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California Wants To Put E-Ads On License Plates
techmuse writes "The San Jose Mercury News reports that the California state legislature wants to put electronic advertising on license plates. The plate would display standard plate information when the car is moving, but would also display ads when the car is stopped for more than 4 seconds (say, at a red light). Not distracting or annoying at all! 'The bill has received no formal opposition. It passed unanimously through the Senate last month and is scheduled to be heard Monday by the Assembly Transportation Committee.'"
Exactly. California is ungovernable and run buy a bunch of tax and waste (it's a stretch to call it tax and spend) idiots. We lived there for 20+ years and got out 5 years ago due to the financial insanity of trying to make ends meet. I can honestly say the only things I miss are some of the radio stations (which I now get on the net) and Disneyland. Everything else is rubbish as compared to the asking price of living and doing business there. California is becoming a place for the rich and the poor. The rich can afford it, and the state pays* for everything if you're poor. If you're middle class they bend you over and pound you in the ass. With sand.
* with borrowed money
I still cannot find the droids I am looking for...
On the flip side, I'd love a "back off" button I could get to make the plate flash a message at the wanker behind me, or even a "turn your lights on".
I think we all would at times. There are some homemade examples of this on youtube. Do note, however, that this is a direct violation of the law in many places and would fall under more general reckless driving laws in the rest.
Rule of thumb: moving/changing signs are not allowed on cars.
Also for those who don't know; The California state legislature throws stupid stuff like this around all the time. It never goes anywhere. They don't do it because they want to pass the law. They do it because there is some wealthy business behind it. This is clearly a crappy ad for some crappy ad manufacturer.
Already done.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/car/d138/
Lead shot and bullets (especially copper-jacketed bullets) aren't terribly dangerous as far as lead exposure goes, since the elemental lead used in projectile construction isn't as bio-available as its derivative organic compounds (like, say, lead acetate or tetra-ethyl lead).
True, it's culturally very different. In Germany "30mph advised" means "it'd take WET ice and summer-tires to make this curve dangerous in 70mph", whereas in parts of Norway, "30 mph advised" means "if you enter this curve in 50mph, you're unlikely to exit it in one piece"
Yes, it's safe to ignore those cautionary signs, most of the time. But, you should always be aware of them. Dead Man's Curve on I-90 in Cleveland Ohio pretty much means what it says. The Indian Stairway in Oklahoma says 25 mph on every curve, and you can do 35 on most of them, but two of those curves mean exactly what they say. There are a lot more.
And, if you're driving a truck or a camper, you had better pay attention too. We have a curve three miles north of my house in Arkansas, with warning signs that say "35 MPH". I can do ~65 in any of my kid's sports cars - but big trucks and campers alike have gone off that curve while doing ~40 - 45 MPH.
My own personal rule of thumb, is to slow to within 15 MPH of what the sign says BEFORE getting to the curve, then adjust as I see fit as I actually enter the curve.
I've found a few curves in W. Virginia and N. Carolina that scared the crap out of me, too. My rule of thumb was dangerously to fast for them! It sucks to get into the curve, then realize that it gets sharper before it straightens out!
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
I suppose speed limits of 30 mph in a residential area is purely motivated towards speeding tickets income and nothing to do with the 20% fatality at 30mph vs 40 mph where its 90% fatality rate. Seems like this are speed limits imposed by engineers. Of course now they are pushing for 20mph in residential areas which decreases the chance of death to around 2.5%. Of course you could argue its political when over 3 thousand people in the UK alone are killed on roads each year. You can throw out whatever excuse for driving irresponsibly, but don't think your fooling everyone.
figures from Sunday Times which may or may not be 100% accurate but they paint a decent picture. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article3941769.ece
It's way worse than that. The state was New Hampshire and the slogan that was taped over was "LIVE FREE OR DIE".
http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=15440
Eventually, the case was heard by the Supreme Court of the Unites States. New Hampshire lost 6-3 on First Amendment -- Freedom of Speech grounds. The defendant was eventually awarded legal fees which New Hampshire refused to pay until a marshall walked into a state liquor store with a writ and demanded $21,000.
You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
The irony of course is that the guy who received the citation still doesn't understand the First Amendment:
Some men you just can't reach...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"