In article <1993Sep8.112713.11…@cee.hw.ac.uk>,
j…@cee.hw.ac.uk (Jack Campin) wrote:
> Drivers going faster than the limit in urban areas form a large
> proportion of these killers…
I agree about urban speeders. In general, though, we may
be looking at each other’s laws across that famous cultural
canyon again. In many US states, radar is used quite often
to conduct a money harvest on the open road in a manner that
stinks to high heaven of arbitrary, capricious, and uneven
enforcement. The user, although a member of an organization
often optimistically called the "Highway Patrol," is like as
not enforcing the law and promoting public safety by taking
his ease beneath a shade tree at the side of the road, waiting
for some traveler to register a lucrative speed on the radar
gun. You can see how this leads to a measure of cynicism.
Joe
"Just another personal opinion from the People’s Republic of Berkeley"
Disclaimer: Even if my employer had an opinion on the subject,
I wouldn’t be the one making the official statement.
In article <JTCHEW-080993112…@b50-afrd9.lbl.gov> JTC…@lbl.gov (Ad absurdum per aspera) writes:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
>In article <1993Sep8.112713.11…@cee.hw.ac.uk>,
>j…@cee.hw.ac.uk (Jack Campin) wrote:
>> Drivers going faster than the limit in urban areas form a large
>> proportion of these killers…
>I agree about urban speeders. In general, though, we may
>be looking at each other’s laws across that famous cultural
>canyon again. In many US states, radar is used quite often
>to conduct a money harvest on the open road in a manner that
>stinks to high heaven of arbitrary, capricious, and uneven
>enforcement. The user, although a member of an organization
>often optimistically called the "Highway Patrol," is like as
>not enforcing the law and promoting public safety by taking
>his ease beneath a shade tree at the side of the road, waiting
>for some traveler to register a lucrative speed on the radar
>gun. You can see how this leads to a measure of cynicism.
Indeed. Our friends in the UK may be unfamiliar with that grand old
American tradition, The Speed Trap, inasmuch as I understand that their
constables would never stoop to such low means.
Speed Traps are generally set up by the police in small cities, towns
and villages, and are used as an enhancement to the municipal
coffers. The policeman himself may receive a bonus based on citations
written as an inducement to conscientious law enforcement.
In order to ensure an adequate level of law enforcement, the town
fathers may declare speed limits sufficiently low as to ensure the
public safety, say, 15 miles per hour. I got caught in a Speed Trap
once on US20 in Brockville NY, where they annexed a highway for several
miles out into the wide open countryside and establish a 30 mph speed
limit. Then the local gendamerie need only wait behind convenient
billboards or shrubbery, with or without radar, for the unsuspecting
driver who thinks he actually is out in the countryside.
Generally, the miscreant pays a bond of some sum equivalent to the
fine, and then forfeits the bond by not appearing at the trial, usually
set for some inconvenient time several days hence.
In general, the state police or state highway patrol do not indulge in
speed traps, although they may appear to be overzealously enforcing the
infamous 55 mph limit out on freeways and interstates designed for 100
mph at times. Especially in states like Arizona. The state officers
don’t always like doing this, but certain federal regulations require
it from time to time.
I’m sure other members of the Net community have stories about their
favorite speed traps, or other fascinating revenue enhancing schemes,
such as the Georgia town where the highway turned left, so they
adjusted the traffic signal so that the left turn arrow would turn red
before it was humanly possible to clear the intersection. Oddly, local
citizens never received citations for this, only Florida bound
tourists.
—
——— DAVE HATUNEN (hatu…@netcom.com) ———-
—– Daly City California: almost San Francisco —–
Foil:
I think rocks would work better than foil, yeah that’s it, rocks.
The noise will distract the police and they won’t see their radar.
Alas, I can’t try it, I have alloy wheels. (for the humor impaired
Speed traps:
In some areas, they have *Selective Enforcement Zones*. This means
that the police can ticket *any* speeder without (attempting to)
ticket others that may be doing the same speed or possible even
faster. This reminds me of a National Geographic special I saw
about penguins. At feeding time, the penguins would jump into
the water and a killer whale (or some such predator) would eat
one or two and rest got away. So, as long as I don’t get a ticket,
I feel like one of those lucky penguins.
_/_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ Rick Colombo colo…@fnal.gov
_/ _/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ Fermi National Accelerator Lab
_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/_/ _/ Of course I speak for: Fermilab,
_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/_/ Congress and the President…NOT!
In article <1993Sep8.15444…@dcd00.fnal.gov>, colo…@dcd00.fnal.gov (Rick Colombo) writes:
|>
|> Foil:
|> I think rocks would work better than foil, yeah that’s it, rocks.
|> The noise will distract the police and they won’t see their radar.
|> Alas, I can’t try it, I have alloy wheels. (for the humor impaired
|>
|> Speed traps:
|> In some areas, they have *Selective Enforcement Zones*. This means
|> that the police can ticket *any* speeder without (attempting to)
|> ticket others that may be doing the same speed or possible even
|> faster. This reminds me of a National Geographic special I saw
|> about penguins. At feeding time, the penguins would jump into
|> the water and a killer whale (or some such predator) would eat
|> one or two and rest got away. So, as long as I don’t get a ticket,
|> I feel like one of those lucky penguins.
And if the cops are like the killer whale, they probably go after the
one that’s easiest to catch! (drive REAL fast, they’ll leave you alone!)
|>
|> _/_/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ Rick Colombo colo…@fnal.gov
|> _/ _/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ Fermi National Accelerator Lab
|> _/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/_/ _/ Of course I speak for: Fermilab,
|> _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/_/ Congress and the President…NOT!
–Jim
In a previous article, j…@cee.hw.ac.uk (Jack Campin) says:
> Drivers going faster than the limit
> in urban areas form a large proportion of these killers (the largest single
> group being drunks; they overlap). Keeping these murderous fools under
> control by measures like this saves far more innocent lives than "crime
> control" directed against the relatively minor social phenomena that
> generate most of the moral panic.
I remember when you had to go over 70 to be a murderous fool. They
lowered it to conserve fuel.
—
"When the freedom they wished for most
was the freedom from responsibility,
then Athens ceased to be free,
and never was free again." – Edith Hamilton