The announcement by Governor Deval Patrick to close all vehicular traffic at 4 p.m. is a smart response to a serious storm. That the penalty for violation could be up to a year of prison can only mean one thing: this is no joke. What is animating the seemingly harsh decision has much to do with convincing people to stay put which they should need no convincing to do, but to protect first responders who would be put in harm’s way should people ignore basic precautions. I’m all for it.
Let’s say someone goes for a Starbucks run in this weather. They get stranded in the snow or their car gets stuck in a snowbank. They call 911 because that is what anyone would do and expect to be saved. Local or state first responders will then be dispatched into this crazy weather, risking their lives just so that the victim could get their latte. Imagine, then, that a responder were to get hurt, hurt someone else or worse. There would be lawsuits against the driver who wanted that latte so, so bad. Chances are everyone would be represented by good lawyers, so there would be questions about whether the first responder was driving too fast, or hadn’t slept the night before, or whether – in the legalistic words – the rescuee was the proximite cause of the rescuer’s injuries or death. It would be ugly. And unnecessary. Because that latte wasn’t that important.
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Typical left wing pablum. You guys are always looking to take away rights. It's gust ridiculous
I think the travel rule just means that your right to drive (or get a latter) is only curtailed if you promise not to call 911 should you get into trouble:) Be safe.
Driving isn't a right. Fact.
*just
I have friends flying in to get home to their families, is the Gov picking up hotels bills ??
Flying in? Airports are closed.
This is absurd. With careful driving there is virtually no risk in driving right now, at 5 pm in Boston. Nanny state at its best and the Globe just enabling Coupe Deval. The T could still be running, the roads could still be open. There are less than six inches of snow on the grou.d
Get off the road and out of the way so that the plows can do their job! Geez.
An hour later there was a foot. And now...
Fortunately, the governor is much smarter than your average Globe commentator.
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So all state workers got the day off, no doubt with pay (and not PTO) - but if was a perfectly reasonable 1/2 day of work - maybe 1/8" of snow on the ground at 1.00pm.
At the USPS it is known as administrative leave in lieu of annual leave. PTO I assume is personal time off as in a personal day.
Mayor Menino may have delayed opening of schools on Monday if snow removal at schools is not complete.
It's easier to all concerned and much less confusing to the public to simply close the offices all day. And of course they'll be paid. That's only right if it was a management choice. The same thing probably happened at a large number of private businesses. I take it that tyranosaurus is jealous -- of what I don't know.
An all state ban makes no sense. There are a few inches of snow in Western Mass. It is not dangerous to drive if people are cautious. In fact, there are fewer people on the road and people will drive more slowly. The reference to Starbucks is plain stupid. Starbucks shops are closed. Many people, who are not emergency personnel, have legitimate reasons to drive even during a snowstorm. There are people who have to visit family, take care of elders and children, pick up meds at a store, go to work, and fulfill religious obligations. Indeed, many people go to religious services on their Sabbath, and have to drive to get there. I know of two families in my small town that are having religious services tomorrow with many guests from out of town. There are real consequences when the Governor limits freedom. He has no basis to do. Our egotistical and power hungry Governor is out of control as he is a self-professed lame-duck politician. He no longer cares about the citizenry. He wants to tax, spend and regulate the state to death. Given that you worked for the Governor, I understand why you are so sycophantic. We have had worse storms over the past fifty years, and the presiding governors did not try to throw their weight around with an Executive Order. Couple Deval is an arrogant man who has delusions of grandeur. BTW, this is the same Governor who refuses to enforce laws that pertain to illegal immigration. He will not cooperation with the federal government in turning in criminals who are identified as being illegal aliens (or as the leftists at the Globe call it, "undocumented persons"). It is kind of funny.... Illegal immigrants are not arrested. Snowstorm drivers risk a one year prison term and a $500 fine.
I tend to agree that the driving ban is an example of Nanny statism and repugnant to anyone who believes in individual freedom. This isn't a liberal vs. conservative issue. Both the left and the right want significant restrictions on our freedom.
Nobody with any sense would be out driving right now (8 pm) but it was fine at 4 or 5. Still, it's not a responsibility of government to protect us from poor decisions.
That's my opinion and I'm a left-wing moonbat.
anyone who remembers the blizzard of 78, with hundreds of people needing to be rescued from 128, would know that the driving ban was a smart idea.
With all due respect, Kate, this is not 1978. Life is much different and communication is far superior. Anybody who knows about what happened then, also knows that it couldn't happen again. Times change, technology changes. You can't spend your life judging current events by something that happened 35 years ago... really.
Smart, courageous, responsible call by our Commonwealth leadership team, with the Governor leading the pack! Yes, indeed, "common good" trumps individual freedom! The whiners: "Nobody can tell me I can't do whatever I want! Blah, blah, blah!" Well, our freedoms exist so we can serve the common good, not for self-interest. To quote a former US Senator from our Commonwealth and President of the United States, "Ask not what
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Governor Patrick’s mandate for one year in prison as a penalty for driving during the Nemo storm was absurd. It is another case of the state overreaching. Almost everyone would be deterred by a substantial but lesser threat, such as a $5,000 fine.
I had hoped that the unfortunate recent news about Aaron Swartz, a promising young man who committed suicide in the face of the government’s apparent over threatening to prosecute him, might help us to think about how to better match punishment to fit the crime.
Come on! The "penalties" were there to deter ddrivers. You know unless someone were out there being utterly reckless, no fine would be levied. As for the ridiculous grinching about the time off--you're the same ones grinching about govt. not doing anything, so no harm, no foul!
The governor's mandate is an important way to make sure private businesses take the storm seriously. The pizza shop closed, everyone got home safe, and the plows have nothing in the way as they do the hard job of clearing up. Now the pizza shop gets to re-open and business as usual starts much sooner than if the plows had to swerve around idiots who should not have been out at all.