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ThatSpecialAgent t1_ja86ccp wrote

Shit like this really drives home the fact that we need to take some serious looks at our drivers license laws and requirements.

Specifically in AZ where this took place, the standard license doesnt expire for what feels like forever. My drivers license, as an example, is good through 2060. I have friends who have licenses that dont expire until 2065.

While cars are generally getting safer, many are also getting substantially heavier, especially as electric vehicles push into the market. It is batshit crazy to me that you dont need a commercial license (or a special license of some sort) to drive something like the new electric hummer, which has a curb weight of 9,063 lbs (a ford f150 weighs about 5,000 lbs by comparison). You can make any standard car as safe as you want, but if you get hit by someone texting in a 10k lb vehicle going 50 mph, you are probably fucked.

Living in Phoenix, the amount of careless driving I see every day is terrifying. People text and drive, run reds, brake check, etc and pay no mind to the fact that they are literally operating heavy machinery.

Glad there are charges being pressed, but damn it would be nice if there was a serious push to make people safer, not just vehicles. Eye-tracking in cars to detect when a driver is texting, more stringent license requirements and more specific categories based on vehicle weight, not just application, are some examples of things that could seriously reduce the amount of incidents that happen as a result of carelessness.

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NGC3992 t1_ja8iini wrote

I’ve actually seen an AZ license with the expiration year of 3019. I thought it was just a typo on the card, but that’s how it also appeared in the AZDMV database.

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SteelPaladin1997 t1_ja96lhl wrote

The default AZ license (not the RealID compliant one) expires when the holder turns 65, so that's still a screw up unless that person hasn't been born yet.

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NGC3992 t1_ja9cvtd wrote

Or AZDMV has decided the license holder is immortal for some reason and expects them back to renew in 3019. /s

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An-Angel-Named-Billy t1_ja9gz0d wrote

Yes cars are getting heavier, wider and taller. Heavier vehicles that sit higher are far more likely to kill pedestrians or even other drivers of non raised up flat front pickup trucks. Trucks and SUVs now make up the majority of personal vehicles sold every year. Roadways are designed for psychopathic speeds, even within towns and cities. Driver's license are seen as a natural right of our citizenry and are as easy to get as ever. Even if they were not, enforcement of driving infractions has plummeted and in many cities is non existent now.

Are we really surprised that road deaths have spiked in the past few years and pedestrian deaths have been rising for over a decade and are at the worst point they have been in over 30 years?

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