BIG BEND BIKERS FOR FREEDOM
We make no attempt to be "politically correct". Left, Right, or Center. "Argue for your limitations and they are yours" Bach
H/T to Iron Bolt Bruce: From Star Tribune (excerpts posted for full story go here, emphasis and comments are ours).
The two incidents in this post are sad. One resulted in the death of a 14 month old boy. And of course none of us would wish these events on anybody. The saddest part of all however, despite all the evidenced we and others have presented, is I still have friends, people I care about that use cell phones while driving. Many of them ride motorcycles themselves making them as vulnerable as the 14 month old boy above. Yet put them in a cage?????????????? I guess we are all nine foot tall and bullet proof, until of course, we aren't......
In one of the most serious cases of its kind in Hennepin County, an Eden Prairie woman faces a litany of charges from a head-on collision with a motorcyclist that occurred as she allegedly texted while driving. Amanda Elizabeth Manzanares, 20, was charged this week with felony criminal vehicular operation and two counts of child endangerment in the Oct. 7 crash that critically injured Barry Lawrence, 65, of Minnetonka. Manzanares and her two daughters, ages 1 and 3, were unhurt.
If you have children, think of them as your read this.
Our prayers and sympathies go out to the friend and loved ones of the victim.
H/T to Artie-SPRING HILL --A woman pulled over for suspected reckless driving managed to drive away while handcuffed, dragging a Pasco County deputy across three lanes of traffic before hitting and killing a motorcyclist just across the county line in Hernando, deputies said.
The incident started about 7:20 a.m. Tuesday when Pasco County Deputy Ashley Grady pulled over Brittany Miles on U.S. 19 at Florestate Drive in Hudson, the Pasco sheriff's office said. After being handcuffed, Miles got back into her Dodge Ram pickup and drove off with Grady reaching in the window to try to stop her.
Because then this came across our little google screen:Red light cameras survive repeal effort in Florida And we got angry all over again! Even after saying 3 serenity prayers and 14 hail Marys we still got enough anger to pass around to anybody that wants some. Cause if you ain't got any over this red light issue you will have after your son our daughter is trying to stop at a redlight on their motorcycle and some dipstick in Hummer sexting runs over them like bowl of "it ain't butter!".
We thought the repeal might go through (yeah right) after it failed in committee, but oh no, some nanny safetycrat (with, we bet, a pocketful of insurance company money since they will get to raise rates after the state complicity kills of enough of it's citizens) did one of those, lets stuff it in one of them long bills nobody reads tricks.
From the article:
Doug Callaway of Floridians for Better Transportation says camera enforcement saves lives. "I understand how folks are concerned about 'Big Brother.' I don't think that's the case with this. Here's the simple bottom line for us, if we don't have a problem from a civil libertarian standpoint with camera enforcement of toll violations on the turnpike, then why do we have one to protect people's lives at intersections. To me, it's fairly simple that camera enforcement of traffic violations, red light runnings in this case, saves lives. Period."
All we can say is, Dear Mr. Callaway, you ignorant slut! Oh but thats right, you head up a front group for the Florida Chamber of Commerce don't you? That means your one of them traitors that thinks we should send more American jobs overseas. Tell ya what, Im gonna borrow my buddies turbo charged deisel powered high up in the sky pick em up. You get in front of me and lets drive towards a red light. Hows that sound Shill? You like that Idea!
That are used by local municipalities to further rape your wallet. And even worse, our legislative officials found it necessary to repeal the law that banned them. And why did they have to do that (well besides the under the table insurance money they get)? Because your neighbors, you know, the ones that run your local burg, the mayors and and council men you also elected to represent YOU, were breaking the law and screwing you at the same time and no one in the freaking capital has the testicles to stop then!
We would like to say we told ya so, but that wouldn't look very good because we been telling ya so since the first damn Florida cameras went up. Apparently the roadside interviews by local news with Joe six pack going, "ummm uhhh ya man, I ummm like ummm think they are probably a good idea," carry's more weight than all the "legitimate" researchers in the US who have said, "they don't reduce crashes" and "they are susceptible to corruption!"
Oh what puppy, you didn't think your friendly local yokel mayor would put the screws to you? So what freaking planet are you from?
Todd Twilley went to traffic court Wednesday afternoon with about an inch of papers stating that the red light violation he received on the corner of Killearn Center Blvd and Capital Circle northeast should be dismissed.
"The light seemed really short to me, the yellow light. So when I did my research into what the minimum state requirement were for yellow lights, I found this one to be too short," said Twilley.
On a road like Capital Circle Northeast, where the speed limit is 45 miles per hour, D.O.T says the yellow light should last for 4.3 seconds. But Twilley's violation said the light changed after 3.3 seconds.
In a graph published by the Department of Transportation, the Florida yellow light change interval is outlined. It says if the approaching speed at the intersection is 45 miles per hour, the yellow light must remain for 4.3 seconds.
"The Institute of Transportation Engineers has a procedure for establishing yellow and red lights, and we follow that. We did a complete certification on all the signals where we installed red light cameras and we found that they are adequately timed," said Gabriel Menendez, Director of Public Works.
The 2010 Florida Statute 316.0745 states "It shall be unlawful for any public official to purchase or for anyone to sell any traffic control signal or device unless it conforms with the manual specifications published by the Department of Transportation..."
So Twilley's question is, if statues say that, why did he receive a ticket at a light that changes to red at 3.3 second instead of 4.3 seconds.
Twilley's case was postponed until July 13th.
Well Mr. Twilly yeah see it is like this. On 5-28-10 Newspaper.com reported the following:
Florida: County Drops Right Turn Tickets, Shortens YellowShortened yellows make up for lost right-turn red light camera revenue in Collier County, Florida. Florida Governor Charlie Crist last week held two separate ceremonies where he re-signed industry-backed legislation encouraging local governments to install red light cameras (view bill). Although a great victory for localities that have sought for years to have state sanction for their automated ticketing programs, one provision is causing trouble for those long-held plans to cash in. Yesterday, Collier County commissioners voted 5-0 in favor of a motion "to immediately stop issuing citations for right-on-red traffic violations." The move was in direct response to the new statewide camera law.
"A notice of violation and a traffic citation may not be issued for failure to stop at a red light if the driver is making a right-hand turn in a careful and prudent manner at an intersection where right-hand turns are permissible," Florida Code Section 316.0083 will state, beginning July 1.
While the bill appears to leave some room for local officials to declare certain types of right turns subject to a fine by labeling them "not careful" and "not prudent," a judge considering the intent of lawmakers could look unfavorably on this move. The bill's title states that the purpose of the legislation includes "prohibiting the use of such detectors to enforce a violation when a driver fails to stop prior to making a right or left turn."
The prohibition, which Collier County and West Palm Beach now respect, will cost the jurisdictions between 75 and 85 percent of their net revenue, calling into question the ability of the program to generate a profit for the locality. Collier County's solution to this problem was to shorten the duration of yellow lights at intersections with 45 MPH speed limits. The move followed legal action forcing the county to lengthen the yellow time at 35 MPH intersections from 3.5 seconds to 4.0 seconds because the 3.5 second yellow was not allowed under the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) yellow time formula.
"A widely used formula for determining the minimum length of yellow change interval is... known as the 'ITE Formula,'" the Florida Department of Transportation Intersection Design Guide specifies. "A yellow change interval shorter than this will create a potential situation in which the driver may not be able to stop before reaching the intersection or enter the intersection before the end of the yellow as required by Florida Statutes."
The county now says that this formula allows it to shorten the yellow time at the higher-speed intersections from 4.5 seconds to 4.3 seconds, the Naples News first reported. The state guidelines, however, set minimum values, not maximum values. The 0.20 second difference may appear minor on the surface, but the vast majority of all citable violations happen within the first 0.25 seconds a light turns red (view violation chart).
You see it is like this, NO MATTER HOW THEY TRY TO SELL IT, IT IS YOUR REPRESENTATIVES WILLING TO BE COMPLICIT IN YOUR DEATH IN EXCHANGE FOR A FEW SHEKELS!
Might we suggest grabbing up a few whips, headin down to the temple and trashin the tables of the money changers?
Good God we get tired of "stupid"
A couple of links that will lead to more links about red light cameras for those who wish to become educated. But be forewarned, education results in radicalization.
