Driving to Florida soon from Ontario, worried and scared

[cabanafrau]

The situations that I saw, yes, it was bad enough to be compared to a war zone. Sure there are places there that are fine. But too many places that aren't and there is no warning until you are in the middle of it.

Do you really expect me to enumerate each item that caused me to believe that?

You actually haven't expressly stated anything that made you conclude that Detroit is like the war zone of Iraq.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Please, would you?

I'm really, really curious to know exactly what you saw and experienced in Detroit!

No.

Yep, I just said no. Which doesn't negate my experience at all. I can say that no, there weren't bombs going off. And no,there wasn't poison gas. And no, it wasn't an actual war zone. But I certainly felt unsafe. Which was enough for me.

I would have felt much safer with the National Guard there. And I don't plan on going back any time soon.

 

[Magpie]

No.

Yep, I just said no. Which doesn't negate my experience at all. I can say that no, there weren't bombs going off. And no,there wasn't poison gas. And no, it wasn't an actual war zone. But I certainly felt unsafe. Which was enough for me.

I would have felt much safer with the National Guard there. And I don't plan on going back any time soon.

Fair enough! Your experience may not be supported by any evidence, but you're right - it's not negated, either.

And good on ya for actually saying no, and not just ignoring the question.

 

[cabanafrau]

No.

Yep, I just said no. Which doesn't negate my experience at all. I can say that no, there weren't bombs going off. And no,there wasn't poison gas. And no, it wasn't an actual war zone. But I certainly felt unsafe. Which was enough for me.

I would have felt much safer with the National Guard there. And I don't plan on going back any time soon.

Have you ever visited Philadelphia, Washington DC, St. Louis, Chicago, Los Angeles or Miami? Any of those you would feel safer with the National Guard patrolling?

 

[Kellykins1218]

Please correct me if I am wrong, but it was my understanding that the police won't even come out if there is a call about someone with a gun slung over their shoulder in an open carry state. They aren't doing anything wrong. If the person is acting erratically, obviously that is a different story, but there is nothing preventing people from walking around with their gun out. I know there have been multiple stories in the news about certain gun owners who want to do nothing but stir the pot and purposely walking around open carry cities with their ginormous gun over their shoulder and the police couldn't do a thing.

Not true. Our local police will make contact, it's on our police scanner site all the time. Funny, though, I have never seen anyone with a gun, ever. We don't own any and the only people I know that have guns are guys that hunt. I've never been the victim of a crime nor do I know anyone else that has. Life is pretty simple & safe here in the "war zone."

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

This thread is so interesting. I've never heard America referred to as a war zone before so the idea seems a bit funny to me.

I've seen guns but never really out in public (other than various obvious hunters). I live in a state with very liberal gun laws so I may very well have been in the presence of more guns than I realized.

The most guns I've seen out and about have been while traveling. It could be I just noticed it more because cops or security personnel with a handgun on their hip is a lot more inconspicuous than military guard carrying assault rifles.

I think maybe what's ruffling feathers is the war zone comment? War zone conjures up images of Aleppo, which is on such a vastly different scale than what is happening anywhere in the US that it comes off in a way OP hopefully didn't intend.

I think we have our issues but the act of driving itself is going to be the most dangerous thing anybody is going to contend with traveling US highways.

 

[DebbieB]

I think as Americans we have become numb to it. If you think about all that has happened this year, I could see the perception from outside.

Just in the past week - 5 killed at Macys in Washington, pressure cooker bombs in New York City, man killed by police in Charlotte, man killed by police in Tulsa.

 

[NHdisneylover]

An interesting post showed up on my facebook wall about 20 minutes ago, and I immediately thoguht of this thread. An American friend of mine, whose husband is millitary recently moved to Kentucky after living abroad (with the Army) for 20 years. Her girls grew up in Kuwait and Germany.
She posted today that she never felt in as much danger or worried baout her girls as much in any other place, including Kuwait, than she does now in Kentucky, where there are constant fights at her kids' schools, active shooter training, a need for metal dectotrs as they enter, etc.
Kuwait isn't quite Iraq, and it is just her perception, but it struck me as really a strong statement.

 

[LisaR]

Passing a test & receiving formal training are two entirely different things. For example, I have to pass a test to get a hunting license, but I'm required to take a 12-hour course with certified instructors prior to taking the test.

My daughter must have 50 hours of road time with an adult, but that adult isn't held to any standards. That adult could have had multiple moving violations and be an awful instructor and it would still count. I do the best I can, but my instruction is in no way comparable to a formal drivers Ed class. Moreover, there is no requirement to "prove" she actually accomplished those hours.

You're also comparing the licensing of a driver to the purchase of a firearm. That's not an apples & apples comparison. You should compare it to the purchase of an automobile - which BTW only requires reaching 18 years of age. Even if my driver's license is currently revoked I can still legally purchase, insure, and license an automobile.

And again, I'm not arguing in favor of loosening the concealed carry standards. I'm just pointing out that the car comparison doesn't really wash.

Sorry if it isn't an apples to apples comparison for you. I never claimed that it was. My comments stemmed from your comment that one didn't need any training to drive a car. I pointed out that they do in my state and I pointed to the fact that in my state you don't need to jump through any hoops to buy a gun. You can make a valid argument that it isn't an apples to apples comparison, but I really don't care. As it stands in my state, it is far more difficult to get a license to drive a car than it is to purchase a gun. That was my one and only point. If I'm looking to make an apples to apples comparison, I'll use a different example, but since I wasn't, I'm good with it. And I don't care if the training for driving is "formal" training or not. At least there is training.

 

[LisaR]

I passed my road test with a total of 10 minutes of public road driving under my belt.

Since your daughter is going through the process of getting her license, do you think we should do away with the regulations since you managed to get yours with only ten minutes of road driving under your belt? Even if she is a great driver (maybe she has done off road driving with you or she drives a tractor) do you really feel she would be just as good a driver if she didn't spend those 50 hours behind the wheel with you or your wife next to her? What about sending her out on the road alone after only ten minutes of public road driving under her belt? Would you feel comfortable with that? Now that she'll be out on the road among the masses, how would you feel if the other teens from her class all only had those ten minutes on the road?

We make these laws, rules, and regulations to hopefully help. They don't always work. Some make matters worse and some always find a way around them. But I'd prefer to live in a society that has some regulations in place even if they don't work 100% of the time.

 

[luvsJack]

The situations that I saw, yes, it was bad enough to be compared to a war zone. Sure there are places there that are fine. But too many places that aren't and there is no warning until you are in the middle of it.

Do you really expect me to enumerate each item that caused me to believe that?

So have you actually BEEN to Iraq or any other war zone? During the war or after or before?

 

[CandyCane31]

OP:
I just arrived back home to PA yesterday from a trip at WDW last week. Both to and from PA, we drove I77 thru Charlotte. I saw absolutely no protestors, people, police cars, signs, warnings...nothing. If you had never watched the news, you would not have known there were issues in the city.

 

[luvsJack]

An interesting post showed up on my facebook wall about 20 minutes ago, and I immediately thoguht of this thread. An American friend of mine, whose husband is millitary recently moved to Kentucky after living abroad (with the Army) for 20 years. Her girls grew up in Kuwait and Germany.
She posted today that she never felt in as much danger or worried baout her girls as much in any other place, including Kuwait, than she does now in Kentucky, where there are constant fights at her kids' schools, active shooter training, a need for metal dectotrs as they enter, etc.
Kuwait isn't quite Iraq, and it is just her perception, but it struck me as really a strong statement.

I think its more overreaction than being unsafe. Our schools have active shooter training and drills too and yet not one active shooter or any other threat. They don't even have bomb threats anymore (NONE of which ever produced an actual bomb). Same thing with many schools and metal detectors. She doesn't need to know they HAVE them but how often they actually detect something.

Fights in school? Kids fight. It happens. Lack of supervision can cause that. Kids have fought in school for as long as their have been schools and kids.

 

[cabanafrau]

An interesting post showed up on my facebook wall about 20 minutes ago, and I immediately thoguht of this thread. An American friend of mine, whose husband is millitary recently moved to Kentucky after living abroad (with the Army) for 20 years. Her girls grew up in Kuwait and Germany.
She posted today that she never felt in as much danger or worried baout her girls as much in any other place, including Kuwait, than she does now in Kentucky, where there are constant fights at her kids' schools, active shooter training, a need for metal dectotrs as they enter, etc.
Kuwait isn't quite Iraq, and it is just her perception, but it struck me as really a strong statement.

I wonder how the parents of the baby boomers felt about their kids practicing hiding under their desks at school back in the days of the Cold War? I'm sure they had their feelings about that, too.

So interesting that the world is so anxious about how dangerous life in America is -- at the very same time American colleges and universities are bursting at the seams due to the influx of enrollment of foreign students.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Have you ever visited Philadelphia, Washington DC, St. Louis, Chicago, Los Angeles or Miami? Any of those you would feel safer with the National Guard patrolling?

So have you actually BEEN to Iraq or any other war zone? During the war or after or before?

Really? Sorry, I'm not planning on giving anyone a list of where I have been.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

An interesting post showed up on my facebook wall about 20 minutes ago, and I immediately thoguht of this thread. An American friend of mine, whose husband is millitary recently moved to Kentucky after living abroad (with the Army) for 20 years. Her girls grew up in Kuwait and Germany.
She posted today that she never felt in as much danger or worried baout her girls as much in any other place, including Kuwait, than she does now in Kentucky, where there are constant fights at her kids' schools, active shooter training, a need for metal dectotrs as they enter, etc.
Kuwait isn't quite Iraq, and it is just her perception, but it struck me as really a strong statement.

That surprises me. I wonder if her children simply didn't tell her when they had training in school.

As a military dependent, I know I went through multiple training sessions. In fact, some of those sessions included the entire base. (Bases would be in lock down.) If they did those in places like England and Japan, I would be really surprised that they don't do them in Germany or Kuwait.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Sorry if it isn't an apples to apples comparison for you. I never claimed that it was. My comments stemmed from your comment that one didn't need any training to drive a car. I pointed out that they do in my state and I pointed to the fact that in my state you don't need to jump through any hoops to buy a gun. You can make a valid argument that it isn't an apples to apples comparison, but I really don't care. As it stands in my state, it is far more difficult to get a license to drive a car than it is to purchase a gun. That was my one and only point. If I'm looking to make an apples to apples comparison, I'll use a different example, but since I wasn't, I'm good with it. And I don't care if the training for driving is "formal" training or not. At least there is training.

If the comparison isn't somewhat apples to apples, what's the point of making a comparison?

 

[cabanafrau]

Really? Sorry, I'm not planning on giving anyone a list of where I have been.

I can assure you the question was purely for discussion. I have no plans to investigate your comings and goings, nor do I wish to stalk you.

Honestly, I'm satisfied I have an understanding of your opinion and its roots -- or I guess to be completely accurate I should say your feelings. I wasn't expecting anything factual to back them up.

 

[LisaR]

If the comparison isn't somewhat apples to apples, what's the point of making a comparison?

I didn't realize we were only allowed to compare two thoughts if they were apples to apples? You can compare two things that are different and still manage to find some common ground.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Since your daughter is going through the process of getting her license, do you think we should do away with the regulations since you managed to get yours with only ten minutes of road driving under your belt? Even if she is a great driver (maybe she has done off road driving with you or she drives a tractor) do you really feel she would be just as good a driver if she didn't spend those 50 hours behind the wheel with you or your wife next to her? What about sending her out on the road alone after only ten minutes of public road driving under her belt? Would you feel comfortable with that? Now that she'll be out on the road among the masses, how would you feel if the other teens from her class all only had those ten minutes on the road?

We make these laws, rules, and regulations to hopefully help. They don't always work. Some make matters worse and some always find a way around them. But I'd prefer to live in a society that has some regulations in place even if they don't work 100% of the time.

Truth be told, I'd be perfectly fine if the driving standard was not only raised, but if we were all required to pass the entire driver's test all over again each time we renewed our licenses. I'd be fine with proving competency with a trailer a prerequisite to towing one, and the same for proficiency with merging as a prerequisite for Interstate driving.

I'm also perfectly fine with being required to pass a class in order to buy my hunting license and another In order to lawfully carry a gun in public.

As for purchasing/owning either a car or a gun, I believe both systems as they exist are pretty decent, though I would like to see sellers of used firearms being allowed to use the background system even if they are not dealers.