A law that is ignored is not a good law.

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Poll

Votes: 16

A law that is ignored is not a good law.

Author:

dmg

Topic:

Diaries

Posted:

Nov 25, 2001

Comments:

Like so many others, I have on occasion strayed slightly above the posted speed limit on our national highways.

Modern automobiles are capable of being driven safely at speeds well in excess of the ludicrous 70MPH limit common in Europe, which is why the German autobahn has no speed restriction.

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My point is this. At some point, civil disobedience becomes a duty. When the law is so out of step with public opinion it is oppressive, then the time has come to ignore that law.

It is true for the consumption of harmless halluciongenic drugs such as cannabis or DMT, and it is true for speeding.

I did not elect a government to oppress the motorist who often has little choice of mode of transport. Why, when I am supporting the capitalist system, and providing employment for thousands, and tax revenues for the government by driving my car, also have to suffer the indignity of being told by the 'nanny state' how fast I can drive it, on the roads which I have paid for with my tax ?

Simple solution. Abolish all speed limits on motorways, and divert the police to catching real criminals instead of middle-class taxpayers such as myself.

Of course, there is no money to be made by this approach, far better to criminalize a whole section of society in order to make a profit. thank you.

	Attention: Links broken (none / 0) (#1)
	by Anonymous Reader on Sun Nov 25th, 2001 at 12:09:54 PM PST

	The links in the story are broken. When I click on them, I get directed to some Limp Bizkit fansite. I think you accidentally pasted in the URL from one of your other diary entries into the tags for this one.

	Thanks for pointing that out. (none / 0) (#2)
	by dmg on Sun Nov 25th, 2001 at 12:40:16 PM PST

	I've fixed them now time to give a Newtonian demonstration - of a bullet, its mass and its acceleration. -- MC Hawking

	You have a good point there. (none / 0) (#3)
	by SpaceGhoti on Sun Nov 25th, 2001 at 03:51:09 PM PST

	So, in light of this new wisdom, how come there's so much violation of the anti-t****ing law on this site? Just curious, mind you. A troll's true colors.

	I haven't noticed any violation? (none / 0) (#4)
	by Anonymous Reader on Sun Nov 25th, 2001 at 03:58:14 PM PST

	Please provide some examples, and I am sure the editors will deal with your accusations quickly and severely. Until then, it seems that you are doing nothing but slandering, and possibly even t******g yourself. A slippery slope my friend. You are well aware of the policies.

	I would, except... (none / 0) (#5)
	by SpaceGhoti on Sun Nov 25th, 2001 at 04:13:26 PM PST

	An awful lot of "t****" posts mysteriously disappear with 0 ratings. The only evidence I can offer is that some things I post in earnest disappear without warning or explanation. It happens to other posts that I've enjoyed, as well. I'd link to them, but they're not visible anymore. Is that an example of "the dog that doesn't bark?" A troll's true colors.

	Hmmm (none / 0) (#6)
	by Anonymous Reader on Sun Nov 25th, 2001 at 04:27:17 PM PST

	Well in that case it sounds like the editors are squashing all troll posts quickly and with extreme prejudice, which can only be a good thing.

	With that point conceded... (none / 0) (#7)
	by SpaceGhoti on Sun Nov 25th, 2001 at 04:35:32 PM PST

	I shan't argue the ethics (or lack thereof) of suppressing someone else's opinion under the guise of "t**ness." However, the very frequency of the event returns me to the point of my original post. Under dmg's new wisdom, what does the frequency of "t**" posts say about inAdequacy.org's policy? A troll's true colors.

	Speed limits in the U.S. (none / 0) (#8)
	by theboz on Mon Nov 26th, 2001 at 05:58:43 AM PST

	In most places 70MPH is the maximum here too, however, some states have lowered the speed limit to generate revenue. South Carolina is a good example of this, where they have lowered the speed limit on long wide open stretches of interstate highway from 70mph to 45mph. They also have started putting on "work zones" in areas where there is no work being done, so they can increase the fines. I think Georgia (where I currently reside) is also taking the latter approach. You should know by now that the majority of police don't care about stopping crimes. They would rather harass normal middle class people who are not going to be violent with them. Unfortunately, the braver of the police force often get injured doing their jobs, so the result is that we end up with a police force of cowards who demonstrate their manliness by harassing people they know won't fight back. [Reply]

	Just a minor point... (none / 0) (#9)
	by hauntedattics on Mon Nov 26th, 2001 at 07:55:02 AM PST

	Cannabis is not always harmless. There have been a number of documented cases in which young, supposedly healthy people have died of cardiac arrest after smoking weed. These people were often found to have (previously unknown) genetic heart conditions. Otherwise, I'll happily support the repeal of speed limits once Driver's Education is taken seriously in the U.S., as opposed to being the stupid, time- and money-wasting, misery-inducing excuse for training that it is right now. I'd hate to see some of the idiots that drive around Boston (and elsewhere) freed from the constraints of speed limits before then.

	I'd like to see (none / 0) (#10)
	by nobbystyles on Mon Nov 26th, 2001 at 08:05:33 AM PST

	Variable speed limits on motorways (autobahns, national highways etc) depending on weather conditions and amount of traffic. For example if there is fairly light traffic and good weather then there wouldn't be any speed limits whereas in heavier traffic and worse weather the speed limit could be even less than 70 mph. They have variable speed limits on the M25 (the orbital motorway around London) but they don't ever adjust the speed above 70 mph...

	70MPH is a silly limit (none / 0) (#11)
	by because it isnt on Tue Nov 27th, 2001 at 09:12:55 PM PST

	I recommend that you emigrate to France or Japan, where you can catch a handy 300 km/h train any time of day. Or you could hang on in Blighty for about 10 years, when they're thinking of raising the limit to 140MPH on the West Coast Line. However, I would not recommend increasing the speed limits for passenger automobiles above 70MPH until the motorways of this nation are equipped with appropriate guiding tracks for the automobiles to drive along, and appropriate points/signals are installed at the exits. adequacy.org -- because it isn't

	Trains are for poor people. (none / 0) (#12)
	by dmg on Wed Nov 28th, 2001 at 09:54:14 AM PST

	I have no intention of travelling with the great unwashed British or French public, preferring to sit in the air conditioned comfort and luxury of my german sports car. I object to paying taxes to fund socialist modes of transport such as trains. When I come to power, all railways will be paved and turned into roads. If LA can survive without a bullet train or TGV, I am sure that London and the rest of Europe can too. I don't know if you are familiar with the A13 in East London, it is a three-lane 'dual carriageway' which used to be 'national speed limit' in the 60s. Then it became a 70mph limit. Then it went down to 50mph, and recently it has gone down to 30, and they have installed GATSOs EVERYWHERE. This is plain and simple criminalisation of the middle class car owner. I am making sure that I know the locations of all these cameras, and then in an act of civil disobedience I deliberately exceed the limit, by as much as 100%. The government's catchy motto: Speed Kills. My motto: It's not that simple. time to give a Newtonian demonstration - of a bullet, its mass and its acceleration. -- MC Hawking

	Driven by you (none / 0) (#13)
	by because it isnt on Wed Nov 28th, 2001 at 06:54:24 PM PST

	I have no intention of travelling with the great unwashed British or French public, preferring to sit in the air conditioned comfort and luxury of my german sports car. I object to paying taxes to fund socialist modes of transport such as trains. I wonder why you persist in tormenting yourself with this so-called sports car. It lacks the most basic requirements of any method of transport - space to get up and walk about, a free supply of newspapers, and operational toilets. Furthermore, it has a number of serious disadvantages. First, you are expected to look out of a window at all times, when you could be reading the newspaper. It also appears that the German manufacturers have failed to provide any tracks, points or signalling for the car, and demand you put your hands to waste by clutching a steering device at all times. Don't get me started on what your feet could be doing instead of pedal-pushing. If LA can survive without a bullet train or TGV Well, any town can survive without one, but as World War 2 showed us, British towns could survive being bombed by the Luftwaffe every day. It doesn't mean we should invite them back for tea. This is plain and simple criminalisation of the middle class car owner. I don't endorse every government policy, but I certainly back their "get tough" stance on crime. I look forward to the day when innocent pot smokers do not sit in their homes fearing they may be mown down on the way to the dole queue by some yuppie tyke in his dirty great Beamer. adequacy.org -- because it isn't

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