Lead by Example

Last week the Governor of New Jersey, the Honorable Jon S. Corzine was involved in an accident which has left him in critical condition in a New Jersey hospital. What makes this case unique is the circumstances in which the accident went from bad to worse. Last year, there were approximately 271,182 tickets issued for drivers in violation of New Jersey's strict seatbelt laws. The seatbelt law was one of the pieces of legislation for which Corzine was best known and it was helping to make a difference in decreasing the severity of accidents on the road. After all, seatbelts can mean the difference between walking away with a few bruises and ending up in a hospital. Unfortunately, Corzine decided, for whatever reason, not to wear his seatbelt that day and as a result finds himself in the hospital now. This brings up a very good question; do we listen to our leaders when they themselves choose not to follow the law?

If you've ever driven on the New Jersey Turnpike or elsewhere on the highways and by-ways of New Jersey you will occasionally see signs touting the need to 'Click It or Ticket' which basically means buckle up or get a ticket. Now granted there are times when drivers will argue that there's no point in buckling up. Driving from the house to the corner store to pick up milk is not that far a trip and it doesn't mean you have to buckle up since the speeds are so low, but it still makes no difference; one should buckle up regardless of the circumstances or distance of the trip. After all, you may be travelling at no more than ten miles per hour but the guy who runs into you may be speeding enough to cause some serious damage.

Along those same lines, while I won't admit to being a driver who drives at the speed limit, I'm also not one who speeds on a consistent basis. Keeping with the general flow of traffic is a good practice and helps you neither become a moving roadblock nor draw unnecessary attention from the police. So it was with some surprise that investigators into Corzine's accident discovered that the Governor was travelling at approximately 91 miles per hour at the time of his accident. For those of you who are curious, the speed limit in that area was no more than 65 MPH. In most states that's fast enough to have to go to court to answer charges of reckless and dangerous driving. In this case I suppose Corzine could issue himself a pardon but it yet again brings up the question as to whether people will put stock in their leaders when their leaders don't listen to their own rules.

Think about it. There are times when you're on the highway cruising along at speeds above the speed limit when suddenly you look behind you and see a cop car with the lights off. Your heart enters your throat and for a brief moment you think that the lights are going to flash on and that siren is going to wail to pull you over. But then nothing happens and the cop flies past you only to pull off onto the shoulder and then park to keep watch for speeders. I can understand urgency in wanting to get to your station along the highway but to speed well beyond the speed limit and then turn right around and issue tickets for what you just did seems a bit... well... two-faced.

Lawmakers in New Jersey have realized that they definitely have a situation on their hands whereby people are going start asking these very same things given the fact that it was someone as high ranked as the state governor who was breaking the law. A year or two ago a similar incident occurred in California when Arnold Schwarzenegger was involved in a motorcycle accident and it was revealed that he wasn't even authorized to drive motorcycles. As an actor it could have been overlooked but as the Governor it warrants a bit of a looking into. Now given that New Jersey has a reported rate of 90% of seatbelt usage, I'd say that it hasn't affected usage all that much but I will say that it will make a difference to those who are ticketed in the future. They could very well appear in court and say that if the governor wasn't ticketed for not wearing his seatbelt then why should anyone else be? I believe there is talk of issuing the Governor a ticket. I hope it's true because it would set a good example for the rest of the people.