dagblog - Comments for "Your ticket, sir"

Not when you borrow in your

Michael Maiello — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:12:00 +0000

In reply to There's a debt problem?

Not when you borrow in your own currency and control the supply of it.

There's a debt problem?

EmmaZahn — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:38:19 +0000

In reply to Maybe the U.S. should solve

There's a debt problem?

SFPD Breathalyzer Error Puts

Donal — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:53:25 +0000

In reply to Your ticket, sir

SFPD Breathalyzer Error Puts Hundreds Of DUI Convictions In Doubt

Hundreds, or even thousands, of drunk driving convictions could be overturned because the San Francisco Police Department has not tested its breathalyzers, officials said Monday.

For at least six years, the police officers in charge of testing the 20 breathalizyers used by the Police Department did not carry out any tests on the equipment.

Officers instead filled the test forms with numbers that matched the control sample, said Public Defender Jeff Adachi, throwing countless DUI convictions into doubt.

Maybe we should privatize breathalyzer tests, too.

Maybe the U.S. should solve

Michael Maiello — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:06:09 +0000

In reply to First signs of a local

Maybe the U.S. should solve its debt by issuing traffic tickets around the world.

First signs of a local

EmmaZahn — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:25:14 +0000

In reply to Your ticket, sir

First signs of a local economic downturn: more pawn shops, more bank robberies and burglaries, and more traffic tickets.

Oh, they'd have a field day

Donal — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:20:23 +0000

In reply to In New York it's illegal to

Oh, they'd have a field day on MTA light rail. Big blue collar guys sleep all the time, and one woman this morning looked like she was dead—her head back and her mouth open. And people do like to spread out on seats. I usually ride during commuting hours, but at other times there are a lot of squirrelly looking people on the train that I wouldn't want around when I was asleep.

Oh great! Now we are

Richard Day — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:05:39 +0000

In reply to Your ticket, sir

Oh great! Now we are outsourcing arrests?

In New York it's illegal to

Michael Maiello — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:54:10 +0000

In reply to Your ticket, sir

In New York it's illegal to take up more than one subway seat or to fall asleep on the subway and you can be ticketed for either. Both these laws make some sense. It's not safe to sleep on the subway (a lot of muggings happen that way) and it's rude to take up more than one seat while others are standing.

But, because of the way the laws are written, if you recline in a bank of seats in an empty train car, you can get a ticket. If you sit on the stairwell of an empty train station, you can also get a ticket for obstructing foot traffic. Every few months there's an outrageous story about somebody getting a ticket on an empty train car or some pregnant woman ticketed for sitting on the steps of the station during a low volume time.

Obviously, the laws could be clarified, or the enforcement rules could be, so that people are only ticketed for doing these things during busy times. The solutions are simple and easy to implement. So these issues are purposefully not solved. The city likes the ticket revenue. The city likes giving police extra excuses to harass people (could lead to arrests or additional tickets, after all, since they ID and you might have a warrant out, or they can search you and you might have a joint in your pocket). It's also part of the "broken windows" policing strategy that's been in effect since the mid-1990s -- they want people to know that they're being watched, even for minor infractions. It contributes to a sense of order and obedience.