Florida Shortened Yellow Lights to Gain Revenue

Red light camera system (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Florida reduces the time on yellow lights by only a fraction of a second and gains $50 million in traffic light revenue.

Traffic light revenues are important because they’re ultimately based on the presumption that we can be charged for an offense that no one actually witnessed.  Yes, some cop may later “witness” the video tape, but that strikes me a kind of hearsay since the cop didn’t witness the actual event.  If the government is allowed to impose fines based on the “testimony” of machines and without eye-witnesses, it won’t be long before you’re issued a ticket for using too much toilet paper based on a computer that monitors your bathroom.

On the one hand, the use of machines (like computers and video recorders) to penalize offenses may be a good thing since such mechanical monitors may help reduce the incidence of offenses and crimes.  On the other hand, the use of machines like computers and video recorders to penalize offenses may be a bad thing since they allow government to grow more efficient and ever-larger without the cost of adding additional personnel.  Mechanical and electronic enforcement devices are conducive to a police state.

 

Warrants?! We Don’ Nee’ No Stinkin’ Warrants! (Unless We’re on Video)

Image via Wikipedia

Here’s an interesting little video of a police officer stopping someone for speeding, asking for permission to search his vehicle for drugs, and being refused that permission unless he produces a warrant to search.  The cop goes ballistic.  I mean bal-lis-TIC!  

The cop’s rage is kinda comical.

Nevertheless, the cop does let the guy go without a speeding ticket or a search of his vehicle.

Why?

Two possible answers:

1) The cop may not like the law in the least, but he still respects it.  I.e., no matter how much the cop wanted to search the car, he knew the driver was right and a search could not lawfully proceed without the driver’s permission or, failing that, a warrant signed by a judge.  The driver refused permission.  No judge was available.  The cop could not lawfully search.

2)  The cop knew that the entire stop was being recorded on his dash-cam.  Therefore, as much as the cop might like to beat the crap out of the driver who dared to ask for a warrant, he couldn’t proceed violently and/or illegally so long as “big brother” (the gov-co) was watching “little brother” (the cop) on video.

I’ll bet the answer is #2.  As pissed as that cop was, the driver of the vehicle escaped an ass-whoopin’ thanks to the dash-cam on the cop’s cruiser.