Peter Bradrick And Speed Traps

[debrand]

I found this on Peter's twitter

Peter Bradrick â€@peterbradrick

Do you flash your headlights to warn other travelers of speed traps? I do and am always grateful when others do!

twitter.com/#!/peterbradrick

I don't know why but I wouldn't expect Bradrick to so openly admit to speeding. That doesn't seem like a particularly smart thing to do.

[lilith]

It doesn't necessarily mean he's speeding. I warn other drivers when I pass one, and im not speeding. Its a reminder to watch your speed, and if the intention of the speed trap is safety not revenue raising it achieves the purpose of slowing people down and making them think about their speed.

[debrand]

There is a New Testament verse that tells Christians to follow the laws. I'll have to look it up. It is just another example of Vision Forum cherry picking what they follow and what they don't.

[lilith]

But he's not necessarily speeding. I don't think warning others constitutes breaking the law.

I'm sure he wouldn't be warning other motorists about random breath tests, but I don't think I would either, cause that can't stop people from committing the unsafe driving, warning someone to slow down can.

I don't know, I just don't see it as such a big deal. The Bradricks do plenty of things I find appalling, but this, not so much.

[debrand]

But he's not necessarily speeding. I don't think warning others constitutes breaking the law.

I'm sure he wouldn't be warning other motorists about random breath tests, but I don't think I would either, cause that can't stop people from committing the unsafe driving, warning someone to slow down can.

I don't know, I just don't see it as such a big deal. The Bradricks do plenty of things I find appalling, but this, not so much.

I don't see it as a big deal, but it is interesting.

edited to add that I wasn't trying to come off sharp with lilith.

[Guest Anonymous]

If he actually cared about reminding people to 'watch their speed' wouldn't he flash his lights at any driver he saw speeding? The implication is that this is a quiet nod to speeders to slow down just to avoid the trap so they don't get a fine and then speeding back up again, which doesn't sound particularly safe.

[Soldevi]

If he actually cared about reminding people to 'watch their speed' wouldn't he flash his lights at any driver he saw speeding? The implication is that this is a quiet nod to speeders to slow down just to avoid the trap so they don't get a fine and then speeding back up again, which doesn't sound particularly safe.

This. I never warn other drivers of speed traps. If they speed, they will earn those tickets or warnings. I am very intolerant about the subject because I lost a relative because someone wanted to drive like there are no other people around. I loathe speeders and drunk drivers.

In Finland we have lots and lots of so-called 'tin polices', speeding cameras and it is so frustrating to drive behind these morons who speed up between cameras and then hit the brake when they see one. It is dangerous, idiotic and unecological compared to just driving steady speed. Gah. :evil:

[slickcat79]

I think it's just one more way for Peter Bradrick to be anti-government. As the father of 4.5 5 young children, he should really always be careful about speeding and being around other cars that are driving recklessly. Instead he just points out how glad he is when he is able to avoid speed traps. I think he cares more about the fine and the infringement on his "freedom" than he does about the safety issues.

If he were not speeding, why would he care about speed traps? He's not going to be pulled over if he's going the speed limit.

ETA because I hadn't read the thread about Michael Courage yet...

[Deleted03]

I think in France it's illegal to warn about speed traps. I don't know, honestly last year in my hometown two teens killed themselves while driving at 200km/h (125m/h) at 2 AM. They also killed the passengers in the car that was coming on the other side of the road. I don't understand why (no I do) they make car that go that fast. I think it's socially irresponsible. Anyways, I tend to agree you earn your own speeding tickets.

[shesinsane]

But he's not necessarily speeding. I don't think warning others constitutes breaking the law.I'm sure he wouldn't be warning other motorists about random breath tests, but I don't think I would either, cause that can't stop people from committing the unsafe driving, warning someone to slow down can.

I don't know, I just don't see it as such a big deal. The Bradricks do plenty of things I find appalling, but this, not so much.

Just recently, a Florida judge ruled that warning other drivers falls into the free speech category, and so Seminole county sheriffs will have to stop their practice of ticketing drivers they catch warning others about speed traps.

As far as I know, there's no federal rule about it, and states and local authorities decide whether or not it's an offense. In this Florida case, the county has just been told they can no longer consider it an offense, but that's not a blanket rule for the state of Florida.

[CanadianHippie]

If he actually cared about reminding people to 'watch their speed' wouldn't he flash his lights at any driver he saw speeding? The implication is that this is a quiet nod to speeders to slow down just to avoid the trap so they don't get a fine and then speeding back up again, which doesn't sound particularly safe.

Another agreement here. Warning about speed traps only gets the other drivers to think about their speed until they pass the trap.

[BelieveinScience]

I don't flash people when a speed trap comes along. The only time I ever flash at a driver is if I just passed something like a deer to warn them. I know I've drivers warn me when deer have been on the side of the road and I was thankful for that.

[Kitchen Princess]

But he's not necessarily speeding. I don't think warning others constitutes breaking the law.

I'm sure he wouldn't be warning other motorists about random breath tests, but I don't think I would either, cause that can't stop people from committing the unsafe driving, warning someone to slow down can.

I don't know, I just don't see it as such a big deal. The Bradricks do plenty of things I find appalling, but this, not so much.

In some places flashing your lights is considered interfering with a police officer doing his duty.

Once when I was on the river, we got stopped in a routine glass-bottle and life preserver check. Since three of our teens were still half a mile behind or so, and I knew my teen would be a little freaked out, I started wading back upstream to hopefully catch him and escort him through (they were in tubes, had no chance of being approached but I knew he wouldn't know that). It had also been a while since I'd seen him so I wanted to check. As I waded back, other people in canoes started asking me what was happening up ahead. I told them. What I didn't know is that one of the rangers had been tracking me from the bank with binoculars, and finally caught up with me. He asked if I had been warning people, and I said I had been answering people's questions about what was happening. He asked me if I was interfering with his investigation, and then said I could be cited for it. I was coldly sarcastic when I said, "Yes, I am telling people in the middle of a national forest that they better hop out of their canoes and run to Wal-Mart to get life jackets!" He shut the fuck up, then.

I have heard other stories of people being ticketed for flashing lights, too.