Posted on 08/27/2011 3:06:53 AM PDT by Daffynition
There is no Florida law that prohibits light-flashing, said Oviedo attorney J. Marcus Jones. He claims officers are simply twisting a law that was designed to prohibit drivers from adding after-market emergency lights to their vehicles.
When officers write those tickets, he said, they violate a driver's constitutional right to free speech. If motorists want to flash their lights to warn about a speed trap ahead, they are free to do so, according to his suit.
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
Maybe the Traffic Division should just be called REA’s, (Revenue Enhancement Agents), instead of LEO’s, (Law Enforcement Officers).
Keep the LEO for the police that go after the other REAL crimes.
One morning, when at a crawl, I drove past the empty patrol car. Someone had placed a box of donuts on its hood. I still chuckle thinking about it.
CC
May they give out a gazillion tickets to speeders and law breakers to deter these scum. God Bless them for working so hard to keep our roads and highways safe.
Lord please deflate all the air in the tires of the speeders and halt their engines so they will have to s sit home and trim their stinky toenails and scratch themselves all day.
Children, stay as far away as possible from so called adults who think they are within their rights to break speed limit laws. Their moral compass doesn't work at all. If it appears to work it is just because they are very good actors.
So exceeding set-too-low-for-enhanced-revenue-generation speed limits is a *moral* issue, is it?
How about slower traffic not keeping right, in defiance of traffic laws? Is that a moral issue, too?
Because based on your posts here, I expect you are one of those people self-righteously blocking the fast line on the highway.
So, YOU’RE the one in the far left lane holding up traffic; the Enforcer . . .
Run any motorcyclists off the road lately?
Heh! You and I read this situation the same, for sure.
You’re absolutely right. Anyone flashing their lights is simply telling on-coming traffic “Hey! You’re going too fast! Slow down and obey the law!” — what’s the worst that could happen? They slow down and obey the law...?
Oh, and it might “cheat” our beloved government out of yet MORE of our money. Cry me a river.
Hi, Daffynition! I flash my lights for many reasons: if I see deer starting to cross to alert the upcoming drivers, to alert drivers of an accident that they might not be able to see yet, as a way to tell the driver in front of me (usually a truck) who wants to pull into my lane... that I am backing off and allowing it, let’s see... Oh yeah, when I see cops running radar. I let the upcoming traffic know to slow down. (I’m a bad girl!!)
Someone didn't bother clicking through to the article.
bgill wrote:
Sounds like a class action suit is in order. Threaten to bankrupt the city/county and fire the chief of police and see how fast they quit writing bogus tickets. The LE can’t prove the motorists weren’t merely checking their lights and not warning anyone.
This story is about a law firm in Oviedo FL which has successfully challenged these bogus tickets in 5 different counties for individuals. They are now filing a class action on behalf of everyone who has been ticketed for this, asking a state court in Tallahassee to rule that the fines collected must be returned, and that the Florida Highway Patrol and all police agencies in Florida should be ordered to stop writing these bogus tickets.
If one of these stops results in a real economic impact to someone (being late and missing an opportunity because of the delay being stopped and ticketed), the victim (innocent driver) would have a strong case against the police and the town/county/state to recover damages for their loss.
That depends a lot on the state and the laws.
jnsun wrote:
That is the major aspect of the problem: There IS NO jury. There are only LEO's and judges, i.e. the State self-serving community.
I was victimized by this in Georgia a few times. In Georgia, most traffic violations are still criminal offenses. This opens the door to requesting a jury trial. I'm not sure about things that have been "decriminalized."
I lived not far from a town that nearly finance their entire budget with fines from along the 4 lane highway that they annexed about 200 yards into city limits. When the state made them stop with the radar guns, they put up a stoplight and used that for their revenue source. I got stopped once there. Went to the city traffic court an I refused to sign the "waiver of jury trial" form and demanded a jury trial in the county court. That moved things out of the city traffic court. It was all about the money for the city. They didn't even send the cop to the county courthouse. I pled not guilty and won by default when the cop didn't show.
I need to find out what the law is in Florida, now that I've moved down here.
However, people who turn on their flashers while driving in the rain should be immediately ticketed and sent back to driver's school.
“Do you know how to talk like a trucker”
No...But I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
We paid for a limousine to the 828 Glenn Beck rally in DC. On the way home I swore the driver was trying to kill us. She'd barrel up to somebody's tailgate and then slam on the brakes. The people facing the front windshield had the same expression on their faces that you described... : o
When you're calling people stupid, it's a really good idea to proofread.
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