Flashing headlights - Free Speech

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by Rockin the BlueSS

could this be explained kinda like shouting fire in a building? under the first amendment you have the freedom of speech to yell fire, yet it is illegal to do so if there is no fire...

it is illegal to yell fire in a crowded building for multiple reasons

- it's considered to be public endangerment

- inciting a riot

- and you will be held accountable for anyone injured in the mad rush to escape the "burning" building

[ROBOSSRS]

Originally Posted by aSSian

I know exactly where Adam is coming from. I think flashing your headlights to warn people that are breaking the law...is about as dumb as it gets.

I don't care about deers in the road or whatever else you guys are talking about, but as far as the OP, and flashing people that are speeding, that there is a speed trap ahead is not how you help anyone out. well, except for helping someone breaking the law, get off scott free. The thought that anyone thinks this is a good idea, baffles the heck out of me.

Okay next time a deer is crossing Las Vegas Blvd , I won't flash my lights to warn you.

[DarkFox1]

Originally Posted by aSSian

I know exactly where Adam is coming from. I think flashing your headlights to warn people that are breaking the law...is about as dumb as it gets.

I don't care about deers in the road or whatever else you guys are talking about, but as far as the OP, and flashing people that are speeding, that there is a speed trap ahead is not how you help anyone out. well, except for helping someone breaking the law, get off scott free. The thought that anyone thinks this is a good idea, baffles the heck out of me.

You have a different philospohy of the law than I do.

I believe speed traps and speed limit are arbitrary and exist, in almost every case, as a source of revenue and nothing more.

You look at them some other way apparently, as such you think reminding someone on the road to exercise caution or to slow down..is trying to get them to speed.

Since you don't flash people you may not really pay attention, but 9 times outta 10.. I can't tell if the guy coming the other way is speeding or not. I assume most people can't. It's a courtesy.. "hey.. wise up, check your speed, exercise caution coming up."

If YOU INTERPRET it as "yo cops ahead cool it on the speeding" then that is YOUR perspective influencing them. There is no tangible proof that this practice exists for the sole purpose of avoiding speed traps.

[PoorMansCamaro]

Originally Posted by ROBOSSRS

Okay next time a deer is crossing Las Vegas Blvd , I won't flash my lights to warn you.

you need to learn to read my friend.

edit: besides, i'd be going about 2.678mph on the blvd. if i need a warning for that, i need to fix my brakes. lmao

[PoorMansCamaro]

Originally Posted by DarkFox1

You have a different philospohy of the law than I do.

I believe speed traps and speed limit are arbitrary and exist, in almost every case, as a source of revenue and nothing more.

You look at them some other way apparently, as such you think reminding someone on the road to exercise caution or to slow down..is trying to get them to speed.

Since you don't flash people you may not really pay attention, but 9 times outta 10.. I can't tell if the guy coming the other way is speeding or not. I assume most people can't. It's a courtesy.. "hey.. wise up, check your speed, exercise caution coming up."

If YOU INTERPRET it as "yo cops ahead cool it on the speeding" then that is YOUR perspective influencing them. There is no tangible proof that this practice exists for the sole purpose of avoiding speed traps.

i see where you are coming from, but to me, ignorance is no excuse. if you aren't speeding, then you shouldn't need to worry about speed traps. You don't need to worry about slowing down. If you have your drivers license, you should know that speeding is against the law. If you speed, you are risking the chance of getting caught, which means you should pay the concequences. I don't believe the right thing to do, is push the envelope as far as you can, without getting caught.

And so what? who cares if it's another source of revenue? it's not like the cops are making people speed at a certain area...

I'm not saying i'm perfect, but if i do speed, and get caught, it's all on me.

[ROBOSSRS]

Originally Posted by aSSian

you need to learn to read my friend.

I read what yall said and I said I won't flash my lights to warn you if a deer is crossing Las Vegas Blvd. Did I say anything else . Settle down good buddy . It is also illegal to flash headlights to help avoid speed traps. I see both sides of the argument .

[PoorMansCamaro]

Originally Posted by ROBOSSRS

I read what yall said and I said I won't flash my lights to warn you if a deer is crossing Las Vegas Blvd. Did I say anything else . Settle down good buddy . It is also illegal to flash headlights to help avoid speed traps. I see both sides of the argument .

yeah, but i agree with warning people of dangers in the road, so your comment really doesn't make any sense.

[AdamZ]

Originally Posted by DarkFox1

You have a different philospohy of the law than I do.

I believe speed traps and speed limit are arbitrary and exist, in almost every case, as a source of revenue and nothing more.

:m ad0260::mad026 0:

When people say this I get so damn annoyed. My department gets $.37 from each speeding ticket we write. We write about 200 tix a month. So we get 75 bucks a month from tickets. That's not even enough to support 1 month of practice ammo for one deputy. Trust me if people didn't speed and kill themselves we wouldn't be setting up speed traps. Speed traps are also made by the public. Not the police. We sit where people speed the most...thats the freaking point. You call that a speed trap...I call it commen sense. I don't go to one of our million dollar neighborhoods and watch corners for prostitution. YOU make speed traps. NOT the police.

[DarkFox1]

I don' tlike my tax dollars being used to find new ways to extort money from me. That's why it bugs me. I don't know what LV is like, but ATL is a crazy place to drive in. Speed limit is a recipe for disaster. Try going 55 on 285, you'll get ran over! Putting the speed limit well below a reasonable and safe speed guarantees that any person can be pulled over and fined without consequence. Therefore, setting the speed limit on a major roadway where speeds border on the 70mph range, at 55.. guarantees the city revenue simply by patrolling.

I agree with you overall though. If you're going the speed limit you are going a "safe speed" but there are still extenuating circumstances. A deer as someone mentioned, a wreck, a crazy person waving a gun in the air and walking in the middle of the street.. you never know.

I also agree with you about getting caught.. 99% of the time. If I'm speeding and I'm "caught" speeding.. well then I'll just pay the fine. I'm not the kind to contest it because I disagree with the law.

I realize my ultra-libertarian stance on speed limits are unrealistic. (abolished, except in neighborhoods, school zones, and dense metro areas where they are STRICTLY enforced.) But I have the right to an opinion I suppose.

[Steve Dallas]

Originally Posted by AdamZ

:m ad0260::mad026 0:

When people say this I get so damn annoyed. My department gets $.37 from each speeding ticket we write. We write about 200 tix a month. So we get 75 bucks a month from tickets. That's not even enough to support 1 month of practice ammo. Trust me if people didn't speed and kill themselves we wouldn't be setting up speed traps. Speed traps are also made by the public. Not the police. We sit where people speed the most...thats the freaking point. You call that a speed trap...I call it commen sense. I don't go to one of our million dollar neighborhoods and watch corners for prostitution. YOU make speed traps. NOT the police.

I don't think he's referring to the money the police department makes. The municipality makes the money, and yes...it is a source of revenue for the town/city/state.

Personally, I see enforcing the law for speeding, though I wish that cops would spend more time ticketing for merging at the last moment, driving on the shoulder, not keeping right except to pass and a variety of other aggressive driving that never seems to be enforced.

[AdamZ]

Originally Posted by Steve Dallas

Personally, I see enforcing the law for speeding, though I wish that cops would spend more time ticketing for merging at the last moment, driving on the shoulder, not keeping right except to pass.

I would love to do this. But how? This isn't something you can observe easily from a stationary position easily. I would need to be in motion to see these...and for some reason people go into perfect driving mode when they are around a cop car. So yeah, very hard to enforce.

[DarkFox1]

Originally Posted by Steve Dallas

I don't think he's referring to the money the police department makes. The municipality makes the money, and yes...it is a source of revenue for the town/city/state.

Personally, I see enforcing the law for speeding, though I wish that cops would spend more time ticketing for merging at the last moment, driving on the shoulder, not keeping right except to pass.

Oh right, no please don't think I mean this as an offense to cops. The police department has every right to revenue, but I feel like ya know the whole "protect and serve" isn't really served by bugging me for 11 over the limit on my way to work when the guy next to me was pulling on me slightly.. just cos I was in the fast lane.

My last ticket I wasn't paying attention to my speed. A full size van was beside me and had accelerated much faster than I anticipated. I needed to be in his lane so that I could turn. So I sped up and passed him. I'm pulled over, apparently 61 in a 45. (van must have been doing 55-58) She says "I just want to make sure you get to work alive."

My thought is.. I would have gotten to work safe, alive, $200 richer, and 15 minutes earlier.

But I'm drifting. What I mean to say is.. it's not a revenue collection for the police dept. explicitly.. so much as it is for the government in general.

[Steve Dallas]

I found this...this is a breakdown of where the money goes for Indiana...

State Courts: $49.00
County Courts: $18.90
City Courts: $2.10
Law Enforcement Fee: $4.00
Jury Fee: $2.00
Highway Work Zone: $0.50 (??)
Auto Record Keeping Fee: $7.00
Document Storage Fee: $2.00
Infractional Judgments: $99.50 The fine!
Public Defense Administration Fee: $3.00
Judicial Insurance Adjustment: $1.00
Judicial Salaries Fee: $18.00: Do you think murderers and rapists pay this fee too?
DNA Sample Processing Fee: $2.00 Very common service for traffic tickets.
Court Administration Fee: $5.00

Total Cost Of Ticket: $214.00

Simply put, traffic tickets are definitely a source of revenue for the courts and city.

[AdamZ]

Originally Posted by Steve Dallas

I found this...this is a breakdown of where the money goes for Indiana...

State Courts: $49.00
County Courts: $18.90
City Courts: $2.10
Law Enforcement Fee: $4.00
Jury Fee: $2.00
Highway Work Zone: $0.50 (??)
Auto Record Keeping Fee: $7.00
Document Storage Fee: $2.00
Infractional Judgments: $99.50 The fine!
Public Defense Administration Fee: $3.00
Judicial Insurance Adjustment: $1.00
Judicial Salaries Fee: $18.00: Do you think murderers and rapists pay this fee too?
DNA Sample Processing Fee: $2.00 Very common service for traffic tickets.
Court Administration Fee: $5.00

Total Cost Of Ticket: $214.00

DNA...that's a joke right lol? I'm not to big on semen samples and all on my traffic stops...maybe I am doing it wrong