Oh fer crying out loud

[cute fuzzy bunny]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060323/od_nm/bars1_dc

Whats next? Knocking on your door and sniffing your breath?

[REWahoo]

This is a reaction to the fact that Texas has consistently lead the nation in drunk-driving related deaths. (We're Number 1! We're Number 1! :P) In spite of a large effort to enforce DUI laws (it was only a few years back when and open container law was finally passed), bubba doesn't want anyone telling him he can't have another cold one on the way home.

I'm guessing it's another scare tactic to try to curb the carnage on the roads.

[lazygood4nothinbum]

public intoxication at a bar? there's a concept. i'm not a drinker and don't care much for drunk drivers but probably they cause less accidents here then our elderly population driving under the influence of alzheimer's disease.

but i'll bet it does a lot of good for the cops' ego when they can solve a crime. (and think of the cost savings on all the investigation that went into it.)

[2B]

Two comments......by another Texan.......

Texas has recently changed the fee structure for many traffic and criminal offenses. *The City of Houston is about to start using redlight cameras to ticket redlight runners. *All told, it amounts to the largest tax increase Texas has ever implemented. *On the plus side I don't run redlights and haven't gotten any other tickets for years. *It will be applied disproportionately on the "poor." *Aren't they the usual suspects in any crime other than Enron? *Anyway, ticketing people in bars for drinking will probably go over better than an increase in the liquor tax.

My other point was a situation that occurred many years ago in a smaller Texas town. *The local men in blue were charging a substantial amount of money to be "bouncers" at a local watering hole. *It wasn't all that rowdy as Texas beer joints and dance halls go. *It also wasn't very big. *The off-duty police sat in their car and snoozed most of the time. *To save money the owner hired some non-police bouncers who actually did control the little bit of rowdyness that went on. *After about 2 weeks of their loss of income, they staged a raid on a Friday night and arrested everyone in the men's room for being drunk in public. *They did it again on Saturday night. *By the next weekend the police were getting their money again. *Suddenly, the rash of public drunkeness ended.

Follow the money. *I'm sure that's what will drive the enforcement. *Municipalities will get "much needed" revenue. *Plus, it's also a great way for the local police to "reduce drunk driving" by focusing on the places that aren't their "friends."

Somebody sloppily drunk out on the street is "public drunkeness." *Selective enforcement within bars is another form of harassment. *I don't condone drunk, or more importantly, impaired driving but that is where is the hazard is. *If controlling that is the goal, sit outside bars and see who can't walk straight to their cars and pull them over when they start to leave. *We've been hammering the whole concept of "designated driver" but now that isn't good enough. *People now can't go to bars to drink. *I've listened to some MADD spokesmen talk. *I think they are the modern version of the WCTU.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I'm just thinking of the problems with defining "drunk in public". Its not set out quite as well as the BAC for driving. Basically its in the cops judgement whether you're "drunk".

Is it two beers? Four? Six?

What if you're being well mannered and have a sober driver? What about when we all went out to celebrate our softball teams latest and most hideous loss, sat out on the patio by ourselves where we quietly poured 4 shots of tequila into ourselves while waiting for our sober wives to come pick us up?

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Ah yes, the red light cameras. We're getting those in our town now. The next town over was suffering a budget shortfall of about 400k and was looking at what the most irritatingly vulnerable public servant they could lay off that would result in public outcry, institution of some tax increase or other, and the subsequent heroic rehire.

Then they got the camera.

The camera grossed a million dollars in one month. At $400 a pop, it doesnt take long. The towns net in that first month filled their budget shortfall and then some. Four more went up the next month. My town has four going in.

I dont have much of a problem with slapping a $400 ticket on someone who cold runs a red light and makes people swerve or jam on the brakes, but $400 for hitting a light that turns red 1/10th of a second before you go across the limit line is a bit much.

A recent news story said they were considering these for stop signs at key intersections as well.

I wouldnt even complain about the people who barely break the law as mentioned above, but heres the fun part. The little town only has 3 cops, and now one is full time at the station watching red light camera tapes and writing tickets to be mailed.

That town has plenty of drug dealers, gang activity and so forth. Almost every daily front page talks about a stabbing or a shooting. I think I mentioned once before that one of my neighbors wife died suddenly in her car, in a fast food restaurant parking lot in that above mentioned town. Managed to get her driver door open and turned on the hazard lights. In plain view of the main intersection in town. Nobody found her for over 3 hours.

Its all about the revenue, baby...

[2B]

I thought I was jaded and cynical. Unfortunately, the stunts our elected officials pull "for the children" make me sick.

BTW, "drunk in public" is based entirely on the opinion of the arresting officer. Unlike DWI, there is no blood test or breath analyzer. There's no need or reason to video the "drunk." Try defending yourself from "the opinion of the arresting officer."

The next great ripoff in Texas will be the selling of the toll roads for big piles of cash. That was they can get the decades of tolls NOW to spend NOW. Of course, I remember when they build the Sam Houston Tollway that the tolls would be stopped when the roads were paid for. They've been paid for a long time and the toll booths are still up. They recently raised the tolls to $1.25 because too many people were using the toll roads.

[Eagle43]

I suspect that some of those Texas Redlight Cameras will be found with shotgun shells in them! Then they will have to get a camera to watch the camera!

[REWahoo]

I understand this guy is heading up the Texas "Drunk In Public" law enforcement operation:



Rumor has it the judge will throw the book at you if he discovers your nickname is "Tater Salad"...

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Something similar happened here. Some guys trailer "came unattached" from his truck and despite his assurance that he hooked up the safety chains and everything, crashed into the red light camera pole and creamed it.

I'm not making this up, but I heard that there are some areas that are now putting up cameras to watch the red light cameras to catch the people who are vandalizing them.

I can see the next step after this one...cameras to catch the vandals that are vandalizing the anti-vandal cameras that are watching the vandals vandalize the red light cameras...

[Scrapr]

re: Red light cameras We have several in the towns around us. BIIIIIGGGG money maker. So after a bit they decided to "fix" the lights. Ended up shortening the yellow light. Thus.....More tickets

Mo Money

watch your 6

[lazygood4nothinbum]

when they get everyone so skittish that we're stopping on yellow instead of on red, do we get to sue the city for damages because the guy behind us thought we'd "run" a yellow? or if i stop on yellow because i'm not photogenic in red, am i the one responsible if the guy behind me hits?

[sgeeeee]

Red Light Cameras: *I think Arizona was a leader in this. *Whatever you think is wrong with this idea, you don't know the half of it. *In the Phoenix area they don't buy these systems, they lease them. *This is done so that any legal challenges to the system become more complex. *You have to subpoena information not only from the local law enforcement officials, but also from an out of state company. *It also puts pressure on the localities that lease them to make sure the system writes enough tickets each month to pay the lease. *When the initial installations weren't paying for themselves, the towns here shortened the yellow lights. *There . . . that produced profit.

But here's the real kicker. *The system can't be build that doesn't produce false positives. *Think about it. *In Arizona, if the nat on the end of your front bumper crosses the leading plane of the intersection prior to the light turning red, then by law you are obliged to go through the interection. *If the nat is one nat's wisker away from crossing the plane of the intersection when the light turns red, you must stop. *

The sensors are Electromagnetic metal detectors (similar to what airports use) placed under the pavement. *They detect metal moving above them with a location accuracy of probably about + or - 6 to 12 inches. *So you start placing those sensors anywhere you want. *They use 2. *Try to take into account how they are going to work if there is a motorcycle ahead or behind you. *How they are going to work if there is a semi-trailer ahead or behind you. *How they are going to work if you are stopped in the intersection when the light turns red. etc. *

Now get a ticket with one and find out how you can go about fighting it. *First they tell you that you can review the photographs. *Amazingly, the cameras take dozens of pictures. *You look. *"Yes that's me in my car, but I can't see the light so I don't know what color it is or where the front bumper of my car is when the light changed. *I notice that when the first picture was taken, I seem to be half way across the intersection. *Is that normal?" *And the answer you get to all your questions is, "the system is infallible. *I don't know how it works, but if that's you in the picture, you are guilty."

The local police have a cop hired who does nothing but testifies in court on photo red light cases. *You can talk to that cop and figure out that they don't know anything about the system, the installation where you were photographed or anything else. *But they do have memorized testimony for the judge. *The testimony goes something like this: *"The system is infallible. *That's you in the picture. *You are guilty." *You can ask for specific information about the system and installation, but that is held by an out of state company, so you will have to hire a lawyer and subpoena those records. *You will not have credibility in court explaining that the sytem won't work. *You will need to hire an expert witness to argue against the company's expert witness. *A judge may believe yours or may belive theirs -- no guarantees. *Estimated cost to have a chance to beat that red light ticket: *$20,000 - $40,000.

I'm not bitter. *

[eridanus]

Originally Posted by sgeeeee

In the Phoenix area they don't buy these systems, they lease them. This is done so that any legal challenges to the system become more complex.

So if you happened to accidentally spill some black paint on the camera lens, you wouldn't be doing damage to state property?

[VoyT]

Originally Posted by Soon2B

The next great ripoff in Texas will be the selling of the toll roads for big piles of cash.* That was they can get the decades of tolls NOW to spend NOW.*

It's already happening in Indiana. The gov. got the OK to lease the toll road to a Spanish-Australian consortium -- deal worth nearly $4 billion. The radio wags are asking if the State Police will still patrol, or will we get tickets from the Barcelona or Sydney police?

[cute fuzzy bunny]

How many times has the Mass Turnpike been paid for now?

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Up heeah in Alberta, there are "Green Machines": green minivans with radar and cameras in them. The cops are having trouble getting operators. It seems that angry citizens, mostly in cities, are sneaking up on them and smashing the windows, scaring the little old ladies in them half to death.

[Maximillion]

I am very cautious at intersections, the main benefit of the CRV is that we can see above traffic, and three times in the last week, had we not been watching, we would have been TBoned by an idiot running the red light.

It is not a joke, bring them on, .

Florida was particularlybad, their lights tend to be extra long there, so people frequently run the lights, being mainly tourists I guess they ignore the fines??