Traffic sign vandalism is not a small problem: “Cities, counties, towns and villages are extremely concerned about this issue because dealing with sign vandalism consumes a significant amount of public entities’ budgets. The cost of traffic sign vandalism in the U.S. is estimated at $100 million to 2 billion a year.” But sometimes financial loss is not the only damage brought by sign vandalism, in extreme cases it can cause another type of loss, the loss of human lives.
One example of traffic sign vandalism ended with three deaths in Tampa, Florida. In a crash, which was considered to be caused by the fallen stop sign, a truck hit a car carrying Kevin Farr and his two friends. The fallen stop sign was believed to be damaged by Miller and his friends. The day before the accident under the influence of alcohol they had decided to remove some railroad signs. All three were charged with manslaughter, but the court of appeals later changed the decision and Miller and his friends weren’t found guilty (Clary, 194-200).
Another case of …show more content…
First, Miller and his friends were under the influence of alcohol and often alcohol alters person’s state of consciousness. Second, the vandalism of the traffic sign is so common in the country that at some point it can be thought of as an “accepted norm”. Due to the fact that there are many cases of stealing road signs without causing the deaths, Miller and his friends had no reason to think that their behavior would bring about fatal results. Third, and maybe the most important factor is the defendant’s youth. Often young people don’t realize the effects of their actions: According to National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 28% of U.S. high school students unintentionally damaged school property and 35% of students rode with a driver who had been drinking alcohol (YRBS,