I should have reported the idiot who once passed me at about 70mph, on the right, in a lane that was just ending, between me and a concrete barrier, while leaning right to fiddle with his hair in his rearview mirror. (I guess he couldn't adjust his mirror 'cause that would have been unsafe.) He was adjusting his hair all the way from the Dulles Toll Plaza at I-495 to VA-28.
I realize that I am in disagreement with many of my friends on this, but I believe that there's nothing wrong with having cameras in public places, and that people should expect that anything they do in a public place is fair game for inspection and (if they are breaking a law) correction (warning, fine, arrest).
I don't believe that a person's car is entirely a private place *if* it is in a public place itself (a highway, a road, a carpark). I would say that it's storage areas (boot, glove box, etc.) are analagous to one's pockets (not searchable without probable cause or a warrant) but that anyone one is doing in or with the car while in a public place (speeding, operating dangerous machinery in a careless manner, consuming alcohol, having sex, carrying/loading/preparing to fire a gun) is not protected or "private" simply because one is inside a privately owned vehicle. I don't have a clear idea whether the law in the US or the UK agrees with me. :-)
Well, I hear a lot of complaint in the US about speed cameras being used to raise money, and how police only give out speeding tickets to raise funds for the county/city but, you know, people still have to be speeding to get cited.
And if enough people feel the system is being abused, it comes down. Fairfax decided that they could live without red light cameras after doing a test run and getting lots of public protest, despite the fact that accidents at intersections where the cameras were used dropped by nearly 40% and red-light running dropped by close to 70%. But people don't like getting caught breaking the law, so instead of having cameras out there to allow more policemen to deal with more serious crime, we've done away with the cameras.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2006-03-08 04:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-10 12:35 pm (UTC)I don't believe that a person's car is entirely a private place *if* it is in a public place itself (a highway, a road, a carpark). I would say that it's storage areas (boot, glove box, etc.) are analagous to one's pockets (not searchable without probable cause or a warrant) but that anyone one is doing in or with the car while in a public place (speeding, operating dangerous machinery in a careless manner, consuming alcohol, having sex, carrying/loading/preparing to fire a gun) is not protected or "private" simply because one is inside a privately owned vehicle. I don't have a clear idea whether the law in the US or the UK agrees with me. :-)
What do you think?
no subject
Date: 2006-03-11 12:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-11 01:25 pm (UTC)And if enough people feel the system is being abused, it comes down. Fairfax decided that they could live without red light cameras after doing a test run and getting lots of public protest, despite the fact that accidents at intersections where the cameras were used dropped by nearly 40% and red-light running dropped by close to 70%. But people don't like getting caught breaking the law, so instead of having cameras out there to allow more policemen to deal with more serious crime, we've done away with the cameras.