From the stupid law files — Canton, Ohio passed a law this week in which residents who are ticketed a second time for having lawn that is too high can be fined up to $250 dollars and be sentenced to a maximum of 30 days in jail. City officials previously passed a law which made a first high-grass violation a misdemeanor subject to a $150 dollar fine, but no jail time. However, apparently that wasn’t as effective as hoped. Canton Mayor William J. Healy II said of the new law, “This is the type of action we need to take in order to clean up our neighborhoods and our city.”

While I agree that long grass in neighborhood yards can be unsightly and frustrating, sending someone to jail for not cutting their grass is just silly. While we laugh at this silly law, lets bring the whole thing into perspective.

In Wayne County, New York a man accused of drunken driving following a hit and run crash that killed a teen was indicted by a Grand Jury. Now, bear with me here because right now you’re probably saying this is a good thing. But, here’s the twist in the story. The guy fled the scene of the fatal accident and then later turned himself in. That means, he’s already admitted guilt. But after the indictment was handed up, he pled NOT guilty in court. This is where the law is even more silly! He already admitted to hitting and killing the teen on the bike. How can the judicial system allow this guy to enter a NOT guilty plea? It just doesn’t make sense.

But wait…there’s more…

Not only did Anibal Fontanez hit and kill the teen — not only did he flee the scene of the accident — but he was also drunk. His blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit. And if that’s not enough, this is not the first time he’s been arrested for DWI. As a matter of fact, he’s been convicted of DWI on three prior occasions. This raises a number of questions. What in the world was he doing driving? Or better yet, why is out of jail in the first place? As a result of a defective legal system a man with a drinking problem and a total disregard for the law, took the life of a teen who was just one month away from his 18th birthday.

Suddenly the idea of tossing someone in jail for not cutting their grass seems even more silly.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

As a news guy I talk with a lot of law enforcement officers. I also speak with a number of people effected by crime in one way or another. Then, there are the scores of people I speak with who find themselves effected by drunk drivers. The last category is probably one of the most frustrating areas to talk about. Police officers find their hands tied at times when it comes to dealing with drunk drivers. Then add into the mix that the law simply wimps out when it comes to drunk drivers. This week I’ve come across two prime examples in the news.

The first one involves a fatal accident that took the life of a three year old girl. Ted Shaff of Farmington, New York was indicted by a grand jury on one count of leaving the scene of a fatal accident without reporting it. Earlier this month, while backing out of a driveway, he hit, and killed his 3 year old niece. While this is a tragic accident, and according to the police report, the 3 year old ran behind the van, there’s much more to this story than meets the eye. First off, Shaff fled the scene of the accident. This of course leads to the question — Why? — It turns out Shaff did not have a valid drivers license at the time of the accident. But wait, there’s more! Not only did he not have a valid license, he’s been convicted of felony DWI. That means, he’s been caught driving drunk more than once. On top of this, he’s lost his license before. But, even in the past when he lost his license, he was still driving as he was arrested a number of times for driving without a license or even valid registration on his vehicles. Finally, he’s been in and out of jail since the mid 1990’s.

In court this week when the charge was read for leaving the scene of a fatal accident the brilliant judge came up with a great idea. Let’s release Shaff on his recognizance, (oh yeah, I forgot to mention that not only did he flee the scene of the fatal accident, but police had to issue a warrant for his arrest!) Then, as part of the indictment, Shaff is not allowed to drive while he’s free. Yeah, that will really work won’t it. Here’s a guy who’s snubbed his nose at the law before. What judge in his right mind would think just because an indictment says he’s not allowed to drive, he’s not going to do it. Past acts reveal Shaff doesn’t care about this law. He should have been locked up.

Secondly, and this story is even more frustrating because it involves a city councilman who’s obviously getting some favors from the law. Rochester, New York City Councilman John Lightfoot entered a guilty plea this week to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge. Again, on the surface, this looks fine. However, lets look a little deeper at what’s going on here. Councilman Lightfoot was arrested on a felony drunken driving charge in July of 2007 after he was involved in a two car accident on Interstate 490 which runs through Rochester, New York. The other driver suffered minor injuries. Lightfoot faced a felony charge in the case because of a prior drunken driving arrest in 1998. But, now he’s getting special treatment!

Give me a break. The guy not only had a previous DWI arrest, but this time around he causes an accident which means the charge automatically moves to a felony charge. But, he works out a plea deal to get off the hook. Why bother having the law in the first place. Once again we discover the Councilman has learned nothing from the past. Why should he now get a pass on the rightful charge of felony drunken driving?

Plea deals go on all the time, and it leads me to ask — When will the foolishness stop? Drunk drivers are a menace on the road and they are responsible for more than 50 percent of all fatality car crashes. If we really want to see the numbers of deaths as a result of car accidents cut in half, lets start by enforcing the law. Councilman Lightfoot, and Ted Shaff are a danger on the road. They’ve obviously shown they don’t care about the law, so why not just lock them up.

I say it’s time to start enforcing the DWI laws. Then, on top of that, when someone is arrested for driving without a license, especially if they have a past history of DWI arrests, throw them in jail and leave them there. I also have another idea for how to identify former DWI drivers on the road. After a first offense of DWI, they automatically get a bright orange license plate for their car. That way everyone will know that a drunk driver is behind the wheel of the car.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

CNN reported on a new law before California legislators. If passed, the law would make it illegal to drive with your pet on your lap. Well there’s no big d’oh! Come one folks, if you’re like me you probably shake your head everytime you see a car fly by you with the driver trying to look over the head of his furry friend. Or, even worse, trying to calm his furry friend down while jumping all over his lap.

This is not brain surgery folks. This simply is not safe. I don’t know what’s worse. The fact that people are so stupid that they don’t know enough to keep their pet off their lap while driving — or — that people are so stupid that legislators need to come up with a law saying it’s illegal to drive with your pet on your lap. Maybe they should just come up with a law that says it’s illegal to be stupid while driving.

Now before you think I’m some kind of a pet hater, let me point out that through the years I’ve had many pet cats, and I currently have a pet dog. He’s my little Samson hot-dog and he loves to ride in the car. But, he also knows he is not allowed to sit on my lap while driving. His place is in the passenger seat enjoying the drive and the scenery. Of course he also has strict orders to leave NO nose prints on the passenger side window in my Mustang. For the most part he’s pretty good at keeping his nose off the window. But, the low bucket seats might have something to do with that too.

Whatever the case may be, Samson does love riding in the car. Most times he simply curls up on the passenger seat and has a little snooze. That’s where the pet belongs. Yes, pets, especially dogs, love to ride in the car with their master. But lets be smart here folks, keep them off your lap!

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus

It’s another sad and tragic story, that didn’t need to happen.

On September 29 three teens and one recent high school graduate all lost their lives in a terrible accident near Canisteo, New York. The wrecked car containing their bodies wasn’t found until late Monday afternoon, nearly three days after the tragic accident. The four had left an all night party to get a snack around 3 o’clock in the morning. That was the last time they were seen alive.

Now a New York State Police report says all four were intoxicated at the time of the crash. The driver was 17 years old and only had a junior license. That means he wasn’t even supposed to be driving after 9 o’clock at night, and when he did drive, he was supposed to have a parent or legal guardian with him. The teen had a blood alcohol content of .13, which is over the legal limit, three days after the party! The others killed in the crash were a 15 year old, another 17 year old and a 21 year old. Three were high school students, while the 21 year old was a recent graduate. New York State Police also say all of those in attendance at the all night party were underage, and that means someone served them alcohol, illegally.

Now, as I said above, this is a terrible tragedy. However, it begs the question, will the adults who own the property where the party was held, be held responsible? I think they should be. After all, bartenders and bar owners are held responsible for patrons who leave their establishments drunk and get into an accident. There is also an even larger issue going on in this case. Not only did the adults know the party was going on and that there was drinking, they also had to know all of those attending the party were underage. The police know where the party was held, so why not track down the owners, and arrest them? Will this happen? We’ll have to wait and see.

We live in a time when many adults don’t want to parent their kids. Instead, they want to be their best friend and let them get away with drinking and other things that simply shouldn’t take place. While it’s true parents need to be friends with their kids, it’s more important that they parent their kids. That means being smart and not blantantly breaking the law.

No matter how you look at it, underage drinking is against the law and really stupid. Many times parents say “it will never happen to my kids.” But, the sad reality is, many times such drinking parties end in tragedy taking the lives of the innocent.

Lets find the adults who own the property where the party was held, and hold them responsible for taking the lives of four young people.

Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus