Bill Would Hold Auto Manufacturers Accountable for Drivers' Actions
Washington, D.C. - A bill before the U.S. House of Representatives would hold the manufacturers and sellers of automobiles liable for any driving infractions committed or accidents caused by the drivers of their cars.
Supporters of the bill, like Will Henson of the Washington Police Department say that people who get into cars and see the speedometer goes to 120 mph are inclined to test it to see if the car can really go that fast.
"If you drive a car over and over again, you become desensitized to speed and you eventually come to think that it's OK to drive really fast and break traffic laws," says Henson. He argues that putting powerful engines with more than 60hp in cars only encourages people to use that power and commit crimes. "Auto manufacturers need to be held accountable for the flagrant way in which they allow people to easily break laws with their products."
Opponents of the bill argue that the whole thing is utter nonsense. Louis McMurray, of the American Automobile Manufacturers Association said "the whole idea is ridiculous. It's almost as stupid as, say, holding video game manufacturers responsible if kids commit crimes."
I agree that holding the makers' responsible doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it certainly makes more sense with respect to video games.
ReplyDeleteCar manufacturers may market their cars by showing a "Professional Driver on an enclosed course", and many people see it as something out of reality--i.e., people driving in the desert, someone driving in a city when there are absolutely no other cars in the street, someone off-roading in Antarctica or through the mountains. In the latter case, I think that a manufacturer IS responsible if they advertise their commercial vehicle off-roading yet it is impossible to do it (such as with a Civic).
For video games, I think it's more accurate to say that a player partakes in an action as a third person in an alternate and fabricated universe. If you have the moral compass to distinguish between the real and false universes, then it's less of a problem. But what if you can't? What sort of effect does this have on a child's psyche? (though that child's parents ARE ultimately responsible) What sort of numbing effect does it also have on adults? What does it do to a person who enjoys killing (I'm sorry, "fragging") people in a virtual world (I don't think aliens count, unless the aliens are humanized in some fashion)? All of these are, I believe, unanswered questions in the gaming world.
For some games, murder is simply a reenactment of what does happen in reality (Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six). For other games, murder and torture is done almost for the sake of enjoyment. Though I haven't played it, everything I've seen about The Punisher indicates that it falls into that category. As an example, I've seen advertisments bragging about the multitude of ways in which you can torture and/or kill somebody. Why in the hell is a game like that even made? Do game makers bear absolutely NO social responsibility? You seem to think that they don't.
I think that the ultimate question asked with this legislation is whether or not some games should even be made. Parents are ultimately responsible for what their children play, but some games are morally objectionable and, imho, should not be made. It is just another indication of our cultural rot.
I find this comment from the Washington Software Association to pretty much some up the real issue.
"We don't want to bring undo attention to an area where there's actually jobs being created, where there's actually some good economic development in our state."
Heaven forbid that we should let economic interest be dictated by a moral standard.
I side with you on this issue, Joe, but I'm fairly sympathetic to people who want this law. I think it has more merit than your automobile example exhibits.
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ReplyDeleteSorry about the "3 comments", but I kept getting an error from blogspot. I erased all of the duplicates.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be nice to have a law requiring people to have a well grounded moral compass, so all actions that are amoral could be dirctly linked to the perpatrator?
ReplyDeleteBut if that were true, Eve would have died and not offered Adam the apple.
~The Blue Fox
I can see what you're trying to say, Mr. Pickles, but I also have to say that I don't feel it's up to the government to make decisions such as making companies liable for the actions of what people do. That just opens this country to even MORE lawsuits, most of which will be uterly trivial. It's another cop-out for people to get money the easy way at the expense of someone else.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, if a law was passed where the loser in a lawsuit had to pay for the damages, then maybe passing things of this nature wouldn't be so bad. But until that comes around, I don't trust these types of laws.
Unfortunately, my faith in the government has dwindled significantly. I just don't trust them to pass such a law and have it be fair for all parties in question.
~ RlrlrlRLRLLRLGRLGRLGlglglglgl!