Scummy Police work

[bigjl]

Originally Posted By: rshaw125
Originally Posted By: Doog
I think sobriety checkpoints are fine. I was twice almost killed by drunk drivers while driving along minding my own business. I have a larger issue with wimpy judges who let these idiots off the hook because they whine like little children in court. The first drunk who hit and injured me eventually got off and went on to kill an 18 year old girl on her way home from a babysitting job. He then got 4 years in jail. She got buried in a 6 foot grave. when the police asked me to testify against him he plead guilty and cut the 4 year deal. I hope he rots in [censored].


His point is they are sobriety check points in name only. As a lot of people predicted they have morphed into much more.

As for Australia,England and Canada it is astonishing how little fight was put up when their respective governments eliminated freedom of speech. And just as astonishing how freedom of the press in the UK is a distant memory.


Since when did they stop free speech in England.

You are aware that they allowed Islamists to vent their opinions on Remembrance Day?


Free speech in the US.

Find the old episode of Top Gear when they painted graffiti on each others cars and were chased out of town by the Good Old Boys.

What does that indicate about free speech?


So from this thread it would seem you are all in favour of driving whilst drunk, stoned, banned. And that driving a car that is in a dangerous condition is also fine.

Are these the "freedoms" that some rather short sighted forum members feel need to be protected.

So breaking the law is a "freedom".

Next thing you know you will be saying they send people to prison for life in a 3 strikes is out kind of a way. And still have the death penalty, In this land of the free you speak of.

And as far as freedoms of the press you do realise that the Levison report is not going to be actioned to restrict press freedom as all the things that led up to it were illegal anyway.

Unless the press in the US are "free" from following the laws of the land in some kind of strange immunity deal.


What exactly does the press in the US say about other countries?

Or does everybody get their "facts" from Wikipedia?

 

[Spazdog]

As I understand it, sobriety checkpoints did not meet the criteria for "probable cause" so they ceased to be here.

9/11 changed all the rules. They could start checkpoints under the guise of "homeland security".

Of course it's actually a money grab. If it was really a threat, the checkpoints would be closer to LTV Grumman or Lockheed Martin. Not next to a giant bar.

Other interests have their fingers in that pie. Bondsmen, towing companies, Ignition Interlock providers, Continuous Skin Monitor ankle bracelet providers, Drug testing companies....it's big business not just for the municipality or county.

Funny how much bad decisions move our economy.

It is a HUGE inconvenience to those of us who drive responsibly but compared to some more Draconian countries like Switzerland or Germany, it's still not so bad.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: rshaw125
Originally Posted By: bigjl
I am happy to be delayed if it gets one person that thinks laws don't apply to them just because it is driving related brought to justice.


So everyone is a suspect? Law abiding citizens have to show innocence. That is a Police state. You are a subject not a citizen.
+1 They call it "profiling" here and it's illegal.

 

[surfstar]

Driving is a priviledge, not a right. Don't want to deal with a random checkpoint - don't drive.

 

[earlyre]

as a life long American, whose time spent outside of the US amounts to less than a fortnight in Canada, and would much rather live either in Canada, Blighty, or down under, my responses are in blue below.
Originally Posted By: bigjl

Since when did they stop free speech in England.

You are aware that they allowed Islamists to vent their opinions on Remembrance Day?


Free speech in the US.

Find the old episode of Top Gear when they painted graffiti on each others cars and were chased out of town by the Good Old Boys.
exactly, they were run out of town by "good 'ol boys", not any government official. so your reference is invalid in the context of this discussion

What does that indicate about free speech?
all it indicates is that a section of our population (I'm sure this would be true in most other countries as well) are ignorant A-holes, whose first response to something they don't like/understand is to beat it up.


So from this thread it would seem you are all in favour of driving whilst drunk, stoned, banned. And that driving a car that is in a dangerous condition is also fine.
Not so much to the fist part, but to the second, there are VAST portions of this country that have NO kind of mandatory vehicle inspections (ex:MOT) and for the areas that do it is largely just an emissions check. were they to try and implement an annual or even bi-annual safety inspection, you'd be able to hear the mass whinging from the American people without a TV, radio, or the internet. even in Austrailia.


Are these the "freedoms" that some rather short sighted forum members feel need to be protected.

So breaking the law is a "freedom".to quote one of the Good ol Boys on the discovery channel series "Moonshiners": " 'Aint nothin' illegal 'till you get caught "

Next thing you know you will be saying they send people to prison for life in a 3 strikes is out kind of a way. And still have the death penalty, In this land of the free you speak of.1) yep. 2)some states yes, some states no, and the legal methods of execution vary from state to state. Mostly it's Lethal Injection, abut a few states still allow hanging, and/or a Firing Squad.
3) yep we are also all free to shut the heck up, but few choose to do so

And as far as freedoms of the press you do realise that the Levison report is not going to be actioned to restrict press freedom as all the things that led up to it were illegal anyway.No idea what that is, so no response

Unless the press in the US are "free" from following the laws of the land in some kind of strange immunity deal.
mainly they don't have to name their sources

What exactly does the press in the US say about other countries?
Largely nothing. and many here are fine with that.
they only care about what happens to them.
and really, most of the US Press gave up on things like Journalism more than 20 years ago, with the proliferation of the 24hr Cable "news" networks. they have so much time to fill, that they have mostly jumped on the bandwagon of sensationalism, and do what they can to keep the people just scared enough to keep their critical thinking disengaged.

Or does everybody get their "facts" from Wikipedia?
they'd probably get better info from wikipedia than they do from Fox News, which more and more people seem to believe is actually a news network, instead of what it is, the Propaganda engine of the Republican Party, and Rupert Murdoch.

 

[AVB]

Originally Posted By: bigjl


Since when did they stop free speech in England.

You are aware that they allowed Islamists to vent their opinions on Remembrance Day?


Free speech in the US.

Find the old episode of Top Gear when they painted graffiti on each others cars and were chased out of town by the Good Old Boys.

What does that indicate about free speech?



I thought that was pretty funny. It is meant to be entertainment, it is not a educational show.

 

[The_Jeff]

Also the US Border Patrol has jurisdiction within 100 miles of the border. I've seen them on I-89 at the VT/NH border...

 

[cchase]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Also the US Border Patrol has jurisdiction within 100 miles of the border. I've seen them on I-89 at the VT/NH border...


They love I-93 south of Littleton as well.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: bigjl
Originally Posted By: Pablo
Originally Posted By: rshaw125
Originally Posted By: bigjl
I am happy to be delayed if it gets one person that thinks laws don't apply to them just because it is driving related brought to justice.


So everyone is a suspect? Law abiding citizens have to show innocence. That is a Police state. You are a subject not a citizen.


USA is getting closer to that line. Still glad I live in the USA where Napoleonic law does not rule. Odd the Brits and some former colonies cave so easily.



You are aware that the OP is in Australia I take it.

From your comment I assume you have very rarely if ever been outside the US.

I personally thought the legal system was based on English Common Law in nearly every US state apart from Louisiana.

Not sure why you mention Napoleonic Law.

I am not French.

Even Canada's laws are based on English Common Law.

Have you forgotten that America was colonised?


Clearly you have forgotten that we found the colonization unacceptable, mostly over a few small legal niceties...such as presumption of innocence, right to trial by jury of peers, provisions against unreasonable searches and seizures...

Things that didn't quite catch on in the rest of the colonies to the degree that they did here...

Perhaps due to a shortage of patriot founders who established this country with strongly held convictions - evidenced in statements like, "Give me liberty or give me death"..."those who are willing to trade liberty for security will have neither liberty nor security"...

We are a different culture on this side of the pond... and different than our neighbors to the North.

I've spent quite a lot of time in your nation, including war college with the RNR, and understand the differences...perhaps it's you who need to travel and learn why we see things differently than you.

 

[Shannow]

To the overly righteous in the thread, note my OP had nothing to do with the virtues of driving unroadworthy vehicles while intoxicated...

It was about the Police, pulling the stunt of creating a false "road works", so that they could carry out an activity that isn't legal in that location...there's another spot near town, in a 70 zone, on the same bit of road.

It's about putting the "Speed Camera in use" sign after the car/camera, because the legislation stated "within 100m".

It's about trolling the highway at night with driving lights blazing, tailgating, then using a "check brake", or "flash" from an oncoming motorist as "suspicion" to perform a search.

RBT is a fact of life. My first when I was 17, had my licence for 1:15, and was driving parents and family home from midnight mass 28 years ago.

Every patrol car is an RBT, they can set up camp at any legal point (not 100km/hr zones),and pull anyone that they want over. Can be checked on the way to work, way home from work, driving between worksites.

 

[Trajan]

Originally Posted By: Doog


BTW in the USA we have a larger right to not get killed by some jerkwad drinking and driving. There is not ONE person in the USA who has not been educated to the fact that this practice is simply wrong and dangerous to the public.


This^^^^

 

[OtisBlkR1]

Funny how much bad decisions move our economy.

[/quote


lord aint that the truth.. Imagine if everyone was suddenly "good" how many Police, Correctional, court, lawyers, ETC would be looking for work.. Crime is BIG,BIG, buisness (for the good guys)...

 

[crinkles]

a planted backhoe... gives "road plant" a whole new meaning. Never can quite understand the use of "road plant". I always see it as a bush stuck in the middle of the road.

 

[crinkles]

Originally Posted By: Pablo


You are aware that the OP is in Australia I take it. - Exactly why I wrote what I wrote. "some former colonies cave so easily."



Pabst, you do realise we're STILL a colony right?

 

[Shannow]

Drove through it all on the way home this arvo (other side of the highway, so watched it as we passed).

It's straight out of Mad Max...half a mile of queued traffic, as they pull everybody in.

Cars literally being gutted at the side of the road (our side too).

 

[Silk]

We have random checks here too, but usually not major disruptive ones. They are sneaky though, putting them around corners and on roads with no escape routes....in town a favourite one is over the bridge, you can't see it over the curvature of the bridge, and it's too narrow to U turn. A couple of years ago some chick did a runner there - floored it and over the traffic island, cut across the grounds of the Mormon Church, and on the next corner hit and flipped a Landcruiser. Sometimes they do them at 8.00am, seems there are a lot of drunks on the road at that time.

We have a serious out of control drink culture here, and I'm sure OZ has too. Last saturday was National Crate Day - on crate day you are supposed to drink a crate of beer...a crate is a wooden crate of a dozen 750ml bottles. I wasn't involved, I haven't drunk a crate since I was in my teens, but some of the guys at work came in with stories of their Crate Day.

Apparently one of the Rights we hold dear in this country is the Right to drive your car on the road when you are so drunk you can't even stand up. As well as getting these drunks of the road, they find stolen cars, drugs and unlicensed firearms...and the odd escapee from custody.

Our Police don't carry weapons of any sort on their body, we don't need controlling in that way. Punching a Cop and then running away isn't going to get you shot in New Zealand.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: crinkles
Originally Posted By: Pablo


You are aware that the OP is in Australia I take it. - Exactly why I wrote what I wrote. "some former colonies cave so easily."



Pabst, you do realise we're STILL a colony right?


Bloody right. There is that. I thought you were booted out ages ago.

 

[Shannow]

Day three of the blitz and they are still going strong.

Seems that they only have accomodation booked until tonight, which will make it a 4 day event...I know two guys who've been RBTd there twice in the same day

Interestingly, this event doesn't rate a mention on the radio road patrol.