Text 461, 151 rader
Skriven 2004-08-31 08:36:55 av Jack Yates (1:3613/1275)
    Kommentar till text 453 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
Ärende: Fido on the move via cell phone.
========================================

 MV> Eh, no. Over here - in The Netherlands - tractors have no plates
 MV> either. That will change in the not too distant future I understand,
 MV> but up until now, agricultural vehicles need no registration. This is
 MV> different in other European countries. In Germany they need plates if
 MV> they come on public roads.

I stand corrected!  Upon reflection, it was a Swedish website dedicated to the
Lanz Bulldog that I was thinking of when I wrote this.


 >> MV> And the cop operaing the gun will notice this and he or
 >> MV> his partner will come after you...

 >> Over THERE, perhaps so; but HERE, the cop has no reason to
 >> come after you,

 MV> The law is different here. Here a cop does not need a formal reason to
 MV> stop a car. They can do a "routine inspection". They can set up road
 MV> blocks and stop everyone, or they can stop individial cars for no
 MV> reason. of course usually the cop will do that because his nose tells
 MV> him there is something odd, but he does not need a formal reason. He
 MV> can stop you because he is bored and needs to talk to someone...

We've this thing called "probable cause", for one, and unless the cop sees
something that's illegal such as a broken tail-light, license plate dangling by
one bolt, or other obvious infraction, he cannot stop you and search your car. 
They can, of course, set up a road-block and stop everyone, checking for
driver's licenses, insurance cards and, of course, DUIs, but they must not
single out any certain class of person, letting others go through.  This is
called "profiling" and has become a valid defense in some courts.  Once the
officer stops you, he may look about the car to see if there are other
infractions, but may not "search" the car, i.e have access to closed
compartments, under the seat, etc, without the driver's permission or a
warrant.


 MV> Up until recently they could only "inspect" things related to road
 MV> safety and regulations. Such as drivers licence and insurance, if the
 MV> tires and the brakes are ok, etc etc. But now - under pressure of the
 MV> terrorist alarmists - they can also check other things, like the
 MV> presence of illegal arms. They can now ask you to open the boot.

They can "ask" here, too, and woe betide you if you say "no"; then they tow the
car to the inpound lot and may let you have it, in pieces, when they are
through searching, if they find nothing.  If they "do" find something (here,
the big thing is drugs) they confiscate the car and sell it or use it in their
own fleet as an undercover car.

 >> even in the states where radar/laser detectors are illegal.
 >> Though he might assume that his incorrect reading is the result
 >> of the use of a laser-emulating device, if he can't see the
 >> device,

 MV> No need to see it here. He may search the car for hidden devices. And
 MV> they are not dumb, if they suspect you have one, they will find it if
 MV> there is one...

Different places, different laws.

 >> and if you aren't speeding at such a rate that is readily
 >> detecable by the naked eye, say 10 MPH over the speed limit.
 >> he has no reason to come after you.

 MV> That's different here too. Even if you go 200, he can do nothing about
 MV> the speeding without a decent measurement. But he can come after you
 MV> and mke life miserable for you...

Ahhh...my teenage years come back to mind..


 MV> As I explained to Raymond, the cops here have a different mission.
 MV> They put a higher priority on catching the illegal devices than
 MV> catching as many speeders as they can.

 MV> They feel that the people having such devices are a greater threat to
 MV> road safety in the long run than the average mild speeder.

Gee; I used a radar detector for years and I didn't drive any different then
than I do now, never hit anything either.


 >> MV> Over here they are not in a car. They hide behind a tree or
 >> MV> something. By the time you see them it is too late..

 >> While over THERE, it may be quite acceptable for the police
 >> to hide while "working traffic" over HERE, in MY state it
 >> is prohibited.

 MV> Different country, different laws. Over here they also patrol in
 MV> unmarked cars.

 >> Radar/laser may not be used within a curve or bend in the road,.
 >> nor on a grade that exceeds 7per cent,

 MV> We don't have that many of them in The Netherlands... ;-)

A pity, that means there's no "downhill" either :-)

 MV> But in Germany they /do/ speed checks on the downhill stretches of the
 MV> highways as they can often catch people with caravans that way. There
 MV> is a general speed limit of 80 km/h for vehicles with trailers in most
 MV> countries in Europe.

That was a trick they used to catch truckers, back when the semi-tractors only
had about 250 horsepower and would take advantage of the downhill to gather
enough speed to get up the next hill without shifting 6 or 7 times. When the
fuel crunch came, and then the national speed limit of 55 MPH, many police
agencies, most notably the various State Police, discontinued that practice as
it was counterproductive to the reason for the speed limit, which was to save
fuel.

 >> and the officer's car must be clearly marked with
 >> appropriate signage stating that it is an enforcement
 >> vehicle, and if built after 2001 must have a roof light
 >> display.

 MV> If their precense is that obvious, I wonder how they manage to catch
 MV> any speeders at all...

They never run out of something to do.  One deputy has, on occasion, gone
through 2 ticket books in one shift, 20 tickets to the book.

The city of Columbus. Ga (our nearby Big City, I live in the country, in the
next county) "descended" on a particular area, including a two-lane feeder in a
residential area last Friday.  They wrote 132 tickets there, including a man in
a Jaguar at 77 MPH and a woman in a Ford Explorer at 82.  The speed limit was
45.


 >> MV> The aim is not to catch as many as possible, but to keep
 >> MV> people from speeding. A plainly visible but non operational
 >> MV> camera has that effect.

 >> Our county has 3 plainly visible and operational Sheriff's
 >> deputies who generate a half-million dollars per year in
 >> traffic fines, almost the entire department budget.  Speed
 >> trap?  No.  You have to be going 15 MPH over the limit, 70+
 >> MPH to get their attention.

 MV> Hmmm.. over here the margin is 3 kph (2 mph) for speeds under 100 kph
 MV> and 3% above that.

 MV> 15 mph is pretty near the 30 kph limit at which they can hold you
 MV> licence...

I think it's the limit +35 here, and at the judge's discretion.


--- McGuffey's Reader                                 GoldED+/W32
 * Origin:    (1:3613/1275)