johnnymk

This is amusing.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/ne...7-1315133.html



ORLANDO, Fla. - There was no pot of gold behind the dancing roadside leprechaun, only speeding tickets.

Dozens of drivers in the Orlando area found out the hard way Thursday after passing an Orange County sheriff's deputy dressed as a leprechaun and warning drivers to slow down. A laser detector clocked cars above his sign reading "Watch your speed or it will cost you your pot of gold," and several officers on motorcycles chased those who didn't heed the advice.


Deputy Richard Lockman said police had been giving out about a ticket a minute since 8 a.m. He was dressed in a green leprechaun outfit with a hat, tight white knickers and a fake red beard.

Lockman did the same thing with a Christmas elf outfit in December. Speeders complained that being stopped by a deputy in costume was entrapment.

"I think that's just ridiculous," Lockman said. "The elf didn't force anybody to speed."

renovation

you need to find a picture of this cop leprechaun !

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BigJon

From Jalopnik.com

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MikeD

Man, he fits the policeman stereotype.

Where's the donuts?

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bachviet

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BigJon

Hehe...a video too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj9KgUtdQVc

oblongmelon

He looks like half the police officers in my town..but thinner.

Napoleon54

At least they have a sense of humor, those dickheads enforcing their stupid victimless laws.

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Chgoman

If you watch the video, he stated that there were 8 fatalities on the road this year. That's not victimless.

Jeffbx

Can't.... keep... my.... mouth... shut....

Oh well, let's fire it up again, just for fun.

You know there is no correlation whatsoever between speeding & accidents, right? Both the police & the insurance companies like you to believe that "speed kills" because that concept generates lots and lots of money for both of them.

In reality, reckless driving, drunk driving, bad conditions, distracted driving and road hazards all can cause accidents. But speeding? No. Speeding just generates $$$$ for police forces & insurance companies.

Chgoman

The problem is that speeding in many cases leads or goes hand in hand with reckless driving. Most of the people weaving in and out of traffic are doing so to get around people because they are speeding.

BigJon

There is a bit of a point there. Not saying that "speed is the cause of all accidents"...but take for instance a simple rear-ender.

Situation:
Car A stops at red light. Car B doesn't pay attention and smashes into Car A.

So...looking at that, we can tell that the cause of the accident is the driver of Car B not paying attention. But, if the driver of Car B had been speeding, the accident most likely would have been much worse.

InfiniteNothing

I say we make a law that says all baseball bats should be made out of foam because all the people beat with basebal bats would be injured less.

Point: There's a good reason we don't play the "contributing factor" game: that game never ends and you end up outlawing everything.

Jeffbx

Not really, they're weaving in & out of traffic because they're driving recklessly. 99% of speeders are not weaving in & out of traffic, they're just driving faster than the posted limit. So my solution to that - ticket for reckless driving, not speeding.


True, if he had been going faster, the accident could have been worse. Also, if he had been driving a larger car, the accident could have been worse. If he had been hauling rocks and they pelted pedestrians during the accident, it could have been worse. If there was lumber hanging out the back of the car being rear ended...

My point is that speeding in of itself is not dangerous, does not cause accidents & the only reason to ticket for it is revenue generation. Period. It is simply not a safety issue.

MikeD

Well, in BigJon's defense...people speed a heck of a lot more than they walk around beating others with baseball bats. I see the logic, but the argument is a bit shaky...



I speed all the time, definitely drive fast and am an agressive driver. But I also pay attention to the road, don't read/write/eat/talk on the phone/put on makeup/hold my dog/sleep/generally screw around while I'm driving, either. Which, IMO, makes me a better driver than most other folks out there.

Napoleon54

There are laws against tailgating (following too closely), driving recklessly, etc. Laws specifically against speeding are redundant. They only exist because they're revenue generators for local government and they're easy to prosecute in court because speed is easily measured with Radar and laser. It has nothing to do with speed = unsafe, or speed --> accidents. If you see some statistic such as "speeding is a factor in 75% of accidents", it's most likely because 90% of people speed 90% of the time.

The law states that if every single driver on the road is going 56mph in a 55mph zone and traffic is flowing nicely because of it, they all should get tickets. That's just BS.

bachviet

If you get caught for speeding, you are just unlucky because 90% of drivers out there speed.

I drive fast also but I don't drive recklessly.