Bloody Idiots

For some reason, this story caught my eye this morning:

Tuesday March 25, 07:46 AM

Bligh fed up with 'bloody idiots'

Queensland's Premier Anna Bligh says she is sick of hearing about reckless behaviour on the roads and the beaches at holiday time.

Ms Bligh says the Easter safety message did not get through to thousands of Queenslanders who were caught speeding or drink driving.

"A few bloody idiots are making it an unsafe place for all of us," she said.

Ms Bligh will talk to the Police and Transport Ministers about tougher penalties, including possibly a double-demerit system for holiday periods.

Ms Bligh is also annoyed that surf lifesavers have to rescue people who swim in dangerous places at dangerous times after drinking.

"There is some provision for people whose behaviour is so reckless that it warrants some action," she said.

When are people going to realise that "education" just doesn't work in situations like this? I've touched on this point before, but it bears repeating here. Trying to "educate" people by politely asking them not to do something because bad things might happen doesn't work because people always think that they are an above average driver, swimmer, whatever, and it won't happen to them. About the only form of education people are capable of understanding is the one that involves fines and prison sentences. Oh yeah, and maybe letting people drown at beaches if they blatantly ignore the instructions of the life savers might provide some much needed chlorine for the human gene pool.

Let's face it, if people knew what was good for them, McDonalds would have gone out of business decades ago. It's time for law makers to stop wasting time, start setting a few penalties, and start holding magistrates accountable for applying them. Until this happens, we might as well get used to stories like the above.