"We all have little kids and they're riding their bikes in the street and running around and we all get in a big hurry to get out kids here and there and not be late for appointments or whatever,” said Cheryl Coupens, one of the first people to sign up for the program.Snitches or citizen militia?
When civilians clock someone speeding, they jot down the vehicle information and pass it along to authorities. There is no fine because the radar is not being operated by commissioned officers, but owners of the speeding vehicles do get a warning letter.
What should they do?
[Via Brian F]
Nothing wrong with taking care of your neighborhood; but, expect mission creep and if the powers that be smell revenue, the 'warnings' will become mail citations a la red light cams, with no recourse.
ReplyDeleteIn some cities, 'volunteers' are enforcing handicapper parking and many of us have had experience with homeowners associations that have remarkable powers.
Aren't speeding laws just another example of prior restraint? Tattle on someone if they harm someone or someone's property. Otherwise, leave them the hell alone.
ReplyDeleteThere is such a thing as reckless endangerment. Like anything else, it is a matter of degree.
ReplyDeleteWe wouldn't put up with unsafe handling at the range. Looks to me like unsafe handling of an auto would be the same, especially when the family is at risk.
ReplyDeletesnitching. security theatre. yet as it stands, it appears harmless.
ReplyDeletehowever, it substitutes the real problem, which is poor civil engineering, with guilting others into a community mediocrity in the interest of safety.
nobody asked why the roads are designed the way they are. roads can be designed better, believe it or not. you don't need all those signs. you often don't even need speed limits.
we haven't had to even remotely consider this kind of innovation in a century or more, because the state bought all the roads up. why'd they do that? the people clamored for it to get more security while on the roads.
we may not put up with unsafe handling at a range, but private ranges do not buy body armor and leg holsters for everyone who goes there, so that they can better protect the people around them. if a public range started doing it, would we think that range was actually safer?
maybe there's something wrong with the surveying that was done? or the management?
We all have little kids and they're riding their bikes in the street
ReplyDeleteUh, there are LAWS regarding that too ya know. Do speeders get to report the kids and the parents get a letter in the mail? We're arresting kids in elementary school nowadays, so why not THESE kids for reckless endangerment as well?
Cuts both ways and if you want to go down this path I'm sure there are some people who'd be happy to play by your rules.
What should they do? Spend the money and put in some serious speed bumps.
ReplyDeleteAs for "reckless endangerment," I'd be a bit careful heading down that particularly slippery slope. Yeah, it sucks to say you need a verifiable injury before you have a claim, but the alternative is exactly what we have now - an ever growing Nanny State which will prohibit more and more activities on the grounds that they "might" hurt (or simply "endanger") someone.
"What should they do?"
ReplyDeletePoint them at the police.
I never did like Hallway Monitors in school. Personal grudges and other issues always ended up clouding their judgement. Too much power.
ReplyDeleteSome of the Homeowner Associations here in Texas are just downright Nazi-ish in getting right up in your business.
Speed bumps work. Calling the police works. Watching your kids and teaching them that cars can and will kill them works too.
OK, I just watched the video.
ReplyDeleteCops bought the RADAR gun ($700) to loan to the citizens. They are on record as saying "It will more than pay for itself". Don't they all?
The snitch-lady was RADARing and commenting about "kids riding bikes in the street" on a section of road that had:
1. A full turn lane in the center
2. Wide paved shoulders (she was parked on the shoulder with room to spare).
3. Full sized paved sidewalks.
Speed limit was 30 MPH and she was griping about 3 MPH over the limit, which is well within tolerance of speedometer accuracy, especially on older vehicles. My pickups' speedo needle is 3 MPH wide by itself!
If the school zone needs monitoring, then the cops need to monitor the school zone. NOT some frazzled housewife who is bored with watching Oprah and the View.
If you feel the need to "tattle", that is a pretty good indication that you are on the wrong side.
ReplyDeleteI think that some day, people will look back and be astounded that we ever tolerated government roads.
ReplyDeleteI hope so, Kent. I would gladly pay a toll to a private company that actually had the money to properly maintain roads. People are so insulated from price information about transportation infrastructure that they have no idea what decent roads are worth. I am astonished how many people think state-sponsored health maintenance is a necessity, yet road maintenance is not. (I'm sorry, will you be hiking to the hospital for your leg operation?)
ReplyDeleteAlso: "Speeding" is a specific violation. Three miles over the limit isn't speeding. It's arguably not even "driving too fast", as pointed out by Texas Shooter. My take on the "prior restraint" angle is that there are speeds a driver could travel where physics and physiology make evasive maneuvering impossible. However, I think that many restrictions on vehicles are redundant and wasteful. My list starts with emissions testing.