Now, assume the position !
Posted on 06/09/2005 9:44:22 AM PDT by Millee
Beginning this fall Pinellas County Sheriff's Deputies will be pulling over teen drivers who haven't broken any traffic laws.
As part of a new program, deputies will be pulling over teens for safe driving and rewarding them with free movie theater and movie rental certificates.
Uniformed deputies driving unmarked cars will follow the drivers and give out the certificates.
"Deputies will follow them for a short distance, down a thoroughfare and we will watch their driving," said Sgt. Glenn Luben, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. "Once we identify a good safe driver, we attempt to follow them to their house or open shopping area."
Some parents think it's a great idea to reward teens for safe, responsible driving. However, while most agree the reward is nice, some parents are concerned about this method of identifying safe drivers.
"I'd be concerned whether they'd think it's a real police officer pulling them over," says Jennifer Zeitler, parent of a teen driver. "It's scary for parents too. There's so many kidnappings and other things going on; I'd be concerned for my child."
The program was started by an Oldsmar, Fla. man whose son was killed in an accident involving a teen driver. After the program begins this fall, there is a possibility it will spread to other communities.
it's an excuse to roust kids, pull htem over for no reason. if they're clean, give them freebies, else bust them. say goodbye to probable cause.
Somehow I can see this going badly. What if someone panics and takes off on a high-speed chase that ends in a fatality?
This is a horrible idea. If they want to give recognition for good driving, they can send a nice letter or something, but not follow them around.
Can anyone think of a more egregious waste of teens' and police time?
yup...true liberalism at work
Sounds like an excuse to pull people over for no reason ... want to compliment them for good driving ... send them a letter
Actual crime. ;)
But I see your point, and agree this is a waste.
This is a losuy idea.
Deputies should be enforcing the law, not handing out goodies to kids for keeping their car in the correct lane.
Sheez. The sheriff sounds like a weiner.
All performed by a government that constantly complains about a lack of funds.....
Gotta have a carrot to go with the stick.
Whatever, we have to reward people for doing the right thing now? That's crap.
Losuy=lousy
This is just dumb. Yeah, when I am headed somewhere and probably late, that's just what I would want...to be pulled over to be told I was driving well.
Meanwhile nobody is looking out for the bad drivers. If they must do this, just a mail the freebie with a kudos letter to the registered owner. It seems to work fine with photo radar tickets.
Stupid.
I'm hiding something....frisk me...frisk me.....
Well, I would sue if I were pulled over without probable cause. Not to gain anything ($1 in damages), but to get the program cancelled.
Particularly effective with the near perfection of driving while stoned.
Gee, would it be cynical of me to suggest that this is a way for cops to pull over any teens that they feel like? And then they can search the car because they "smelled" something or the occupants were "acting suspiciously?" So... if you're a teen in that county, it's like you're a minority in other counties - you will get pulled over whether you have broken the law or not.
It's just an excuse to come up with probable cause.
hows about leaving the kids alone?
a cop stops a kid driving a car and finds a bottle of beer. kid gets busted, but the cop has to prove probable cause.
now a cop has the pretense of stopping a teenager "to give him a prize", finds the beer, and the bust sticks.
it's a pretext for going on fishing expeditions with young drivers. the constitution has clauses to protect us from arbitrary ssearches and seizures. this is designed purely as a pretext to get around this.
Stupid.
What an idiotic plan! It's Florida, for cryin out loud!! Don't they have anything better to do?
and how manyh innocent kids will get hassled by the cops in the meantime?
i have a big problem with this excuse to get a cop up close and personal so he can gin up some reason to bust ya.
and i find it amazing that the very same folks who rioted in the sixties against "the man" and being hassled by the man, are behind schemes to have the man hassle other people.
Attn sex perverts: buy a uniform and drive around in your unmarked cars pulling over young girls.
Attn young drivers: If a unmarked car attempts to pull you over drive to the police station.
care for a side of cuffs with that frisk ?
'What an idiotic plan! It's Florida, for cryin out loud!! Don't they have anything better to do?'
You made a spelling error....it's FLORIDUH! ;-) What a stupid, stupid idea this is.
I agree with you, and think this is a totally illegitimate use of government authority and taxpayer funds even if it were completely on the up and up. I would assuredly sue if I had any standing to do so and hope that someone does.
The government simply doesn't have the authority to involuntarily detain citizens without probable cause, even if it's to give them free movie passes.. It's a quite clear violation of the 4th Amendment in my view.
"well your honor it's like this... I spotted this punk-er-kid driving around not far from the mall, and noticed that he used his signal light. So I pulled him over see? to give him a prize - yeah! that's it! i was gonna give him this prize for good driving.
after a half hour of checking his license and registration, I found out that it was fifteen minutes after curfew, so I busted him for that...
then I saw a screwdriver in the back seat. We all know that screwdrivers are widely used in crimes, so I drug the little punk-er-kidlet downtown and after softening him up a tad, he confessed to murdering Jimmy Hoffa.
and his good driving was my reason for stopping him in the first place."
You win. I'm blushing.
if thsi gets though, we'll see what democratic floridian activist judge does with it. remember these are the lunatics who had a guy arrested for assaulting a girl, taking her to the ground and was lying atop her, but didn't convict him. he later murdered another girl.
I don't think it's such a bad idea.
Simply send out the movie treats to everyone who did not get a ticket or be invoolved in an accident in a specified period. No need to pull overer drivers without cause. So why don't they do this?
...Can anyone think of a more egregious waste of teens' and police time?...
No. But watch them whine that they are understaffed but "doing all they can" the next time they get a high media profile case to solve.
what's so good about making teen drivers vulnerable to police hassling? ever heard of the cop who kept ticketing drivers with bad tail lights? they were fine until he stopped them.
the Contitution is supposed to protect us from being harassed by police looking to up their quotas. feeding then kids, or encouraging them to target kids is a good idea?
Just make sure that you weren't being pulled over for doing your hair at 70 mph.
Then they don't get a good driving citation, silly!
Ah,this idea just gives you a warm fuzzy feeling does it not.
Stupid idea!
Then get an amendment passed that permits involuntary seizure without probable cause in order to reward safe driving.
Maybe they can give them a good conduct Tazering to boot.
This is detainment by law enforcement without probable cause of a crime being committed plain and simple. Let's suppose for a moment that you are driving all nice like, and you see the blue lights but you have better things to do and keep driving. You would certainly be cross checked in a computer database, and may very well be ticketed or arrested for "not cooperating". The free movie tickets and certificates are supposed to make the Gestapo pill go down easier. There is no way in advance for a motorist to know the nature of the traffic stop beforehand. Orwell is getting a lot of mileage out the US these days.
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