There are countless laws for driving on public roads across the globe. Recently we gave you the chance to tell us what laws you’d enact or change if it was totally up to you. After many comments on the subject, we’ve tallied up the votes. Here are the top five changes you’d like to see.
5. Window Tinting / Harder DUI Penalties
Our fifth-place finishers are tied with six upvotes and no downvotes. Chippers submitted a shift on the way window tint is regulated. They say that they had to remove their tint to pass inspection because they drove a sedan instead of an SUV which seems a bit silly.
Reader Audios5000 tied with a much more impactful law change which would be “much harsher DUI penalties.” They defined those penalties as a three-year license suspension for first-time offenders, six years for second-time offenders, and a lifetime suspension for three-time offenders. On top of that, they’d like jail time for anyone driving without a license.
4. Stop giving out driver’s licenses like they’re candy.
Coming in fourth with seven upvotes and no opposition is SuperDuty’s suggestion of harder license requirements. I’m a huge fan of this idea but I’ll let them plead their case. “We should have a stringent testing protocol and a lengthy period of restrictions until an “unlimited” license is granted. Additionally, licensed drivers need to have periodic retraining to retain their licenses.” Sounds amazing to me.
3. Amber rear signals required in the U.S.
I’m not totally sold on the value of this particular law change but Nihar says that amber rear signals should be on every car. Some studies indicate that amber turn signals decrease the risk of accidents by 5.3 percent. Is that enough to force such a change on every single car on the road? I’ll leave that up to you.
2. No more asset forfeiture.
If you’ve never heard of this one it’s worth a deep dive and Ben gave us a good portion of that in his suggestion. Scoring 11-0 in the voting, this silver medal winner is all about what Ben calls “highway robbery.” The long and the short of it is that police can “make a stop, notice cash or other valuable property and seize it because they have “reasonable suspicion” it was acquired illegally.”
He’s not wrong about the nature of the practice. I covered a story here back in June about one Nebraska county that had seized millions from motorists without convicting any of them of crimes.
1. Harder penalties for left-lane campers.
Here ye, here ye, we can probably all agree on this one. Well, at least 16 upvotes and no downvotes indicate that. Authorities would do better to police those who camp out in the left lane than they would simply go after speeders.
More: UK Says Automakers, Not Drivers, Will Get Blame For Autonomous Accidents
Many roads have artificially low-speed limits. On top of that, speed differential, not outright speeding, can play a much greater role in an accident. BeerThirty247 made the point that traffic benefits too… “Traffic flows better and safer when people aren’t being stupid in the wrong lane.”
That’s your list of the laws that should change or come online in a perfect world. Did your favorite get missed? Let us know in the comments below!
