Perhaps you'd be more comfortable living in Iran!
No, I'm quite happy in the US (and uncomfortable with some of the liberties taken with various bits of the Bill of Rights in recent years -- but this isn't one; driving around for five years with only one taillight is dangerous and rude as well as probably an infraction against some bit of the state vehicle code).
Well, yes, if he's in the subset of wanted fugitives who give their right name, use real driver's licenses, carry driver's licenses at all, and otherwise manifest themselves to society. (I'm not being sarcastic, actually. There are a few stunningly dumb crooks out there.) The rest, alas, take a bit more catching, which can involve arranging to get a good look at them, giving them a chance to pull a Midnight Express when they see the cops, etc.
Smart crooks, by contrast, presumably mind their public profile and cry about it all the way to the bank, or at least all the way to the suitcase in the back of the closet.
Since this isn't Iran and we do still have some consbreastutional protections, the police have to have a pretext for doing the above, and driving around with a missing taillight strikes me as one that serves multiple purposes.
It's probably a decently efficient way, in a highly car-centered society. As for whether the "real" work isn't being done, one might look at the proportion of cops to population in any given city, and what their workload is like, and what their buttignments are (this might be one of the best way that a cop who basically works patrol or traffic can make this particular contribution).
It's my understanding that some wanted criminals sneak out the back door or into the attic when the cops ring the doorbell, too. Really, if it were THAT straightforward that much of the time, wouldn't a lot more crooks be in jail?
Anyway, the unanswerable part of the question is whether he'd have gotten pulled over or hbuttled in any way if he'd had two taillights, like you're supposed to unless accompanied by a footman with a lantern. Only thing I see going wrong here is that they let it slide for five
Cheers, --Joe
Cops on fishing expeditions 2897On 12 Oct 2005 08:47:32 -0700, "Ad absurdum per aspera" I suspect it is a violation of law since he was pulled over for it. buttuming it is a violation, he should have...
