$50 Ticket - Texting while walking (crime, how much, earthquake)

[DEADTIME]

"college town" code for liberal enclave. A ticket for texting while walking...a small part of Kalifornia is now in Idaho.


Here's my crazy kalifornia ticket story.

I got a ticket for speeding....on a bike...yes a bike. I was riding at night through Pasadena, 3 AM (I love night rides its cool, quiet and there's not much traffic)

I was hauling butt down Colorado Blvd, not a person around and a cop pulls me over. I'm thinking hes just going to check ID since its so late or early at night.....nope he gave me a speeding ticket.

I started laughing while he was writing it, I couldn't help myself the whole idea that a bike going 2 mph over the speed limit is ticket worthy. I told him he was doing a good job collecting money for the city and that the criminals he was ignoring appreciated it as well.

And yes I had a helmet on and blinking lights and a glowing vest...so no excuses dear progressive readers.

[Norm Barnes]

[quote=DEADTIME;19641365]"college town" code for liberal enclave. A ticket for texting while walking...a small part of Kalifornia is now in Idaho.


Here's my crazy kalifornia ticket story.

I got a ticket for speeding....on a bike...yes a bike.

Was your seat belt fastened. Good thing it wasn't Rodney King riding the Bicycle. Obviously this guy must favor wagons, since he is off his.

[Norm Barnes]

Originally Posted by mistyriverranch

I think Rexburg might be more of a church state.

Then please pass around the offering plate - not a ticket - at least then it might be tax deductible. I get it. Pastor peeved that congregation doesn't shut off Cell during sermon. Is that a felony in Idaho?

[Norm Barnes]

Okay here we go Idaho you are now off the hook. In Canada Steven Canley abused his former lover. Okay apparently no jail time; but, the judge has ordered him not to form "a romantic relationship of an intimate nature with a female person". Okay Judge I get it -- you are preparing him for incarceration. This guy was wielding a knife and you give a "sticks and stones" sentence. Here we go: Judge Morgan after hearing a case on Motor theft has ruled that offender Jacob Unpriestly must "refrain from looking at cars for five years". Good luck Judge.

[banjomike]

The college town is Rexburg.
Forget about all the 'liberal' and 'progressive' nonsense- Rexburg and Madison County is the by far the most conservative area in the state. And a good share of the residents come from California.

The reason texting is being ticketed is strictly due to safety. Rexburg is home to Brigham Young University, Idaho. A few years ago, Ricks College, a 2-year LDS private college, was vastly expanded. Ricks was chosen to be an extension of Utah's BYU because that school had reached it's limits of physical expansion in Provo, and among the Mormons, BYU is as prestigious as the Ivy League.

Rexburg had a ton of space around Ricks College, and the town was small- about 20,000 or so- when the change took place. As a result, the University is now 3 times it's original size, is a 4-year institution, and has attracted thousands of young adult married Mormons who want a degree. The town has almost doubled it's population in less than a decade.

Why young marrieds? Because 18 year old boys go off on a 2-year mission, mostly straight out of high school. They come back at 20, get married, and go to college. As the LDS church has expanded world-wide, so have the numbers of these young folks. BYUI is the most affordable Mormon 4-year school. They come from everywhere the church has a presence.

All the housing is off campus, mostly apartments, and both vehicle and foot traffic through the downtown area has drastically increased, as the campus is best accessed through downtown. On-campus housing is extremely limited.

There were few accidents in the 70+ years before the expansion, but there have been over a dozen fatalities that occurred on some of the crosswalks. Most have been pedestrians, and cell phones and texting, while driving or walking, has been the cause of far too many deaths. Among the fatalities were an old couple and a young woman and her child. There have been numerous non-fatal injuries as well.

The law was passed only as a safety measure after less stringent laws failed to stem the death toll. Most of the victims were pedestrians, but texting is outlawed in driving and walking, as it's equally a heads-down activity.

[Norm Barnes]

Quote
"The law was passed only as a safety measure after less stringent laws failed to stem the death toll. Most of the victims were pedestrians, but texting is outlawed in driving and walking, as it's equally a heads-down activity"

Probably somewhere there is a statistic on this i.e. "texting while walking/running". While any law created on theory of even saving one life causes it to have merit; its the enforcement of these nuisance violations that lies the problem. It can actually cause an otherwise decent young citizen to be introduced to the court system for something trite. This is one of those things where the college should educate the kids maybe on the first day of its danger. While driving -- here's a stat -- "According to researchers from the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Ft. Worth, texting behind the wheel accounted for 16,141 deaths between 2002 and 2007." In Ohio - there are 15 - 20 deaths attributed to bicycle riding - do you ban bicycle riding. You see where I'm going with this. Its a lame law and creates a possibility of needless enforcement and prosecution. It cost money to throw someone in jail. Incidentally, ducking a snowball could be a heads down activity also - do you ticket the thrower and the ducker?

[banjomike]

I agree Norm. The law, in my opinion, goes too far.

But Rexburg's growth has been explosive over the past decade, and the injury and death rate exploded too. Rexburg was a small town for 100 years that very suddenly became, by Idaho standards, a city. Hopefully, as the town and it's citizens adjust to living in a larger and more crowded place, the law will be struck from the books in time.

But I'm not holding my breath. Idaho is very slow to change it's ways. In Rexburg, the possibility of a car hitting an old couple or a young mother pushing a baby stroller are as great as hitting a single person, and Idaho is prone to passing Nanny laws like this. At the same time, Idaho is big on personal responsibility and individualism... the contradiction is as much a part of Idaho as anything else.

No one here likes to be told what to do, but everyone is quick to tell others what to do.

[Norm Barnes]

Banjomike

"........No one here likes to be told what to do, but everyone is quick to tell others what to do."

"Liberty is the prevention of control by others. This requires self-control and, therefore, religious and spiritual influences; education, knowledge, well being."
Lord Action quote

[Norm Barnes]

Governor's address concerning the fair mishap was moving. It steps him up from a Politician to a Statesman. I admire people who admire other people for taking an interest and rising to the occasion. Here's to you Mr. Governor -- maybe you should be a presidential candidate.

[Norm Barnes]

Oops!!!! Dummy!!! Make that Indiana Governor. Consider the words already eaten.