Miata Mailing List: November 1996, Message #160
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From: john.freas@svis.org (John Freas) Subject: Re: Don't get your Miata Date: Sat, 2 Nov 1996 17:17:44 -0500
Previously on Re: Don't get your Miata... w.errington@ic.ac.uk (Will Errington) said: WE>Cripes! I never realised that the US was such a "police state" ;) Not all of it, but New Jersey is commonly known as one of those places you may be born in, but wouldn't choose as a residence. WE>In the UK, you have 7 days in which to present your necessaries to your WE>local police station. Seems like quite a strict rule that you should be WE>carrying all your documentation at all times. What happens if you are WE>mugged, or, if you have left your documents in the car, it is broken in WE>How could they prove that the villain was not the owner of the vehicle? Most places I've been will let you go with a citation for not carrying your documentation, which will be waived if you produce said documents within a certain amount of time. I suspect that in NJ, the law is the same and it is up to the discretion of the officer in question whether they will let you go or not. If you're mugged, you have a choice of either not driving, or taking your chances until the replacement documents arrive. If the documents are in the car and it is stolen, you have no problem. In the US, you are required to carry your drivers license with you when you drive, and since it has a photo on it, it's not so easy to get a drivers license to match the registration on a stolen car. what's more, the most likely reason the cops would pull over your stolen car is if you have reported it stolen. In which case, it would take some convincing to make them believe that the driver is the owner. The New Jersey insurance card thing is not a big surprise. It is the next step in a natural progression through which this country is going. For decades we in the US have been slowly convincing ourselves that we are not responsible for our actions or their consequences, and that if something bad happens to us it is someone else's fault. The result is a Tort Law system that is out of control, and a system that is so perverted that a 7 year old can be charged for sexual harrassment after kissing a girl in school. If the NJ cops are afraid that an uninsured driver will go out and get into an accident, and then they will be sued, they are very likely right. It is a twisted and draconian way to live, but we are reaping what we've sown. Unfortunately, it is just the start. -John ------------------------------------------------ John Freas Red '90 Base (Red Dwarf) jfreas@gte.net --- * WR [NR] * UNREGISTERED EVALUATION COPY ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Internet: john.freas@svis.org (John Freas) This message was processed by Software Valley Information System ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- \014 ==============================================================================