Posted on 02/01/2005 2:15:57 PM PST by Sir Gawain
Law would stop hubcap spinners
By Bill Tolbert The Virginia Gazette
Published January 15, 2005
RICHMOND -- If you want rapper Xhibit and his buddies at West Coast Customs to “pimp” your ride with some phat spinning wheels, you better hurry.
Del. Bill Barlow (D-64th) has introduced an arcane bill that would prohibit wheel covers that give the illusion the wheels are moving while the vehicle is sitting still, or that the wheels are sitting still while the vehicle is actually moving.
Barlow addresses the wheel covers in HB 2390. According to the General Assembly website, the bill was awaiting assignment to a committee.
The “spinners,” as they're called, come as part of actual rims or as devices similar to hubcaps. The former can cost $800 to several thousand dollars for a set of four. The hubcap options run in the $50 range.
Spinners operate by ball bearings. As the vehicle picks up speed, the spinners begin to rotate. When the vehicle slows down and stops, the spinners continue for a while because of the ball bearings.
Why would Barlow, a sedate Smithfield attorney who represents Williamsburg and a part of James City, care about spinners?
He said a constituent from Isle of Wight asked him to introduce the bill because he was injured in a motorcycle accident and blamed it on spinners. Barlow said the man told him he was riding along the highway when he noticed a car ready to enter the roadway from the right.
As he got closer to the car, the man said he caught a glimpse of the spinner on the left front wheel and thought the vehicle was pulling out in front of him. The man told Barlow he swerved to avoid what he thought would be a collision and lost control of the cycle. As it turned out, the car was sitting still.
“He went into a skid, put down the motorcycle and sustained injuries,” Barlow explained. “He was very much upset about it.”
Until then, Barlow was unaware of any problems with spinners. He called it an “unusual” issue. “I have no idea how [the bill] will be received,” Barlow said. “It does seem to me it could be a safety concern if you don't know whether another vehicle is moving or not. You need to know that when you're driving.”
He's braced for some blowback. “Anytime you put a ban on something, it's going to be controversial,” Barlow admitted. “But I assume these serve no useful purpose other than appearance. And if they're creating a dangerous situation, maybe we need to look at that.”
Such a pressing social issue. I'm glad these dems are there to protect us ...
They really need to get off the planet.
Wouldn't ever have these on my SUV, but why in the blue thunder does this need to be legislated? Do these jokers do nothing but sit around in their office and think of new ways to restrict freedom in America!
My tax dollars at work. Sheesh. Oh, and he's a lawyer, imagine that. The stupid things people want to pass laws over nowadays.
Wait, he's a Democrat, isn't this being racist, going after the bling-bling rollin-on-dubs contingent like this? Shouldn't he be all tolerant and sensitive and stuff?
}:-)4
Thank goodness we've got that big surplus, to fund the hubcap patrols. Sheesh.
It'll get overturned by the ACLU as a "racist" law.
What about the stoopid rider? Probably riding a Vespa.
We really need to stop electing lawyers before it's illegal to breath the air without a mask on.
I've been wondering when this was coming. Creating an illusion for other drivers as to what your vehicle is doing is a dumb idea.
Does Barlow know how many things this can be said about???
Someone should remind Delegate Barlow that you can't (and shouldn't) legislate against stupidity.
Some idiot looks at the wheels of a vehicle instead of the (LARGE, MASSIVE STEEL CONSTRUCT STANDING STILL AT THE STOP) and because he can't perceive the (LARGE, MASSIVE STEEL CONSTRUCT STANDING STILL AT THE STOP) isn't moving, he crashes his bike?
This isn't about wheel spinners, it's about situational awareness, and the grease spots inability to maintain it.
You just can't make this kind of thing up.
Every time I see those spinners I think, "Why, there oughta be a law!"
NOT
I think they're fun. I can't afford them, but I enjoy watching them -- free entertainment for the rest of us after the dummy behind the wheel spends his fortune on spinners he can't even see.
You mean to tell me stupid people have more accidents? Amazing!
The problem, of course, is where do you draw the line? The issue with "spinner" wheels is that they can pose a danger by screwing up other driver's visual cues. Is the danger enough to warrant a nanny state intrusion? Probably not. But this isn't as much of a joke as it might appear on the surface...
These things dont need to be outlawed, the law should read anybody fool enough to buy them is too stupid to be driving.
First time I saw these things I was on my bike, it startled me for a moment, but the pimpy decor of the vehicle tipped me off.
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