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6 Independent & Free Press,Thursday, July 29, 2010 OPINION Tough love It's been a rarity recently, but it appears the McGuinty government might have got one right this week-- well, mostly right. As of this Sunday, young drivers in Ontario will be subject to some of the toughest age restrictions on drinking and driving in the country. Under the new rules, drivers aged 21 and younger cannot consume any alcohol before getting behind the wheel. Under the legislation, drivers 21 and under found to have alcohol in their systems will face an immediate 24hour licence suspension at roadside, a fine of up to $500 and a 30-day licence suspension. Certainly this is an improvement to current legislation, but we feel the government could easily have made the fines more severe ($2,000?) and imposed longer licence suspensions (90 days?). New drivers of all ages will also be subject to zero tolerance until they get their G2 licence, which can take upwards of two years to acquire. While some will say the changes to the law unfairly targets young drivers, statistics show people aged 19 to 21 are nearly 1.5 times more likely than older drivers to be involved in fatal crashes and suffer injuries as a result of drinking and driving. That's not ageism; it's fact. Ontario is the fourth province to implement zero tolerance legislation for young and new drivers. The changes also include steps to alter the behaviour of first-time drunk-driving offenders who, research shows, often continue to drive with a suspended licence. Under the new law, first-time offenders will be eligible for a reduced suspension if they agree to have an ignition interlock installed in their vehicle-- a breathalyzer attached to the vehicle's dashboard that prevents the person from driving unless they blow under a set limit. Offenders must pay for the lock themselves. Tougher laws to be sure, but necessary. 905-873-0301 Publisher: Ken Nugent General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@independentfreepress.com) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@independentfreepress.com) Managing editor: John McGhie (jmcghie@independentfreepress.com) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@independentfreepress.com) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@independentfreepress.com) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@independentfreepress.com) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@independentfreepress.com) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@independentfreepress.com) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@independentfreepress.com) WEB POLL RESULTS If a provincial election were held today, which party would get your vote? · Liberals (47%) · Progressive Conservatives (31%) · NDP (8%) · Green (7%) · None of the above (7%) Steve Nease Go to www.independentfreepress.com Letters to the editor State of Gardens saddens resident Dear editor, As a resident of Georgetown for the last 20 years and a taxpayer and voter, I feel I have the right to express my disappointment in certain things about life in this beautiful town. I recently moved to the Dominion Gardens neighbourhood. I love the neighborhood, the location, the gardens, the park and the pride that Halton Hills puts in this area. I am, however, extremely disappointed with the disrespect and vandalism our youth of today show towards our neighbourhood. Every morning I take a walk and witness broken trees in the park, busted beer bottles on the streets, garbage all over-- even two feet away from a garbage container. The beautiful trees we, as taxpayers, have paid for are broken and now dying because some drunken teenager felt it would be fun to swing on the immature branches that wouldn't support them. The garbage left on the streets and in the parks really saddens me. Is what I have to look forward to in my future? It's not even my future; it's our kids and our grandkids I really worry about. Let's speak to our kids and remind them of how hard our parents and grandparents had to work for a living and how they appreciated everything they had. Please remind them that we didn't inherit this earth from our parents, we are simply borrowing it from our grandkids!! Please help keep Halton clean! Rob Kaye, Georgetown and ran to a grassy median close to Hwy. 427. I stood there all alone. As the Queen's car approached, I started to wave. As her car passed, I clearly saw a white-gloved hand wave back at me. It then struck me that the wave was just for me. Ten minutes earlier Her Majesty had waved to a crowd of over 50,000. However, minutes later, the Queen's wave from her car was intended for me alone. I will always remember my rush to that grassy median in the middle of nowhere to receive a wave from my Queen meant `just for me'. J. Byron Thomas, Georgetown A wave to remember Dear editor, I recently had the great pleasure of seeing Her Majesty in Ottawa where she waved, literally, to thousands of Canadians. Her gracious wave has become one of her royal trademarks. However, my most special memory of our Queen's recent homecoming came following the Queen's Plate July 4. As the Queen prepared to depart Royal Woodbine, I watched her give the cheering crowd a goodbye wave. I realized that, if I acted quickly, I might have another opportunity to see her. I drove to an empty parking lot near the highway, jumped a fence New candidates thanked Dear editor, I would just like to take a moment to thank Norm Paget (running for Town council-- Ward 2), Ross McDuff and Waldo Paquete (running for Town council-- Ward 4) for throwing their hat into the ring and making this a real election (as opposed to simply reinstating the same individuals time and time again). In addition, thanks to all others who run in other areas for other positions. Adam McCormack, Georgetown Letters to the editor policy Letters must include an address and daytime telephone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Publication is not guaranteed. E-mail: jmcghie@independentfreepress.com Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. The Independent & Free Press The Independent & Free Press is published Tuesday and Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.