Posted on 06/09/2010 8:11:25 AM PDT by HandsOffMyFreedom
If you’ve ever been issued a traffic ticket by a red light or speeding camera, you will revel in the bittersweet justice one luck recipient bestowed upon his local nanny state police department.
Upon receiving a speeding ticket in the mail, Brian McCrary followed the citation’s payment instructions and attempted to pay his $90 fine on the Bluff City Police Department’s (BCPD) website. Much to his surprise, he discovered its domain name was about to expire.
Instead of paying his fine, McCrary saw it as a rare opportunity to literally ‘pay back’ the police department for violating his civil liberties with ‘Big Brother’ traffic cameras ...
(Excerpt) Read more at nannystateliberationfront.wordpress.com ...
So Texas doesn’t have any speeding laws? What’s that you say, they do? What’s your point again?
They use these cameras in Kuwait City, somebody usually spray painys the lens. it takes the government several weeks to fix them and then somebody repaints it the same night.
If you need to ask that question, then you need to consider membership in a new forum.
I used Go Daddy and they send plenty of notices out.That PD is deadbeat cops is all and they got caught asleep.
The speed limit is 55mph then drops to 45mph near the town. Fail to slow down fast enough and you will have your picture snapped and you will be fined. The town is within its rights to enforce this.
But what if all laws were enforced this way? Do you want camera in your home? work? school? You and your kids could be ticketed for all kinds of things. Spitting on the sidewalk, putting a booger on the bathroom wall (yes there is a law), j walking, going too slow, etc.
Would we be safer if all laws were enforced to the fullest extent? These laws were put in place by politicians, not God. Could it be that politicians had in mind to create a traffic situation that would bring in revenue? Like dropping a speed limit down to 45 and then setting up a camera?
Are we all sheep and obey a law simply because it is there or do we do what we can to fight against injustice by bringing light and embarrassment to those who would create and enforce a law for revenue? Make no mistake, this is NOT about safety, its about money. If the program did not generate revenue, it would be shut down regardless of any life it would save. If you don’t believe that, you are naive.
Is it always an all or nothing thing when it comes to laws? Does a speed limit apply to police? no, fire? no, ambulance? no. What if your kid were dying and you had to get them to the ER? Too bad. How come a cop can drive whatever speed he or she wants to regardless of the circumstances? Why are they above the law?
I am not saying all law is bad. Just saying that before you blindly say that this guy is wrong, you take a hard look at your own life, and specifically your driving habits. If you have sped while behind the wheel, did you go ahead and send in the money for speeding even though you didn’t get a ticket?
Is it breaking the law ONLY when you get caught? Why don’t some of you law abiding citizens pay a fine every time you speed regardless if you are ticketed? Don’t be a hypocrite. Is it right for me but not for thee?
The difference between the majority of you unquestioning adherence to the law types and this guy is a camera that caught him and you simply have not gotten caught.
“Really, what it the “governments role” in an irresponsible society?”
Well, so far, the government seems to be actively promoting irresponsibility with ever increasing social welfare programs that reward sloth and illegitimacy, and government dependency.
You get the society that you expect. Lower expectations of citizen behavior and that’s exactly what you’ll get.
Of course, the hard working, tax paying, responsible ones end up paying the bills. Who sticks up for THEM?
They have removed some camera's here in the Montgomery area for just that reason. The cost of responding to the increased accidents was turning out to be more than the revenues the cameras were providing.
We've got a couple of these cameras along one of the routes that I take to and from work. Here's how it works. During very light traffic (such as at 0500 AM, when I drive to or from work), the automated traffic system is designed to keep a green light along the main thoroughfares unless someone pulls up on a side road and triggers the light. Absent any side road traffic, the light defaults to green for the main road. This maintains a smooth, unencumbered flow of traffic.
This works fine for every traffic light except two - can you guess which two? Yep, the ones with the red light cameras. They not only turn red for no apparent reason, but they do so frequently. I've timed the green on one of them, and it's 15 seconds long.
As you said, the purpose of most of these cameras is to gain revenue, not enhance safety.
BTW, I'm old enough to remember the 3-second rule at red lights. What is the "3-second rule", you ask? When driving in bad neighborhoods in Cleveland, Ohio, the unwritten rule was that when you came upon a red light, you'd stop for 3 seconds, look both ways, and proceed through the light. Back in those days, you were not very likely to get a ticket for doing so as long as you did it safely. It wasn't wise to loiter at a traffic light in a bad 'hood at 3 AM.
Of course Texas has laws against speeding. I never suggested otherwise.
What’s my point? It’s obviously that Seattle encourages drivers to report speeders, which is a Nanny State mentality.
Texas doesn’t post signs along the highway encouraging citizens to report each other. We mind our own damn business down here and expect others to do the same.
So if I’m speeding and you don’t like it, move over to the right lane and mind your own damn business. If Mr. Law-Dog thinks I’m a nuisance, he’ll make it his business.
I LOVE living in Texas!!!!
I confess to my insensitivity. I should have included women and minorities, and barnyard animals and cartoon characters and, and, and....
Thank you for setting me straight. And, no, you don’t need the tag.
Well, that and the fact that the cameras were racist.
</sarcasm>
In Dallas they were caught decreasing the length of the yellow light. This gives drivers less time to react resulting in more revenue for the private company.
Here in Florida they just passed a state law allowing these. Despite that several cities had already installed them and were handing out tickets they were legally prohibited from issuing.
Whats so hard about putting a cop at a light to hand out tickets? Seems people would learn their lesson and stop running red lights.
:-D
Well, just a guess but from the 15 some odd responses I would say that "us" thing requires a bit of rethinking.
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Well, that goes without saying. Everything is racist here.
There are cities taking them out right now.
Most cameras are installed at busy intersections. Unless he ran the light at 3am, chances are good he could have plowed into someone who had a green light. Just sayin’.
Hallelujah. Me too.
I enjoy visiting Seattle. It’s beautiful. My family and I vacation there once a year or every other year at least.
But when I get home to Texas, I kiss the ground. And when we drive home from out of state, we roll down all the windows and honk the horn all the way across the Red River as we holler “God Bless Texas!” It’s tradition.
(And you wouldn’t believe how many others laugh and do the same when they see us carrying on.)
Even though the story had nothing to do with running a red light, take a look at the statistics around intersections where red light cameras have been placed. The accident rate skyrockets once the cameras are in place.
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