It’s not just a redneck thing, I promise you. The sensations involved in carving up a twisting country road in a capable machine are exquisite, I promise you. I’m not talking about driving 25 miles per hour over the speed limit on the freeway. Nor am I talking about riding the ragged edge of control and presenting a serious hazard to oneself and others. No, I’m talking about pushing yourself and your machine just enough to get a feel for what both are capable of doing. It’s fun and primal and instructive and it doesn’t even have to involve excessive speed. I have a car from the early ‘70s that’s rather slow by modern standards. But it’s small, light, nimble, and well-balanced. It’s fun – and about as far from a redneck ride as you can imagine.

Oh and by the way, you’re not the only one here to see a significant difference between accidents that arise from liberty and mistakes that are inflicted by the state. I for one would rather not be expended for the sake of public peace of mind and poorly-articulated notions of justice and order. And here perhaps we see one downside of framing an issue in terms of “rights.” Appealing to a vaguely-defined right to this or that may well serve to conceal any number of shortcuts in the logic of one’s ethics.

Hope you and yours are doing well, Lyam. Take care.