Facilitating abuse

Victor

I'm not sure if this title is the correct one for the concept I wish to discuss, but if I can give an example.

I am going on break at work and am going to the shop. One of my co-workers asks me to buy him cigarettes. I refuse to buy the cigarettes on health grounds. I am not going to help him in his addiction.

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So on to my main point (bear with me).

Motorists object to safety cameras (mostly speed cameras, but you can also have red light cameras, bus lane cameras, etc.). Much of this is down to defensiveness ("why are you picking on me"?), rejection of authority (“don’t tell me what to do”) and the slightly contrived "it’s only a money racket" (in the UK, income from cameras have gone to putting in more cameras, creating a self perpetuating industry).

The expectation is that over the next two years, a largish number of cameras will be put in place in Ireland. The expected pattern is that, in the short term, there will be a huge number of offences and substantial fines income. This will reduce as people get used to the new environment and get more tickets (and fines, points and bans).

To reduce the money racket arguments, the Garda have published a list of known (and expected) accident danger zones and the Garda will direct the proposed private camera operator to target these areas in proportion to the perceived risk. In addition, the fines income (as with all fines) will go straight to the exchequer and will not be reinvested in safety cameras.

There is a suggestion that this fine income be reinvested in other road safety measures, excluding enforcement. Such funding tends to be modest and is “unsexy”, it has no ‘shiny front end’, no major economic focus, etc. Construction for new roads receives the vast bulk of funding.

One possible way to spend this money would be to provide additional late night bus and taxi services in smaller towns and villages, so as to remove the excuses for drink driving.

Now, a question. In doing so, would we simply be facilitating varying levels of alcoholism and related behaviors? I'm looking for answers from a psychology point of view, but other answers are welcome.

Myksyk

Two quick points I'd make is that smoking is always bad for your health and so differs fundamentally from alcohol which research says may actually be good for your health in moderation.

Secondly, I think facilitating drinking does not necessarily mean you are de facto increasing significantly the liklihood that people become alcoholics or anti-social. I guess the argument is that providing additional services facilitates the safe return home of people who have chosen to drink. Reducing the very real risk of drink-related road deaths probably outweighs the risk of the more invisible (and probably less likely) risk of significantly increasing drink problems. If that makes sense?