Text 15299, 251 rader
Skriven 2005-10-31 09:58:14 av Roy Witt (1:1/22)
  Kommentar till text 15113 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
Ärende: looters in NO
=====================
25 Oct 05 15:14, Michiel van der Vlist wrote to Roy Witt:


 >> people in California and probably as many cars registered. The
 >> Highway Patrol isn't allowed to use radar/laser on passenger vehicles,

 MvdV> Odd. Why would they forgo on such an efficinet means of catching
 MvdV> speeders?

That has been one of the things that puzzles me too. However, I find it
easier to drive down those roads, knowing that I'm not going to be caught
by some modern gadget that I can't refute on the spot, it's integrety.

 >> so they have to rely on pacing to catch a speeder. In all of
 >> my years driving on California roads, I learned that the only
 >> way they can pace you is if you don't see them.

 MvdV> How can you not see them?

When you're driving on a 5 lane freeway, especially with California's 30
some million cars and trucks on the road, it's awfully hard to spot them
in the crowd. Especially so if you're busy driving too aggressively to
notice.

 >> You don't see them because they take advantage of your
 >> blind spot to the right rear.

 MvdV> You don't have a right hand mirror to take care of that?

Yes, every car has a right side mirror. But, as I explained, unless you're
very observant and know their tricks, the chances of you being surprised
by the sudden appearance of a trooper is pretty good.

 >> I learned to drive in the right hand lanes and to watch for
 >> them while maintaining a faster pace than those in the
 >> left hand lanes.

 MvdV> Ah, that alone would get you a ticket here. Overtaking on the right
 MvdV> is not allowed except when going at walking speed in a traffic yam.

That'd be a good idea if there weren't those who stubbornly drive in the
'passing' lane slower than traffic is allowed to go. Not allowing any
passing to the right on a 5 lane freeway would be rediculous.

 >> way. That one time above, I was in the left lane and hadn't
 >> been paying attention.

 MvdV> Over here pacing to catch speeders is no longer standard procedure.
 MvdV> Too cost intensive. 99% of the speeers are caught by automatic
 MvdV> cameras. The camera sends the picture to the centrak cimputer, its
 MvdV> software reads the number from the plates and send you the ticket.
 MvdV> No human involved.

They started that here with cameras at traffic light intersections to
catch red-light runners.  In California, they became quite controversial,
as they were considered a violation of our Constitutional 4th amendment
rights. Since California is such a liberal haven, that was thrown out of
the courts. Still, the cameras they had in San Diego were shut down for a
time, because there was a conflict of interest involved, as the cameras
were owned and operated by a private company, who shared in the fines
collected from the violators. All that money had to be returned to those
who paid their fines. Then the cities had to pick up the tab for the
cameras and maintain a collection force on their own.

Now I hear that they have those cameras on some interstate freeways here
in Texas. Of course, the thing to do there is to find out where they are
and mount your rear plate on a hinge that you can manipulate from the
drivers seat.

 >>>> Texas just passed a new law that eliminates the front plate as
 >>>> of November 1st...

 MvdV>>> It isn't Nov 1st yet. So technically you are still inviolation...

My Silveado pickup doesn't have a front plate on it either. While on my
way back from California, last Friday, I was tooling along about 85mph on
interstate 10, heading east from El Paso. The speed limit is 75mph, by
day, 65mph by night. As I got into the rolling hills of west Texas,
sometimes my speed reached 95mph going down hill, then 75mph as I reached
the crests. I passed a little red Honda Civic with a young man at the
wheel. He fell in behind me and began to pace me at those speeds I
mentioned.

Then for some reason, he decided to ride in the left lane of this two lane
road. Against the law in Texas, as that lane is reserved for passing only.
At first he hung on my tail, then he caught up and passed me, only to
return to my tail again. This went on for quite a while, many miles down
the road. Out of the blue appeared a Texas state trooper coming from the
opposite direction. He slowed down and gave us a look as if to intimidate
us into stopping, I guess. The youngster in the Honda, who was now next to
me, panicked and slammed on his brakes, then fell in behind me and began
to lose ground. I just stepped off the gas to get down to the speed
limit. The trooper then crossed the median, and then paced us for a while
and then decided to pull over the little red Honda.

I thinkk in the troopers eyes, the Honda driver looked the guiltiest, as
he was in that passing lane and we were going about 85mph about then. Had
the kid not panicked, he could have passed me as I backed off, and the
trooper would have probably stopped me. The difference between youthful
zeal to be the fastest and an experienced law dodger prevailed once more.

 >> That's true, but I can see an officer explaining to a judge
 >> why he ticketed me for no front plate, when the front plate law
 >> expired in less than two weeks.

 MvdV> Over here there would be little to explain. Up until Nov 1st front
 MvdV> plates are required. Period. It would be up tp you to explain why
 MvdV> you think you have the right to ignore the law. Most likely the
 MvdV> judge would triple your fine just for wasting his time over such a
 MvdV> minor issue.

Over here I would ask for an extension and plead not guilty. If the
officer happened to appear at the ensuing trial, it'd be months down the
road and the chances of the ticket being thrown out would be greater than
not.

 >> And all I need to do is show the court that the car now
 >> has a front plate to get out of the ticket.

 MvdV> That is even more silly. Mounting a plate after the occuerence of
 MvdV> the violation annuls it?

Yeup. It's called a 'fix-it' ticket. This also happens for instance, if
your car has a burned out light bulb. Show any officer that it's been
fixed and they'll sign off the ticket.

 MvdV>>> Over here, the state does not issue the plates. After you have
 MvdV>>> the registration, you can go to an approved plate manufaturer and
 MvdV>>> you can buy two plates for a car and one for a motor cycle.

 >> The states manufacture they're plates in their own prisons.
 >> This gives the inmates something to do besides lift weights
 >> and watch TV. Thus, I get something in return for my taxes
 >> that support those prisoners.

 MvdV> Over here that would be considered unfair competion for the regular
 MvdV> plate manufacturres.

Over here any private company producing license plates would be charged
with forgery.

 MvdV>>> If you lose a plate or if it is stolen, you can not just buy a
 MvdV>>> new one. You have to rerigister and you get plates with a marker
 MvdV>>> showing they are replacements. That costs money and it is hassle.

 >> This is why Texas will only be issuing one plate after 11-1...
 >> They've removed the registration from the plate itself and have
 >> moved them to the windshield.

 MvdV> We'v had registration stickers on the windshield too. That system
 MvdV> was abandonned some twenty or 15 years ago. Same for the tag on the
 MvdV> plate for the compulsory yearly vehicle inspection.

Everybody has a different way of doing these things. California doesn't
have a safety inspection, except on commercial vehicles. They do, however,
have a smog check every other year. You can't get a new registration until
it passes that check. They issue you a certificate that must accompany
your registration renewal and of course, your proof of liability
insurance.

 MvdV> It is all in the computer of the department of vehicle
 MvdV> registration. Cops don;t have to stop you to check te registration,
 MvdV> all they do is enter the number on their keyboard of their on-board
 MvdV> terminal and they get all the data in seconds. or if the squad car
 MvdV> is not equiped wit at terminal ask the dispatcher at the police
 MvdV> station to do it for them.

It's the same here in Texas. That sticker on the front windshield isn't
very visible to the rear, so they rely on their laptop computer in the car
to check out your car.

 MvdV> Of course this systems, like the automatic speed trap depends on
 MvdV> the plates being accurate. A false plate would defeat the system.
 MvdV> So three years ago they introduced new plates that are a lot harder
 MvdV> to forge than the old ones.

I notice that your plates are a mile wide, compared to ours.

 MvdV> Here you see a picture of the new plates:

 MvdV> http://www.emergencyvehicles.nl/images/kenteken1.jpg

 MvdV> On the lower left of the yellow part, marked by the pointer "Unieke
 MvdV> code" is a ten digit number. Every plate has a unique number which
 MvdV> is registered to the owner.

I saw that, and several others. Two with NL, but I couldn't translate the
explanation.

 MvdV> If the car gets scrapped, the plates must be handed in for official
 MvdV> destruction.

 MvdV> If you lose a plate, you must file a report with the local police
 MvdV> and with that you can get a new registration with the same number
 MvdV> but with a so called "duplicate code". The duplicate code is a
 MvdV> number ranging from 1 to 19. The duplicate code is imprinted on
 MvdV> your replacement plates above the left dash between the second and
 MvdV> third character. The plate on the picture has replacement code 2.
 MvdV> Replacement code 0 is not shown. Cars with a "1" are quite common
 MvdV> now. "2"'s are rare and I have only seen one "3" so far.
 Numbers >> 9 are shown by imprinting the last digit below the dash.

I saw that and a word in the description that translates to duplicate...

 MvdV> So if your plates get stolen and the thief is photographed, it is
 MvdV> immidiately known that it is not you speeding there, but someone
 MvdV> else.

That's about the way it works here too.

 MvdV> The marker above the right hyphen shows the number of the plate
 MvdV> manufacturer. The marker on the right middle shows the year and
 MvdV> week of issue.

Ahhh, the NL markers.

 MvdV> Only a very limited number of firms are allowed to produce the
 MvdV> blanks. Ten I think. Then there are a few hundred who are licensed
 MvdV> to produce the ready plates.

 MvdV> Of course nothing is full proof, but you need a lot more than just
 MvdV> paint shop and a good colour printer to produce a plate that can
 MvdV> stand up to more than a casual glance.

 MvdV> Knowingly and willingly driving with forged plates carries a
 MvdV> maximum fine of EUR 5000 or six month in prison.

Here, you lose the car. It's impounded and sold by the state. At least,
that's the case in California. They do a lot of things differently here in
Texas.

 MvdV>>> As a result plates are usually not just screwed on any more. Pop
 MvdV>>> nails, or whatever you call them is the popular way of fastening.

 >> Pop rivets.

 MvdV> That was the word I was looking for.

 >> Yes, those make things more permanent and less
 >> prone to theft than screws.

 MvdV> Indeed.

Auto manufacturers are beginning to assemble their cars with those. The
power window motors and some of the handles are attached to the doors with
pop rivots these days.


Roy
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