THE FUTURE OF MADD?….There’s been a spate of MADD bashing in the blogosphere lately, so here’s something to add fuel to the fire. In Japan, it turns out, laws against drunk driving have already slid down that slippery slope that everyone is afraid MADD is pursuing here. To wit:
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One drink is enough to put you over the limit for a drunk driving charge.
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Fines range up to $4,000 or more.
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Passengers are usually fined too (presumably for allowing the drunkard to drive).
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Total fines for an entire vehicle can range up to $8,000, sometimes more in extreme cases.
And it’s not just drinking either:
Struggling restaurant owners may be tempted to move to Chiyoda ward in Tokyo, where another new regulation, banning smoking in the street, has been forcing some desperate smokers into caf?s instead.
Is there a word for something that’s even stricter than “zero tolerance”? Maybe “negative tolerance”? Whatever it is, the Japanese seem to have invented a whole new category here.
