jedimaster Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 And to answer the question, you do have a reasonable about of privacy to your car, however, there is case law that states an officer can look in your windows (plain view doctrine) without a warrant. Your vehicle can be searched if there are grounds to search it. If you refuse to roll down your window to speak to an officer identifying himself as such then you're refusing to identify yourself and under the HTA you can be arrested which gives the officer grounds to search. This is what I always understood the law to be as well. You can look in but you can just say pop your trunk or open your glove box, or let me dig under your seat unless you have reasonable grounds to go searching... EG smell drugs in the car, see spent bullet casings on the floor etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 Got off the 401 at Brock in Pickering the other day and there was a cop waiting on the off ramp, no disguise, watching for people on their phone while driving. There was another one on the other side of the 401 checking people as they were heading onto the 401. I have to agree with others who have said this is simply a tax grab. No, I do not like having some numb skull in front of me texting away, but I would rather see the authorities catch someone for wreckless/bad driving while on the phone, than someone simply on the phone... HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 ..... but I would rather see the authorities catch someone for wreckless/bad driving while on the phone, than someone simply on the phone... HH You don't see the correlation between stopping these people now BEFORE they have a chance to kill someone because they are too busy txting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaster Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 You don't see the correlation between stopping these people now BEFORE they have a chance to kill someone because they are too busy txting? At a stoplight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 At a stoplight? Actually I think we should just fine them after they've killed some innocent family on the highway, that sounds like a much better solution.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishing n autograph Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 Easier to spot, same with seat belts. Best was is at a stop light people will recognize a marked police car before a officer on foot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaster Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 Actually I think we should just fine them after they've killed some innocent family on the highway, that sounds like a much better solution.. I tihnk you are completly missing the point of what I am saying. The article specifically targets people who happen to pull out there phone to check something while stopped at a stop light. I can honestly say i see no harm in this. While driving, yah sure, while stopped? Nope. Don't see it. Show me one time when someone that was sending a text message while stopped at a stop light caused a death in an accident. Are you presuming that because a person waited until it was reasonably safe to take a quick peek at there phone while stopped at a stoplight also does the same while they are driving? Are you now presuming they are guilty of something they have not done? Is it a violantion against the highway traffic act to check a text message at a stop light? Yes. Is that specific act dangerous? NO. It's not. While driving, yah sure, pull them over. While stopped? thats just lame. Easier or not, they are not preventing anything. They are only making revenue because its an easy grab in the quota bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 I tihnk you are completly missing the point of what I am saying. The article specifically targets people who happen to pull out there phone to check something while stopped at a stop light. I can honestly say i see no harm in this. While driving, yah sure, while stopped? Nope. Don't see it. Show me one time when someone that was sending a text message while stopped at a stop light caused a death in an accident. Are you presuming that because a person waited until it was reasonably safe to take a quick peek at there phone while stopped at a stoplight also does the same while they are driving? Are you now presuming they are guilty of something they have not done? Is it a violantion against the highway traffic act to check a text message at a stop light? Yes. Is that specific act dangerous? NO. It's not. While driving, yah sure, pull them over. While stopped? thats just lame. Easier or not, they are not preventing anything. They are only making revenue because its an easy grab in the quota bag. I'm not missing the point, I just added in a whole bunch of very obvious sarcasm. I agree that checking your phone while stopped at a stoplight isn't a dangerous act in itself, the issue here is that the law doesn't differentiate between the two.. Until it does people need to just obey the law, it's that simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 Yah Bill, I would... I would rather they patrol the highway looking for folks who are driving poorly, then wasting resouces catching folks at on ramps and off ramps... HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 (edited) Joe, in general terms I agree with you 100%. Nothing frustrates me more than a radar trap pulling car after car for 25 or 30 over and completely ignoring the idiots who tailgate, weave in and out and put the rest of our lives and those of our loved ones in danger. It's easier.........that simple. But, jedimaster, what about the person at a stoplight texting away? They are in most cases completely oblivious to what it going on around them and the fact that their vehicle is in "drive" and their foot on the brake completely absent from their mind. How much lack of concentration does it take to relax the foot on the brake and run over the person crossing in front of you......or texting away as the light turns green and someone behind you lays on the horn.......you stomp on the gas and run into the car in front........seen it more than once. Is the act of picking up a text message or IM at a stoplight dangerous, YES, absolutely no question about it. I have clients all over the world, some of whom want to tear off a piece of my a$$ at the most inconvenient time. Do i talk on the phone in the car, absolutely, fully hands free with auto answer, but I never answer an IM or text in the car whether I am stationary or moving. I am of the opinion that there is a huge difference. Edited May 8, 2012 by John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 Exactly John... I beleive that police presence on the highway has a much bigger foot print on people, than standing on an off ramp. A cruiser gets attention and that could mean that the knuckle head doing, 140 weaving in and out of traffic will take notice and change their ways. Admittedly, if only for a short time. HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaster Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 (edited) Joe, in general terms I agree with you 100%. Nothing frustrates me more than a radar trap pulling car after car for 25 or 30 over and completely ignoring the idiots who tailgate, weave in and out and put the rest of our lives and those of our loved ones in danger. It's easier.........that simple. But, jedimaster, what about the person at a stoplight texting away? They are in most cases completely oblivious to what it going on around them and the fact that their vehicle is in "drive" and their foot on the brake completely absent from their mind. How much lack of concentration does it take to relax the foot on the brake and run over the person crossing in front of you......or texting away as the light turns green and someone behind you lays on the horn.......you stomp on the gas and run into the car in front........seen it more than once. Is the act of picking up a text message or IM at a stoplight dangerous, YES, absolutely no question about it. I have clients all over the world, some of whom want to tear off a piece of my a$$ at the most inconvenient time. Do i talk on the phone in the car, absolutely, fully hands free with auto answer, but I never answer an IM or text in the car whether I am stationary or moving. I am of the opinion that there is a huge difference. Show me a case of someone texting at a stop light and them letting go of the brake and killing someone.... I have seen and know a person that was recently severely crushed by a person that accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake. they were not texting. An idiot is an idiot on the road regardless if they are reading a text message, answering a phone call, listening to the radio or not. You are making a fairly blanket statement about someone quickly glancing at an incoming message being so oblivious that they can't keep there foot on the brake. Sorry you point doesn't hold much water to me. Again I would still trade 100 traffic cops dressed as hobo's for one vice, or criminal or even a guy in a cruiser on the highways. Waste of resources imo purely to raise revenue and nothing more. Edited May 8, 2012 by jedimaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiel Posted May 8, 2012 Report Share Posted May 8, 2012 In circles we go again..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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