were constantly under the influence of drink.
Small wonder that at that time more than 3,000 lives were lost unnecessarily on the roads. Someone said that if the day ever came when that attitude to drink were to change, that Spain would no longer be Spain. Perhaps! But enough is definitely enough!
Matthew Pritchard wrote of just how ingrained the problem is in pointing out the culpabilities of several government ministers, or committee members sitting on boards concerning themselves with road safety and the prevention of accidents. Some have been booked for driving two or three times over the legal limit, including while driving their official government cars. Just as outrageous is what happens when these people are caught. There is an absence of true contrition. Caught in a position of that magnitude I think the decent thing would be to completely step down from the position of trust that is held in the government, but no, the usual thing is for the guilty to seek support from those in power.
Added to that there will be those who give them their support because they think the offence is something minor. Well, I can only hope that such people learn their lesson the hard way.
In 2009 the death toll fell below 2,000 persons for the first time in recorded history. This now means that suicides exceed death on the road as a major cause of death in Spain. Add to that that many of the deaths on the roads are suicides and that changes things again.
However, it seems that the country has a very long way to go if we cannot even rely upon those in government to provide the good example that is required. Here’s where I have to say that for me, when there is even a possibility that I may have to drive I simply do not take anything that may impair my driving ability and judgement.
Does that make me a better person than the guilty people in government? Actually, I think it does!
Copyright © 2010 Eugene Carmichael
Matthew Pritchard, writing in the Costa Blanca News column “Spanish Insight”, highlighted the good news of declining road traffic deaths, something I have also done in this blog. One of the reasons that the death toll has been so high is that of driving while drunk.
I came to Spain ten years ago and the first thing I noted was the attitude to alcohol. I noticed people having a brandy with their morning coffee, then a full litre of beer with the mid-morning bocadillo, followed by a bottle of wine with the menu del dia. In between, stops were made for a café cortardo con whiskey, and perhaps more wine at night. In other words people were constantly under the influence of drink.
Small wonder that at that time more than 3,000 lives were lost unnecessarily on the roads. Someone said that if the day ever came when that attitude to drink were to change, that Spain would no longer be Spain. Perhaps! But enough is definitely enough!
Matthew Pritchard wrote of just how ingrained the problem is in pointing out the culpabilities of several government ministers, or committee members sitting on boards concerning themselves with road safety and the prevention of accidents. Some have been booked for driving two or three times over the legal limit, including while driving their official government cars. Just as outrageous is what happens when these people are caught. There is an absence of true contrition. Caught in a position of that magnitude I think the decent thing would be to completely step down from the position of trust that is held in the government, but no, the usual thing is for the guilty to seek support from those in power.
Added to that there will be those who give them their support because they think the offence is something minor. Well, I can only hope that such people learn their lesson the hard way.
In 2009 the death toll fell below 2,000 persons for the first time in recorded history. This now means that suicides exceed death on the road as a major cause of death in Spain. Add to that that many of the deaths on the roads are suicides and that changes things again.
However, it seems that the country has a very long way to go if we cannot even rely upon those in government to provide the good example that is required. Here’s where I have to say that for me, when there is even a possibility that I may have to drive I simply do not take anything that may impair my driving ability and judgement.
Does that make me a better person than the guilty people in government? Actually, I think it does!
Copyright © 2010 Eugene Carmichael
