Stop the Maryland Unsafe Driver

Posts Tagged ‘youtube’

Unsafe driving also applies to boating. When people speed using a boat that displaces lots of water the boat creates large waves. These waves are called wake. Wake travels like a miniature tsunami well away from the vessel smashing against the shore creating erosion problems, colliding with moored vessels, tossing recreational boaters about, and swamping kayaks and canoes.

This video is by YouTube videoist “Jaysic” shows the damaging wake of an inconsiderate speed boat operator. At our StoptheMUD YouTube channel we have added Jaysic’s videos to our favorites list and our boating safety playlist.

Do you boat on St. Leonard Creek? Are you a patron of Vera’s? Watch the videos. Get an idea what unsafe operation on the creek means to the residents who live along the shore.

You MUST read the excellent article on this topic by Joseph Rose of the Oregonian at OregonLive.com. STOPtheMUD agrees with those that hold the premise that the BUS DRIVER is responsible for assuring the pedestrian right of way AND that pedestrians must never assume it.

It’s clear to us at least that the bus drivers in some of the aforementioned events were responsible for the deaths and injuries. Spending a big wad of cash on a $10 gadget that gives bus driver’s an excuse may make Portland’s politicians feel better but it does not MITIGATE the proximate cause of pedestrian injury and death. It is nothing more than an expensive obfuscation.

Our congratulations go out of the engineer that pointed out the cost and the absurdities of this expensive solution. What do you think? Vote in our poll. (Left column of the blog.)

Thank you to the Baltimore Spokes blog for alerting us to this issue.

Folks, STOPtheMUD does NOT encourage and we specifically condemn anyone pacing a speeding driver at the same illegal speed. You cannot justify your own behavior by pointing to someone else’s bad behavior. We get it. It’s dramatic focusing your cam first on your speedometer and then on the driver ahead of you. It’s also a senseless risk that puts you, your passengers, and the rest of us in danger.

We have found a few of these videos on YouTube by drivers angry at speeding police officers. You can report them. Call their agency, state date and time, your legal speed and your estimate of the other driver’s speed.

Please don’t speed up to film your speedometer. Please don’t do it.

Encountering aggressive drivers at night on lonely country roads can be a little nerve racking. Some of those responsible for this behavior are intending to make you feel afraid. That’s just one reason why you should always be extra cautious driving at night. Around farm lands and in our Amish country care is even more important. Deer are ever present and our Amish neighbors use horse drawn carriages for transportation. Driving too fast gives you less time to make urgent decisions.

With the re-introduction of their “Autobahn for All” marketing campaign for 2010, Volkswagen of America created a TV spot entitled “Shoot the Gap” promoting their recently launched 2011 Jetta. But the campaign has now backfired due to outrage from internet users and safety campaigners alike, leading VW to remove the advert from their YouTube channel last night.

See the article at Skiddmark:

via Volkswagen removes ‘Shoot the Gap’ advert following viewer backlash | SkiddMark.

(That’s nice. Damage done. Pull the commercial. Two of these ads appeared on Fox News last night before midnight. Sounds to us like they got their money’s worth. )

Wiretap laws are drawing scrutiny in the age of YouTube as the case of a Maryland motorcyclist, who was arrested for recording and posting online a traffic stop, raises questions about whether citizens have the right to record their own encounters with police.

via FOXNews.com – Online Posting of Motorcyclist’s Traffic Stop Sets Off Debate on Wiretap Law.

(Having worked in a police agency for twelve years in another state and having moved here I remain flabbergasted at the difference in law enforcement cultures.  If your officers have nothing to be ashamed of they should look forward to being recorded.  Maryland’s application of the so-called wire tap law is extraordinarily  misguided. It’s wrong.  Police officers in Maryland record traffic stops. They have to tell the driver but they don’t have to turn it off if the driver objects as far as I know.

Police are not omnipotent. They enforce laws. To do this they must all have incredible judgment. Their qualifications must go beyond making sure they have the pristine uniform, slick haircut, and shiny shoes.

Using this law one could also apply it to the news media.

A traffic stop occurs in PUBLIC. There is no expectation of privacy in PUBLIC. I never assumed there was and expectation of privacy and ALWAYS conducted myself accordingly.

Lastly, I suggest that the officer in this traffic stop could just as easily have displayed his BADGE rather than escalating an implied level of force by displaying a hand gun.  Handguns are NOT routinely displayed in traffic stops unless there is probably cause to believe the person being stopped is armed.   An off-duty traffic stop in civilian clothing is also risky so I must also question the officer’s judgment. Had he obtained the li9cense number of the bike and a description of the driver he could have issued a citation at a later time. The approach to this on view was ill planned. I do not regard the state’s claim that the display of a firearm in this case was justified.

The state wire-tap law is a selective way to CYA, nothing more, nothing less.)

A TV commercial by Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission (Australia) warning drivers of the real dangers of driving while distracted – here, it includes a child distracting their mother, changing CDs and texting a message on a mobile phone. First shown on 15 May 2007.

[Ed note: Very effective commercial. Be sure to see the end.]

Downloading is available from http://www.tacsafety.com.au/jsp/conte…

(c) TAC