4th of July DUI checkpoint

[O Really]

Excuse me if it's been mentioned earlier, but can somebody tell me where the "Big Brother" people are on this,

I'm one, I and several others have been posting to this thread.

since obviously it's a case of the government not only looking at but stopping everybody, most of whom are "innocent" in the hopes of catching some wrongdoers.

SCOTUS has ruled in favor of limited stops, not much we can do about them at the moment. The issue at the moment is the cops using them to abrogate the Constitution further.

Seems to me the risk of individual danger is greater driving home than making a phone call.

I'm not sure what your point is, please elaborate.

My point is this: It has been a long established and accepted practice for law enforcement to set up surveillance for everyone in order to try to catch law-breakers. Those going the speed limit, stopping for the sign, under the legal .08 limit, etc. are surveilled and/or recorded just like the violators. There is no difference, in principle, in that and the collection and analysis of phone records. One has no reasonable expectation of privacy when riding on a public road; one has no reasonable expectation of privacy when creating phone company records by making phone calls. So if one is going to argue on the principle of government intrusion by surveilling the innocent as well as actual suspects, one has to argue against speed traps, too. I'll be happy to join in at that level.

Tangent - I used to drive down PA10 (turns into MD272 at the border - you may know it) and a quarter mile into MD, there was always a state cop hanging out at a deserted gas station, whose sole purpose in life seemed to be to stop everybody coming by with PA plates on their car. I got stopped for 47 in a 45. I told the cop (politely) that I couldn't help it if my speedometer was wrong, but that I didn't intentionally speed - that I along with everyone else knew he was there and had slowed to the speed limit. But the funny (ridiculous) part is that south of there, you get onto some toll roads and bridges, so I had a few bucks on the seat next to me. The cop says, "it's not a good idea to have money in open view when you get stopped." I said, "it's toll money - I'm headed down the JFK - do you really think I'd believe I could bribe a Maryland state cop with 4 dollars?" He goes, "you shouldn't use the term 'bribe' when you're stopped." I just shut up, took my ticket, and moved on.

[Mr.B]

"I used to drive down PA10 (turns into MD272 at the border... I got stopped for 47 in a 45......I just shut up, took my ticket, and moved on."

I too had a similar experience. When I transferred to Virginia, I was driving on Newtown Road, a four-lane that had Va. Beach city limits on one side, and Norfolk city limits on the other. A car flashing red lights appeared out of nowhere, and was sniffing my bumper. I pulled over to let him pass thinking he was fire personnel or something. When he hit the siren, I knew it wasn't a fire vehicle. He berated me for not stopping, and I explained I thought he was a fire emergency vehicle, and that I had just moved from NC where LEO used blue lights. He wasn't impressed or amused. He explained that I was speeding 37
in a 35 zone and I was to be ticketed for exceeding a safe speed. I then noticed he was a Norfolk cop, and I pointed out that we were on the Va. Beach
side of the highway. He still wasn't impressed or amused. It seems that the two cities had a "reciprocal agreement" despite the fact I hadn't stepped foot in Norfolk. So I asked where do I go to pay the ticket. "You don't just pay the ticket; you go to Norfolk traffic court, where you also pay court costs, etc....."

I just shut up, took my ticket, and moved on. My billfold was $167 lighter on court day.

[neoplacebo]

I myself have not had such an encounter since April, 2009. It cost a little over $400 for a false accusation, the biggest part of it to my attorney, which I wouldn't have to hire at all if it hadn't been for the king shit deputy that I've not seen on the road I drive twice a day five days a week since then. This moron was over the top; and I myself have been accused of being a cop, in which case I always say "no, but I've always wanted to be." Little Hitlers.

[k9nanny]

Yeah, MD cops were always famous for rigid traffic enforcement. I still remember an unmarked pickup truck with hay bales in the back (!) on the Beltway.

HA! Thank you for validating my observation. It's been 35 years since I saw the same thing in MD, and no one back home believed me.