Driving to Florida soon from Ontario, worried and scared

[msjprincess]

And in the last week there have been 35 accidental shootings http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/accidental-shooting

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Gumbo, until I see reliable statistics my thought remains the same.

 

[kimblebee]

A little OT (sorry) but the idea of there being an actual law-enforcement officer in an elementary, Jr., high or high school on a full-time basis is so foreign to me that I can't even imagine it. And the number if incidents you mention at what apparently is a single school boggles the mind.

My daughters high school had an officer full time last year, but it was because there was a fatal stabbing the year before. The kid who got stabbed didn't even go to her school, and it didn't happen in the school, but they still had an officer for the year. No metal detectors or bag checks are done, and didn't happen in the past.

 

[MillauFr]

Far more school students get killed and injured in car accidents going to and from school than in gun violence. We should have far more strict laws on driving.

 

[Missy1961]

Far more school students get killed and injured in car accidents going to and from school than in gun violence. We should have far more strict laws on driving.

I'm sorry, but even one child being shot to death in a school is far too many.

 

[sam_gordon]

Far more school students get killed and injured in car accidents going to and from school than in gun violence. We should have far more strict laws on driving.

Like what?

 

[MillauFr]

I'm sorry, but even one child being shot to death in a school is far too many.

Yes but if you want to save lives you should concentrate on driving which takes 35,000 lives in the US every year.

 

[MillauFr]

Like what?

Texting and driving is extremely dangerous and yet it is legal in many places.

 

[sam_gordon]

Texting and driving is extremely dangerous and yet it is legal in many places.

It's legal in 4 states. Two of those prohibit teen/novice drivers from texting and driving. If you consider two states "many places"...

http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/cellular-phone-use-and-texting-while-driving-laws.aspx

 

[pat fan]

It's legal in 4 states. Two of those prohibit teen/novice drivers from texting and driving. If you consider two states "many places"...

I'm pretty sure there was sarcasm in his post, but your response is the same one I would give re: guns. Criminals shouldn't have guns in the first place! Neither should the insane, or illegally living in the US or or or......yet those people continually DO have them and more laws won't fix that since those laws ALREADY exist!! Creating new laws that really only restrict the "average joe" isn't going to do a thing.

 

[goofyernmost]

Since this has gone off track and is now a gun control thread, I'm not sure if the OP's question was really answered. I and most of us in the states go out everyday, all over the place, unarmed and unconcerned. I travel a lot and drive most of it. Not only have I not ever been directly involved in any problem, but, I've never even seen any problem. In route to WDW from Ontario, is pretty straight forward. If you wander off the beaten path and find yourself in the "inner city" which you shouldn't if you stay the main roads, then you might set yourself up for a problem, but, even then, it is a very uncommon occurrence.

As much as Canadians like to think that it is all pristine and heaven like up their in the great white north, crap happens there also and I'd bet that per capita it works out to about the same odds. We are not all packing weapons, concealed or otherwise. We do not all just shoot at random things or harbor any thoughts that we are really all Rambo's. Bad stuff can happen right where you live, just go, stay alert and on course and watch out for drivers like yourselves that don't know where they are going and cause hazard after hazard trying to find their way around. That is far more dangerous then anything that has been sensationalized on the "let's make up the news" networks. Man, how I miss Walter Cronkite.

 

[Hikergirl]

i think i would be more willing to consider people's need to "protect themselves" by packing heat if i heard about someone walking in to shoot up a place and a law-abiding, gun-toting citizen saved the day. does that happen and it just doesn't make the news?? i can barely keep track of my phone and my keys.... i would never want the responsibility of managing a gun while trying to get thru my day.

Well there was that off duty cop that shot and killed the man who stabbed 8 people in the mall.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Gumbo, until I see reliable statistics my thought remains the same.

I'm not going to do your homework for you

 

[MillauFr]

I'm pretty sure there was sarcasm in his post, but your response is the same one I would give re: guns. Criminals shouldn't have guns in the first place! Neither should the insane, or illegally living in the US or or or......yet those people continually DO have them and more laws won't fix that since those laws ALREADY exist!! Creating new laws that really only restrict the "average joe" isn't going to do a thing.

No sarcasm at all. Even if it is still illegal the lack of enforcement causes most to ignore the law. Texting while driving is pretty much just as dangerous as driving drunk.

 

[CdnCarrie]

As much as Canadians like to think that it is all pristine and heaven like up their in the great white north, crap happens there also and I'd bet that per capita it works out to about the same odds. We are not all packing weapons, concealed or otherwise. We do not all just shoot at random things or harbor any thoughts that we are really all Rambo's. Bad stuff can happen right where you live, just go, stay alert and on course and watch out for drivers like yourselves that don't know where they are going and cause hazard after hazard trying to find their way around. That is far more dangerous then anything that has been sensationalized on the "let's make up the news" networks. Man, how I miss Walter Cronkite.

Personally I think that the OP's post was ridiculous and rather insulting to the USA. And yes crap happens up here all the time.
But no per capita it does not work out to the same odds.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Peace_Index#Global_Peace_Index_rankings

http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Canada/United-States/Crime

 

[pat fan]

Texting while driving is pretty much just as dangerous as driving drunk.

Absolutely!! Even though I'm in the minority, i don't believe you should be able to talk on the phone while driving, either.

 

[kimblebee]

Absolutely!! Even though I'm in the minority, i don't believe you should be able to talk on the phone while driving, either.

We have laws here against talking and/or texting while driving. Bluetooth is allowed, though. I still see people all the time texting..it's pretty obvious.

 

[kdonnel]

I'm sorry, but even one child being shot to death in a school is far too many.

It's almost as bad as all the parents who molest and attempt to kill their kids by smoking around them. Even one child with a parent who smokes is far too many!

 

[jevs]

It's almost as bad as all the parents who molest and attempt to kill their kids by smoking around them. Even one child with a parent who smokes is far too many!

Not quite in the same league as getting shot up....

It's illegal here apparently to smoke in cars with children as passengers, but I'm not sure how well it's policed.

 

[SirDuff]

Not quite in the same league as getting shot up....

It's illegal here apparently to smoke in cars with children as passengers, but I'm not sure how well it's policed.

It is in Ontario as well. Not sure about the other provinces, but I think that most of similar laws. Like you, I have no idea how well policed it is (or if anyone has actually been charged under the law).