Dave Barry Driving While Stupid Analysis

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Driving While Stupid In Driving While Stupid, the author Dave Barry, argues that Miami has more reckless drivers than other cities. He uses exaggeration, confidence, and his past experiences from other cities to support his argument. By using these techniques, Barry gets his point across that what he saw happen in Miami was more dangerous and stupid than in other cities. Barry is very confident in saying that Miami has the worst drivers. Whether it is true or not, he makes it believable. He says, “This was I-95 in downtown Miami, proud home of the worst darned drivers in the world,” (Barry 571). This was his first attempt in persuading his readers that Miami has the worst drivers. Barry has so much confidence that Miami has the worst drivers that he makes sure to make it known and makes it seem like it would be hard …show more content…

“The police down here have given up on enforcing the traffic laws,” (Barry 572). It is highly doubtful that the police in Miami have actually given up on enforcing the laws because otherwise it would be a lot more hectic but Barry says this to exaggerate how badthe drivers in Miami are. “If they stop you and find a human corpse in your trunk, they’ll let you off with a warning if it’s your first one,” (Barry 572). It is definitely not true that if a cop found a dead body in the trunk of your car that they would just give you a warning, especially considering how illegal and bad that would be. “So I looked in the mirror and saw a large convertible with the top down overtaking me at 600 miles per hour,” (Barry 572). That car couldn’t and wouldn’t have actually passed him going 600 miles per hour faster than what he was going, but when Barry says this, it just helps the readers visualize how bad of driving the drivers of Miami are. Barry continues to use exaggeration because it is a smart and helpful way to win people over in an