Re: "No snail mail in West Van," Sept. 19.
One seldom sees such a classic example of the law making an ass of itself.
Firstly, if impounding the vehicle is intended as an additional punishment on the driver, it doesn't work since the van belongs to we who support the post office, not to the driver. He couldn't care less.
And then to tow the van to the impound lot and transfer the load to a second van? Why not just impound the second van? There is no need to transfer the load, a van is a van.
And the cost of a tow? Why not have an uninvolved postal driver, drive the van to the lot? The mind reels with the implications.
In fact, the whole idea of impounding a perfectly good, not to mention innocent, vehicle for any such offence is idiotic since the effect of the impound can vary considerably, depending upon the driver's circumstances, (he may have a second vehicle at home) so therefore the penalty is unfair.
Better to increase the fine and make the full punishment more direct.
Patrick MacKinnon
Victoria
