“When a yellow or orange vested highway worker blocks traffic, is it voluntary? Does an off duty policeman have more authority than a highway flagman?”
Highway flagmen have an obvious and transparent reason to block traffic. This is far from transparent. Since when do we in the US use roadblocks to conduct surveys? And since when do surveys involve gving a blood or saliva sample? I don’t care if they will allow you decline - this time. Nobody should be stopped at all for this sort of thing. They are trying this in AL because they would never get away with it in San Francisco or New York. It is very disturbing that this is going on, especially in light of the IRS and NSA scandals.
I encountered them years ago when college students were doing tourism surveys.....again you could choose to volunteer information or decline. No penalty was involved. There may have been some little token of appreciation if you answered questions or filled out and mailed a questionaire.
No, it was obvious. No one was forced to comply, were they?