August 2020 – The Wise Drive

August 27, 2020July 18, 2024

How To Legally Disable An Airbag (And Why You Probably Don’t Want To)

Q: I have been concerned about this for years. I am just 5 feet tall and 110 pounds. So when driving I need the seat moved forward quite a bit to reach the pedals. Can I or should I disconnect the airbag? But then my husband, on the rare times he uses my car, would be at risk. Waiting for your wise advice. Thank you.

A: You’ve probably seen the letters “SRS” embossed on the steering wheel and in front of the passenger seat on the dashboard. In a round-about way, those three letters explain why you probably don’t need to be concerned about injury from your airbag. Is it possible to get injured from an airbag? Yes. But probably not because you’re short.

August 20, 2020July 18, 2024

Five Ways to Be (Very) Wrong About Driving

Q: I got pulled over because I didn’t dim my headlights at night. All I did was flash my headlights because I thought the oncoming headlights were way too bright. I wasn’t driving with my high beams on. I feel it’s bull***t. I was charged with failure to dim my lights, driving on a revoked license and DUI. Was I driving DUI? Yes. I just don’t feel they had probable cause to pull me over. Never seen me driving drunk or nothing. Please help.

A. You’re not going to like this. –long pause– Now that I’ve taken a few deep breaths, I’m going to dial my response back a bit so this is still publishable. Here we go: You’re wrong. You were wrong when you drove with a revoked license. You were wrong to get in the driver’s seat while impaired. You’re wrong about the officer’s probable cause. You’re wrong about the officer not seeing you driving impaired. The only thing you’re right about is that you need help. But I suspect you weren’t asking for that kind of help so you’re wrong there too.

August 13, 2020July 18, 2024

Your Moped Is Probably Illegal (But That Might Be Okay)

Q: My wife and I just purchased two 49 cc scooters. I looked at the DOL website to find out the requirements. The one thing I’m concerned about is that it says they cannot travel faster than 30 mph. These scooters are capable of about 40 mph. So what do I do on roads that have 35 or 45 mph speed limits? Do I move over to pass? Will I get a ticket if I go 35 mph? It really seems to limit where I thought we could go.

A: What do we do when the law and reality don’t match up? Based on my observations, we stick with reality. Allow me to explain. Actually, before I explain, please indulge this gentle tirade: If we were to look up the legal definition of a moped (and we will) we would find nothing in the legal code requiring pedals. Given that moped is a portmanteau of the words “motor” and “pedal,” why are we still using that word to describe a vehicle that has no legal obligation to have pedals? In an effort to be as true to the law as I can, I’m compelled to use moped, even though your use of scooter is a better description of what we’re talking about. And that’s not even the mismatch between the law and reality I opened with.

August 6, 2020July 18, 2024

DUI Vs. DWI – A Brief History

Q: I hear people some people say DUI and some people say DWI. What’s the difference? Are they two different crimes or is it just two different ways of saying the same thing?

A: If you’re older than a millennial I bet you’ve found yourself puzzled by the perpetual shortening of common words. Hearing “totes cray” just sounds totally crazy. But this sort of thing has been going on for decades (or centuries; Chaucer was doing this in the 1300s). For example, back when the GenX crowd talked about DWI, in an effort to save three syllables we pronounced it DeeWee.