• nat_turner_overdrive [he/him]
    ·
    18 days ago

    In my neck of the woods paper plates and zero enforcement are such a problem that as long as you don't drive like you're trying to kill someone right then, directly in front of a cop, you can get away with anything. A friend of mine did eight months in a new truck with no plates at all, not even paper ones. My bike's registration is a year out of date. Painting all that shit on your car is just a voluntary "kick me" sign

    • Leon_Grotsky [comrade/them]
      ·
      edit-2
      18 days ago

      yeah it's like a trailer I saw the other day with "PLATES IN CAB" written across the back in huge letters and it's like my brother they are obligated to check now! If you hadn't written that literally noone would have noticed, but now any cop that sees the huge ass text HAS to call you on it

    • nat_turner_overdrive [he/him]
      ·
      18 days ago

      replying again because this got upvoted so much - is this now typical outside of Houston, Texas? Have cops really quit doing traffic enforcement nationwide?

      • Ithorian [comrade/them, he/him]
        ·
        18 days ago

        Have cops really quit doing traffic enforcement nationwide?

        My driving record proves that traffic enforcement is quite ubiquitous on the east coast anyway.

      • StalinIsMaiWaifu@lemmygrad.ml
        ·
        18 days ago

        In a lot of jurisdictions plat issues are a "add-on" charge, they won't stop someone for plates but if you get pulled over they are going to add it to your ticket

        See also plate covers

      • Thordros [he/him, comrade/them]
        ·
        18 days ago

        Have cops really quit doing traffic enforcement nationwide?

        It is simply the free market in action. Police officers selectively enforce the laws that generate maximum revenue for the department, thus ensuring they can buy more landmine-proof trucks. It sounds like licensing infractions are not big ticket items in Houston.

        • quarrk [he/him]
          ·
          18 days ago

          Defund government agencies -> agencies now have to prioritize which things get done because they don’t have the staff -> agencies prioritize the highest yield efforts to ensure the lights stay on. Repeat cycle.

          This is a problem beyond just the police. It’s how politicians (mainly Republicans) undermine laws and regulations they don’t like, without having to succeed in repealing them. The free market aspect is just a layer on top of this.

          • nat_turner_overdrive [he/him]
            ·
            18 days ago

            I think with police it's not defunding - no police departments were defunded in the USA, like two had their funding reduced for less than a year before getting it increased over the previous level. My perception is that the police are actively refusing to do most of their jobs now because they're still upset about BLM and the realization that most people don't really like or respect them.

            • quarrk [he/him]
              ·
              18 days ago

              True. I agree the specific case of police probably is not caused by shrinking budgets. Just adding in some context that, often, a focus on maximizing revenue is not solely due to market ideology. In fact, total net revenue may decrease even if the agency increases in % ‘profit’ (annual net revenue ÷ annual budget). The political motive for reducing the budget may not be in making the agency more efficient, but in fact undermining the agency as a whole, to force eventual abolishment or privatization.

      • Leon_Grotsky [comrade/them]
        ·
        edit-2
        18 days ago

        I think it's largely dependent on what kind of civilian traffic goes on in a particular area; it's probably a common experience near the major metro areas.

        For example, for alot of people far to the northwest of Chicago the largest amount of driving they are going to be doing is along the tollways/interstates going between the various suburbs and the city with their destination probably very close to an exit. There's just straight up less of a chance of running into a cop than if you were using regular streets/roads. With the volume of traffic on highways you have to be acting like a COLOSSAL dumbass to get picked out of that crowd, there's less police per sq. mile watching it, and whatever law your breaking has to be worth disrupting all that traffic and that's a fraught situation in itself. You may see cops parked on the median with their speed guns out but they're not checking your stickers or stopping people for having expired plates, they're looking for the guy going 120+ on the shoulder or overloaded trucks.

        E) Thanks @stalinsmawaifu for bringing up "add-on" charges, could have saved myself some keystrokes if I remembered the term.

        If most of the traffic is on regular streets with slower residential or commercial areas those police have literally nothing better to do than cruise around looking for something like this to pounce on.

    • rio [none/use name]
      ·
      edit-2
      18 days ago

      Police will brutalize the “black Israelite” whackos and then spend 40 minutes politely asking the sovcits to please wind down the window before calling a supervisor who writes them a summons because it’s not their problem.

    • Adkml [he/him]
      ·
      18 days ago

      Violently and obviously key the car in front of them.

      Doesn't damage your car and when they threatened to call the cops you get to say "Oh so now the cops have authority huh?"

  • Rom [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    18 days ago

    Interesting, where in the constitution does it "gaurantee" that?

    • Adkml [he/him]
      ·
      18 days ago

      That's the thing, it doesn't matter.

      They will recite with 1000% confidence a section it comes from.

      "Section 408 subsection 3 heading c of the Virginia rights of motorways from 1905 states that a traveler........ "

      Now sure, that section doesn't exist and the constitution isn't broken into that kind of formatting.

      But are you going to explain the basics of general government, the constitution specifically, different formatting procedures, the deffinition of half a dozen different words including "travelling" "vehicle" and "operating", and then still get into a physical altercation with them where they shit their pants and go limp.

      The entire methodology behind this is dealing with them is way more of a pain in the ass then calling them a dumbfuck and hoping they don't cause an accident.

  • Awoo [she/her]
    ·
    18 days ago

    These are some of the most credulous people in the country. Be thankful they were taking in by the sovereign citizen cult instead of something much more dangerous. They are some of the most susceptible to bullshit people out there given how willing to act on the bullshit they've read they are.

  • JoeByeThen [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    18 days ago

    In response to the new US Constitutional Guidelines, I hereby declare that my Surplus Value is directly linked to my Labor. For commercial use of my Labor, my uncoerced consent is needed at all times! Repost this message before new US Terms of Service go into effect to tell the US Government that you don't want to be a Capitalist Slave!

  • pixelghost [any]
    ·
    18 days ago

    If only there was some kind of alternate mode of personal transport that doesn't require government licensing and registration....

    ... Ride a bike, you say? What, like a fucking communist or something?

    • djsaskdja@reddthat.com
      ·
      18 days ago

      I don’t ride a bike because I don’t have a death wish. Could you imagine sharing the road with morons like the one in this post? I just take the bus instead.

      • pixelghost [any]
        ·
        16 days ago

        We should give the buses snow plows to push people like this out of the way.

  • hopesdead@startrek.website
    ·
    18 days ago

    This is the equivalency of someone walking into a store, being politely asked to wear a mask and holding a tiny piece of paper saying they don’t have to.

  • mar_k [he/him]
    ·
    18 days ago

    ""License plate""? What's next, requiring a license to make toast in my own damn toaster??

  • mayo_cider [he/him]
    ·
    18 days ago

    I read the constitution, there's no gaurantees there

    sucks to suck

  • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
    ·
    18 days ago

    These people have cargo-culted legalese. They think the right incantation is all you need to get out of any laws you don't like. I kind of don't really blame them for it though, tbh. The law is pretty opaque and haphazardly applied. The funny thing is that this shit actually works a bunch purely out of cops not wanting the headache.