MADISON, WI [LINK : DOT Website] Newspeak is most insidious when it manages to creep in undetected. Few of us can pinpoint exactly when “seat belts” became “safety belts”, but we currently have a unique opportunity to witness this metamorphosis first hand. The DOT’s “Safety and Consumer Protection” website still uses the term “seat belts”, while the statutes themselves (347.48) were carefully crafted with “safety belts”. Now that I’ve pointed it out, I’m confident the term “seat belts” will disappear from the state’s lexicon entirely, and in very short order.
This unabashed 1984-ish patronization is made painfully apparent in a string of Public Service Announcements currently airing, which show a young cop pulling a “friend” of his over and issuing him a citation and fine for not wearing his “safety belts”. I lose track of how many times they say “safety belts”, because I’m always preoccupied with trying to calculate how much cash WIDOT is sinking into prime time broadcasts of these ridiculous PSAs, and wondering how much higher they’ll raise fees THIS year to pay for them. Right about then, this vein in my forehead usually pops and the rest of the night is just a blur.
Here’s an idea. How about dedicating the D.O.T. budget to road building instead of producing more insulting episodes of “Click it or Ticket”? While we’re at it, maybe we can redirect those policing efforts toward bringing Madison’s uncaught murderers to justice. With bodies piling up on the steps of the State Capitol, our legislators look foolish in wasting their time and our resources in a misguided war against carelessness…
