In a message dated 9/6/01 2:53:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time, davidcole@tk7.net
writes:
<< Wow Henry - talk about opening up a can of worms! >>
All well said, except that one basic legal tenet seems to have been ignored.
"Driving is a privilege, not a right" That is the unpopular loophole that
allows seemingly "less than constitutionally correct" traffic rules to be
promulgated by the states. That is what allows a law to say "it is unlawful
to operate a vehicle EQUIPPED with a (fill in the blank) red or blue light,
radio scanner, siren, radar detector, etc" The burden of proof is on the
accused, rather than the govt, to prove that the vehicle is not "equipped".
Sort of "guilty until proven innocent" I agree, but that's the way it works.
(Except those cases, such as serious DWI, that warrant jury cases, then the
"regular" jurisprudence rules kick in)
In other words, we all agree that "just having the (disconnected ) lightbar
shouldn't be unlawful", but the reality of the situation is that some
slow-witted drivers, or, indeed, over zealous cops, equate the blue or red
light (turned off) that they see in the mirror, as being indicative of some
authority. They then either slow down suddenly, swerve out of the way, get
nervous, etc, etc, etc. In New York State, it is illegal for a police car to
display a blue light. Why? Because blue is reserved for volunteer
firefighters. When I travel in other states where the cops all use blue
lights, in the fast lane, in my pickup truck with blue lights on the bumper,
invariably drivers look in the mirror, and unsafely cut back into the slower
lanes, just through conditioning.
There are many cases on the books where seemingly unfair enforcement tactics
have occurred, and I am talking just traffic related stuff, and it's true
that the reasonably person would agree with the defendant's argument, but
traffic law is a legal world unto itself, based on the premise that I stated
up top of this diatribe: "privilege, not right".
a p bloom
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