I have never lived in Florida but I lived a lot of other places and many of those places had “Used Tire Stores” where they also rented tires and the only cars you saw in there were “hoopties” and I image that the cars owners that rented tires were doing so only to pass a state safety inspection…
And in all those places that I have lived, I have never seen a LEO used an inspection sticker as a Free Pass, if the vehicle had an obvious unsafe condition (bald tires, broken windshield, etc…), they did not get a “free pass”…
If you did see this, you probably saw “Sheriff Buford T. Justice” letting his son, “Junior Justice” go for having no roof on his patrol car… …
Many, but not all, law enforcement officers aren’t looking for misdemeanors, at least in the last 10 years. They’re looking for those who, based on their appearance, might be judged as potential crime risks.
Years ago, I used to be solidly on the side of pedestrians when ever I read a newspaper item about one being injured or killed when crossing the street.
That has shifted lately, as those news items have forced me to notice pedestrian behavior as much as that of other drivers, while I’m out driving or walking myself.
And what I’ve seen disturbs me, even though certain individuals here think I should just “mind my own business” and to “not educate/lecture anyone”:
Pedestrians crossing illegally: In the crosswalk, but against the don’t walk icon. Or, plain old jaywalking, no where near the zebra stripes or controlled intersections.
Pedestrians not pressing the button provided, to initiated pedestrian crossing cycle.
Two years ago, I witnessed an older couple crossing a busy side street, equipped with walk buttons, walking the same direction I was driving. I caught up to them, pulled over, and asked “Excuse me, but I noticed you didn’t press the walk button before you started crossing.” They weren’t angry, but they asked me “Were we supposed to?” I replied “Of course” and added “It’s the law”. And I drove off.
Both pedestrians and motor vehicle operators must make use of the road markings and traffic and pedestrian control signals, if and where provided, to create a more safe environment for everyone going somewhere.
You read way too many internet memes and watch too many bad cop shows if you believe that junk.
Additionally, many of pedestrian deaths involved a ■■■■■ d.r.u.n.k. pedestrian stepping in front of a car. The numbers are going up likely from pedestrians obsessed with their phone.
The media in Florida is slowly coming around to better reporting of car vs train and pedestrian vs train reports. In the past, TV and newspapers, would word the deadlines to put the train at fault.
When I was a kid, some train crossings only had a crossbuck and that was all that was necessary, stop, look, listen was practiced. Now all lanes and sidewalks have to have arms blocking traffic/pedestrians, people still drive or walk around the arms.
Yes, aware of the tire rentals to pass inspections. Biggest violation I saw back then were cars with only one operating headlight.
The comment about LEOs profiling drivers, that is supposed to be illegal but hard to prove. Of course my law degree was obtained by watching Judge Judy😀 LEOs don’t even have to stop the left lane loafers, just flip on their red/blue lights. My opinion, fines for left lane obstruction is not high enough to make it worthwhile. Attended a ten part ‘Citizens Academy’ provided by our Sheriff. I wanted to inquire about that but in the group there were three people that alwaysh dominated the question period with some very dumb questions. To bring it back to cars, we did get the opportunity to drive Sheriff cruisers, as fast as we could, on a closed course. Not all that fast, back in the underpowered Crown Vic days.
Ok, this post probably belongs in the Humor section but here goes.
Pilots based away from where they live sometimes/often have an “airport car”. Usually an older car just to get around their “domicile” (airline lingo). One of my airport cars was a huge 1976 Chevy Impala. 12MPG but who cares when you put less than 1000 miles/yr.
This story is 25 or 30 years ago so I won’t get anybody in trouble. Two pilots I knew both had Chevy Novas, the old rear wheel drive ones. One guy was coming up on inspection and his tires were baldies! He made a deal with the other guy to swap wheels so he could pass. Did I tell you guys that pilots are cheap??!!
Speaking of aircraft, sort of, flew on a couple of Ford Trimotors, I was a little concerned about the cords showing on the tires. Pilot’s response the have plenty of plies left.
Call me a communist, but, rules are rules, laws are laws, and I just got to a point where I was frustrated with people doing what they wanted to do vs obeying the law (and in some cases suffering the consquences - getting hit by a car by crossing when or where they shouldn’t be).
You are WRONG. So why don’t you actually educate yourself. Doesn’t matter what YOUR opinion. It’s what the FACTS are. The US needed more frequencies for the growing wireless market. Most companies LOST money in the transition. The rest just broke even.
That, indeed, is what we as the public were told. Not to mention more bandwidth for emergency services.
The reasons I state “money-grab” are as follows:
#1. TV makers weren’t making a lot of money, as CRT(“tube” displays) had matured and was at its most reliable state by the late 1990s. The digital transition, and advent of new flat screen TVs, was a way to get the public to buy new TVs to replace the ones that worked perfectly well.
#2. Reception. Horses to horses, given the same rooftop hardware, same distance from house to major broadcast market: ATSC(digital) signals are a bit more finicky to pull in.
I’ rather, over distance, gain more ‘snow’ in the picture, and still be able to follow along with the audio, than to lose all at once when a digital TV signal started to fringe out.
#3 As far as losing money: If you held stake or were otherewise invested in the subscriber TV(cable, satellite) industry, the year of the digital transition would have been a very good year for you.
I personally ran into a lot of folks: friends, acquaintances, who expressed actual shock that in 2010 and later, I was still using a rooftop antenna to receive TV stations. They thought that ALL broadcast signals were going away after the transition. Somehting the subscriber industry no doubt tried to push on people.
I was already smart enough (not a “genius”) to know what was going to happen during and after 2009, and had antenna and converter boxes in place for it.
As I stated before it wasn’t the TV makers pushing the switch to flat screens. It was companies like Best Buy or Circuit city and Walmart. They saved a ton of money in warehouse space and workers by switching over. Again - what you BELIEVE doesn’t align with the facts. There was still some good development being done to CRT TV’s years after the first flat Screen (plasma) was introduced. Especially in the commercial space.
I live in an area that has almost ZERO over air reception. Don’t live close enough to any TV stations. We used to pick up a TV station in Derry NH until they closed. I live halfway between Manchester NH and Boston MA and was barely able to pick up any of their stations. The vast majority of people don’t get their channels over the air..it’s through hard-wired cable. I think Satellite/Dish is even more popular than local broadcast TV.
Though vastly as I probably am in the minority regarding the above, I prefer a one-time financial investment in an antenna, wiring, mounting hardware, with reception of signal directly from the towers, over monthly slaver - I mean - subscription, to cable, satellite, or other such provider.
The content on cable, beyond basic broadcast, for me doesn’t justify the monthly bill, not to mention one is also paying monthly rent (fees) per settop box and per remote control in the house, at least with Optimum(Cablevision). Someone has already likely snuck such content up on YouTube, so I’m not missing out on much.
Parents got cable TV more recently when the other neighbors signed up and the installation was free instead of $5000. Mainly for internet /phonetv bundle. Dish had great service but in bad weather would have worse reception than the roof antenna that’s still used for FM reception. They watch more cable/roku TV other than news or Jeopardy.
I am thinking Mike is asking because of streaming tv from the internet. ROKU, Firestick, and any wifi enabled TV.
I still have an outside antenna a that picks up 10 or 12 digital stations for free with my 20 year old plasma tv. I get a ton of free tv streaming from my Roku box over wifi as well as some subscriptions. Cable is nearly dead and satelite is not far behind. And the wifi does not need to be very fast to use it. 20 mbps is plenty and my provider runs at about 200 mbps.
I think cable companies prey on consumers ignorance of technology. They sell “Wifi” on top of their internet offering. If you just buy internet from them you buy (not lease) a router, connect it to the modem and you have Wifi. My cable monster charges me $90/mth but includes the modem.
When I hear “I buy Wifi from my cable company” I question them what exactly they are paying for. I sometimes can save them money.
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