New Puritans - 1 comment

Via Eric:

A blanket ban on drinking alcohol on all forms of public transport is being proposed by the Government in a fresh crackdown on binge drinking and anti-social behaviour

How exactly would this be policed? When you have trains with one driver, and one guard who, lacking the authority and the power to tackle (physically if necessary) fare-dodgers and trouble-makers, has to adopt a laissez-faire approach, the only way to prevent alcohol-fuelled trouble is to ban its sale entirely on trains, and scan for it at ticket-barriers.

With a security guard within easy hail, troublemakers can be dealt with. So an inability to tackle trouble when it happens creates a need for more legislation, more restrictions on ordinary people doing what they want safely, more frightened train guards, and still no greater likelihood that offenders be booted out at the next station or bus stop.

The "binge drinking" aspect is too ludicrous: one might drink whisky by the quart at home, regularly waking up on the bathroom floor, but settle for a couple of cans of domestically-brewed lager for a train journey. They might be sober sorts who only drink to pass the time or to help them fall asleep. Either way, how does stopping drinking on public trasnport help their health? Why not just put alcohol on ration?

Only a proposal, of course, but this feels like another of those situations where only one blogger in the world supports it.