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Childish Behavior Is Behind 'Nanny Laws'

GETTING THERE

April 20, 2009|By MICHAEL DRESSER , gettingthere@baltsun.com

(Some credit ought to go to a key figure in passing the texting bill in a credible form. I gave him a hard time a few weeks ago on another matter, so it's only fair to point out that Del. James E. Malone, chairman of the House subcommittee that worked on the bill, did one heck of a job building a consensus in favor of a texting ban. Not only did the Arbutus Democrat do so, but he got his skeptical panel to go along with making driving while texting an offense for which an officer can pull over a motorist without another reason.)

DWT offenders are not the only ones who need a little nanny care. So, too, do the people who speed through work zones and in the vicinity of schools. Unfortunately, there are so many of these bad boys and girls that there aren't enough police officers to protect our highway workers and school kids from their childish behavior. So the General Assembly, in a wise and courageous move, gave local governments permission to deploy electronic nannies - in the form of speed cameras - at work sites and near schools.

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These nannies haven't been given the authority to impose harsh punishment. They don't hand out points, and the modest fines they impose are more a gentle reminder than an onerous burden. And unless the children are behaving very badly - as in going 12 mph or more over the speed limit - they turn a blind eye to the offense. Mary Poppins would never have let her charges get away with that.

It would be wonderful if we could all live in that Libertarian La-La Land where all grown-ups made adult decisions. Unfortunately, extended adolescence seems to be the norm on the roads.

Don't look to me for a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down. If the so-called adults of this state want the Nanny State to go away, there's an easy way to make it happen:

Grow up.

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