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Elf catches speeders

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I LOVE IT! Good for them!
 
good job for them!

I wonder how long it'll be before we hear about someone filing a law suit over the deceptive trap...
 
I want 'em on my street!!!

Too bad there's not a "holiday" every month they could use this tactic with.

...tho I s'pose there'll be some whining courtroom speeder who'll make the argument this subtrifuge is somehow "unfair." As if it's the ELF's fault they got nailed. Just wait... it'll happen.
 
"But, Your Honor, I was laughing so hard at the sight of an elf by the side of the road, that the tears from my laughter blurred my view of the speedometer, and I was slapping my knee so hard that it pushed the accelerator down to the floor, and..."

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif Mickey
 
I think that same department does similar things all the time. They are just showing their holiday spirit. I've seen stories on them before using a panhandler set up to catch red light runners as well as speeders.

I'm no legal eagle but I'm pretty sure that any 'entrapment' angle would need to show encouragement to break the law before being cited for doing such. If the elf had a sign that said "go ahead and speed, I dare ya" they might have a case. But his sign says to give an elf a break and slow down.

Just because you get away with traffic violations when unobserved doesn't mean that its legal to do it. Therefore being observed, even if you don't recognize the observer as law enforcement, doesn't make it entrapment. It makes you caught.

I've heard several similar arguments from people that get nailed by photo radar and red light cameras that we have in town. Several people have tried arguing 'entrapment' as well as 'invasion of privacy'. Both arguments have failed. The photo radar units are set at 10mph above the posted speed limit so they really give most people plenty of leeway. The average speeder caught on photo radar here in Fort Collins is travelling at 15-20mph above the posted speed limit. On the street in front of my house that equals 45-50mph in a 30mph zone. When they work a mile long section of my street they average 120 tickets a day. Which makes it seem like a real epidemic. Especially since they only work our street at most twice a month. And its a residential street.

This is a street with two youth baseball fields and an elementary school directly across the street from my driveway. So the possiblity of a real tragedy does exist. Especially with all the young children in the area.
 
I've seen 'em here with radar guns hidden behind cardboard begging signs - like the guys you see on corners asking for money.
 
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