Posted on 09/14/2011 10:50:46 PM PDT by Libloather
Amish men jailed for not displaying buggy safety signs
By Steve Robrahn | Reuters – 15 hrs ago
LOUISVILLE, Ky (Reuters) - Eight members of a traditional Amish sect were behind bars on Tuesday after refusing to pay fines for failure to display orange-red safety triangles on their horse-drawn buggies.
The eight were being held in the Graves County Jail, serving sentences ranging between three and 10 days for failing to pay the fines on religious grounds.
Graves District Judge Deborah Hawkins ordered the men jailed Monday in Mayfield, about 200 miles from Louisville in western Kentucky. The defendants contend that paying the fines would amount to complying with a law that violates their religious restrictions against wearing or displaying bright colors or relying upon man-made symbols for their safety.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Like they've got something better to do?
...bet it was the Yoders....
Well, the Amish are farmers and getting close to harvest, so I'd say yes, they have something better to do. This is government bulls*it at its best.
Good grief, we’re getting picayune. This is a ridiculous use of government resources.
If they were muslims and claimed religious exemption from this, they’d get away with it and, in fact, be praised for their principles.
I think they should either comply with the law or not take their horse or carriages out after dark.
I’d feel really crappy if I ended up running into the back of those black carriages and killing the driver and/or horses.
I would really feel bad for the horses, not the 300 horses I have under my hood.
Nah, I’m betting on those hell-raisers, the Stoltzfus(es).
Yup.
Then stay off the roads.
Or they could build their own Amish-friendly roads that parallel public roads and only use them.
I guess you've never driven in Amish country ...
Its bad enuf that you're doin' the speed limit, comin' around a curve - and there's a buggy RIGHT IN FRONT of you ...
THEN, ya gotta slam on the brakes ...
Thats why the state puts up yellow warning signs with buggies on them - to make you aware ...
NOW, imagine this happens at night - the buggies have oil lamps in the front and back [NOT very bright illumination] ...
THATS WHY the state REQUIRES the REFLECTIVE signs on the REAR of the buggies ...
STILL, EVEN WITH the signs, EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, you read about a car accident involving a buggy ...
USUALLY, A LOT of the buggy occupants are killed ...
I’m keeping the Amish on my radar.
Not to mention the horses.
The ifra-red technology that is now being installed on cars now will probably make this a non-issue.
Don’t want to be in public, wear that star on your sleeve....good Nazi.
Lock them up.
At least the prison will not have to pay a light bill for their cells.
Sure ... because having reflective devices so cars won’t hit you and can see you is just LIKE being marked so that you can eventually be put into ovens...
Seriously... think before you post.
No one wants to DISRESPECT the Amish or gas them... they just want the Amish to have safety signs when the vehicles are out at night.....
Really no... it’s ALWAYS the Yoders .... trust me.
I understand your sentiments but I disagree.
You are not the one who runs over the invisible buggy in the dark of night. You not only have to deal with the consequences of that yourself, with your passengers and your vehicle; but any other vehicles that may get involved; and of course the thrill of whoever you probably decimated in the buggy, complete with horse.
To ask that they have non-decorative, non-ornamental something on their dark black buggies on the dark roads is not intrusive, in my opinion.
If they don’t like the rules of the road, they shouldn’t use it. I might sympathize if the rules were silly (everyone must have pink hair!) or obsessive (paint every item in day glow and have loud beepers going off every other second), but the orange triangle rule is neither.
The Amish are not being reasonable, and the Bible does not forbid safety equipment.
Sorry, they are on public roads going much slower than the cars the roads were designed for. I respect their right to be Amish but if they want to drive a horse buggy on the road they should have basic safety equipment. I don’t think that violates their “Amishness”. Afterall, they are driving a buggy on an asphalt road.
That is why we used to drive fast on Sundays, when they were in church (most of the day, iirc). We were more cautious the rest of the week.
“or not take their horse or carriages out after dark.”
an excellent solution if their consciences are so offended.
“Don’t want to be in public, wear that star on your sleeve....good Nazi.”
This kind of hyperbole is beneath FR.
Being required to have a reflective sign on a dark vehicle in the dead of night is hardly equivalent to having to wear a star signifying you are a Jew so you can be abused.
So why doesn’t someone simply come up with a reflective device that does not appear bright until the light hits it. I have seen grayish ones used on clothing in the oil patch. Is the orange part really necessary?
No they don’t want them in ovens, they want them to conform....like every other supposed free man in this country. Do they make bicycles have orange triangles? Walkers? The first step to perdition, is giving in to a “little common sense” govt regulation. License plates were for our protection too, then tabs, then yearly taxes, then for thefts, then for cops to access 24/7 info on owners at the touch of a button. Sorry, society is so far past just a little regulation, and it starts ever so small.
The Amish should invent that and build factories to .... oh wait......
*sigh*
Do we really need to spell this out for you? The carriages are using the roads at night.
Maybe you should go Amish.....
Nice to see someone actually gets it.
Would Amish be copacetic with mounting kerosene lanterns on the back of their buggies? That would solve the nighttime visibility problem.
I really don’t know. I think someone upthread said that they do that... but the flame is low and not too visible.
If getting reflective surfaces on the buggy to enhance visibility at night is the issue, it might be a solution.
Of course, the State would have to accept that the absence of orange really has little effect on seeing the buggy in daylight, and the Amish would have to accept something which though it did not appear as wordly, would enhance their safety and that of the vehicles which might hit them.
It's never simple, but it could be simpler.
It might be simpler yet if someone could devise a reflective surface which appeared to be black in daylight.
Would an orange triangle make that vehicle more visible? Really?
Thank goodness it didn’t escalate into a rake fight.
Really... the appearance of the horse apples on the road ought to tell an aware driver that there might be Amish ahead...
But that would require...
#attackwatch - AMISH AHEAD.
There are those of us who know enough to identify various deposits on the road and take a cue from that, but anyone who needs an orange triangle to tell them a vehicle is moving slowly probably doesn’t know their s**t well enough to take advantage of the obvious trail.
Do the Amish shun as too modern the thorium mantles which make kerosene lamps much brighter?
This is no more offensive than expecting people to stop at red lights when driving. Trying to turn this into some kind of romanticized police state issue is childish. Anyone living in Amish country who drives understands the problem from personal experience. And the vast majority of Amish comply with the basic safety requirements.
One could complain this is double trouble. Not only could a car driver come suddenly upon a buggy, but the manure slick behind it would make it harder for the car to stop in time.
Enough with the religion excuse.
Enough with jackass judges.
How about permitting these slow buggies to use the shoulder of the road?
>> they want them to conform...
Indeed.
But I’m not sure I’d want to discover a carriage just 50 yards ahead in the cloak of darkness. Maybe a lantern would work.
I really am not an expert.
Too much government at all levels.
“Know any Amish legal eagles?”
Well.... I know that the Mennonites have lawyers....the Amish don’t?
No sweat, with Obamas policies we’ll all be a riden horse and buggie soon.
These roads often DON’T have shoulders.
Well, then they'd be in deep....
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