Posted on 06/02/2005 8:20:41 AM PDT by tgslTakoma
Edited on 06/02/2005 8:25:19 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Rockville, Md. (AP) - Maryland State Police are using a military tool in the battle against seat belt violators.
They're using night vision goggles to find people who don't buckle up after dark. Police say 40 percent of drivers don't use their seat belts at night, making the roads much more dangerous after sunset. Police in Maryland are among 13,000 agencies nationwide that are now using the goggles.
With the goggles, Police say they can see inside cars at a distance, allowing them to nail violators who might otherwise go undetected.
The new strategy is paying off. At a seat belt enforcement operation Wednesday night on Rockville Pike, officers issued at least 44 tickets for seat belt violations.
ping
Undoubtedly the goggles were paid for by the fines they're raking in.
Bad policy, bad policing.
Why were the seat belt violators wearing night vision goggles?......
I thought the title meant that the seat belt violators were wearing night vision goggles. Who writes this stuff?
If the police have time for this, surely we can send them TDY to El Paso to help out the border patrol..
Let me get this straight....I can choose to end a pregnancy.....but I cannot choose whether or not I want to wear a seat belt.
Go figure
It warms my heart to see our tax dollars being spent to catch these dangerous criminals.
Hey.....maybe it's time for everyone to have their CITIZENSHIP stamped on their forehead.....and THESE COPS could THEN FIGURE out who's legal, and who's NOT.....ya think?
only people stupider than cops are the people who give the cops the laws to enforce.
this is disgusting.
Yeah, they will go to the max to nail citizens not wearing seatbelts, but at the same time, refuse to apprehend illegals!
44 Tickets at $100 or so each, not bad work if you can get it.
What an absolute, utter waste of police resources.
"I thought the title meant that the seat belt violators were wearing night vision goggles. Who writes this stuff?"
Journalism majors.
The quality of spelling and grammar in reporting has gone down hill rapidly as journalism has shifted from news reporting to agenda advancing. Poor sentence structure is just a small part of it.
Also, this weekend I was watching the news and the superimposed title about a veteran's day story was printed as "Veteran's Remembered"
"Police say 40 percent of drivers don't use their seat belts at night, making the roads much more dangerous after sunset."
Just how does the ROAD get more dangerous when some other clown dosen't put on his belt ?
You can't make any money with illegals, that cost money.
Good point about the title of the story.
Seat belt stops as a primary offense, in my researched opinion, are basically a new way for ploice to justify pulling over more people likely to be scofflaws in other ways. I will not understand why they do this, but people who drive without licenses, registration, insurance, under the influence, etc.. are also far less likely to be buckled up, and these other offenses can be ticketed as well on a seat-belt traffic stop and discovery.
I think using night vision or goggles is way past bordering on ridiculous. When are people going to stand together against this crap.
Let me say off the top that I wear my seatbelt religiously and thus don't really have a dog in the seatbelt legislation fight. However, I cannot for the *life* of me figure out how not wearing a seatbelt endangers anyone else's life. If someone wants to be stupid and engage in reckless behavior that only endangers themselves, go for it.
I feel all warm and fuzzy knowing that the US civilian population are a testbed for advanced military grade surveillance and interdiction methods for minor offenses like not utilizing lap and shoulder restraints. Ein volk, ein reich,...
I hear ya.
I don't smoke, but I believe people should be allowed to harm their bodies by smoking if they wish.
I always buckle up and make sure my passengers do so as well, but if someone in the next lane isn't buckled, that isn't going to harm me any.
I wish the government would quit protecting me from me. Protect me from something else, like murderers, terrorists, illegals, or outsourcing!
Mega dittoes.
Not only that, but you have an absolute right, affirmed by the US Supreme Court, to refuse life-saving medical treatment and to take risks with respect to your own health in your workplace. Why this precident hasn't been applied to seat-belt laws, I don't know. I was going to try it in California, but moved to New Hampshire instead which is the last state with no adult seat-belt law.
Please explain to me how not wearing a seatbelt at any time makes the "roads more dangerous". The intent of the law is that the "roads" not be "more dangerous" to others, which is the only reason for the "Rules of the Road" comprehended by the states police power. 
As soon as someone declares that African-Americans are less likely to wear seatbelts than Caucasians, and thus these policies are de facto profiling. THEN we'll get this practice stopped.
Now if we went to the PD and told them we would donate $250 for every illegal captured and returned to mexico we might see some genuine law enforcement.
Locally here in Lodi NJ, the Bacon have implimented a stop light cop. He's at a very busy intersection(maywood Avenue, Essex Street) pulls cars out of line at the light into the parking lot right there. He seems to be doing about 10 an hour. From my understanding, the State or maybe it was the Fed, granted these departments funds to do this kind of enforcement.
I wear my seatbelt everywhere, but I think this kind of enforcement is WAY over the top. We used to call the folks engaged in this kind of behavior Highway Robbers.
Sadly, you may be correct.
Oh, no. That's not the case at all, unless you think that the purpose of police is to prevent crime. As a profit center, on the other hand, this is police time and money well spent...or well invested, if you prefer.
Not at all........they are simply protecting the insurance industry and keeping the high priced injury and death claims down.....but I do wish someone would introduce legislation requiring everyone to buy my goods and services..........
It is truly sad that police resources are being wasted on nanny statism. But since nearly every candidate presented by either major party is a nanny statist proponent of reactionary legislation and revenue enhancing initiatives, it's not a surprise.
What a waste of tax payers money. I have noticed some police love to pretend they are in the military.
Like there isn't enough real crime in Maryland.......
Are you kidding me? Sounds like a big time fundraiser.
Or an insurance company. Geico has a history of providing "instant-on" radar guns to some police departments.
One suspects that there's been a rash of people who've crashed through windshields at high rates of speed, thus endangering lookers-on and other motorists. This, of course, has made the "roads much more dangerous after sunset." :)
I doubt it. Sounds like a money maker.
All this complaining about the seat belt laws will make it much worse.
They will now try to make it a federal offense punishable by death.
This will be considered road terrorism.
Common...stop it now I tell ya.
Could someone tell me how not using seat belt's after dark makes the roads more dangerous?? This is plan and simple back door tax collection
>>>Police say 40 percent of drivers don't use their seat belts at night, making the roads much more dangerous after sunset. >>>
Dangerous for whom? The non-seatbelt wearers? If someone wants to take a chance with their life, why should the police be used for safety patrol? This is a joke, it's about being able to generate more revenue by seat belt tickets.
It's legalized theft, and highway robbery. It's also lazy -- instead of spending time on patrol, they pull people over for these minor infractions and go fishing.
Where I live, there is a cop on the interstate that hides behind a bridge column and catches people speeding before they even have a chance to brake. If it was really about getting people to slow down, he'd sit out in the open. Instead, he gets one speeder out of many.
I can't even imagine it if he had night vision goggles.
"You WILL respect my Auth-hor-it-tie!
I've been looking for a reason to drop GEICO, and find another insurance company.
Thanks for the info.
Meanwhile, in downtown Rockville, some woman is being raped, a small boy was just kidnapped, and drug deal #435 just ended with the transaction of $5,300 from the illegal alien to the stranger from Syria.
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