Hacker News Reader

Comment by lr4444lr | Hacker News Reader

Thr meter maids in NYC were brought under the NYPD because they used to be routinely beaten up when they were a civilian agency issuing people tickets. Now I don't condone violence, but this just sounds really risky. A lot of these drivers may be forced to eat some or all of the fine, and when they see some average joe shmo playing tattletale on them, I'd expect an uncomfortably large number of them to get physical. I do not think it's wise of NYC gov. to promote this sort of thing.

View on HN

> Thr meter maids in NYC were brought under the NYPD because they used to be routinely beaten up when they were a civilian agency issuing people tickets. Now I don't condone violence, but this just sounds really risky. A lot of these drivers may be forced to eat some or all of the fine, and when they see some average joe shmo playing tattletale on them, I'd expect an uncomfortably large number of them to get physical. I do not think it's wise of NYC gov. to promote this sort of thing.

We already have a terrible mayor. Even the last mayor said something to the effect of they don't care about people stopping on the bus lane if they are actively loading or unloading. I am sure the new mayor will continue this policy.

Across the river in Jersey City, I've seen even police patrol cars do not care about engine idling laws. These laws probably don't matter if you are in the middle of nowhere in Kansas City but they are absolutely essential in New York City area. We need more enforcement, not less.

If I had to go to court and pay a fine for a guest who put out the trash incorrectly -- no warning, straight a ticket -- I have exactly ZERO sympathy for these engine idlers. They must pay. I'd say while we are at it, make the fines increasingly larger and force these law breakers to go to court and make them waste progressively longer amount of time with the court system every time it happens as well.

> they don't care about people stopping on the bus lane if they are actively loading or unloading.

I once had to deal with an asshole double parked on a two way street forcing all of the traffic behind him to drive on my side and block the other direction. Did not GAF despite truck parking being available at the end of the block.

> I once had to deal with an asshole double parked on a two way street forcing all of the traffic behind him to drive on my side and block the other direction. Did not GAF despite truck parking being available at the end of the block.

My complaint about unlawful parking is with people who put reflective vests on their dashboards. This is blatant corruption and we should not tolerate it.

I think we need a similar photograph law about unlawful parking and if there is a reflective vest or NYPD paraphernalia visible in the car, the fine goes up 100x regardless of whether they are NYPD / NYC employee.

I'm confused here, what does a reflective vest have to do with anything?

In New York, the traffic cops ignore illegally parked cars that somehow indicate they're part of the brotherhood. A reflective vest will do, so will a hand written note saying you're a cop, court officer, employee at DA's office, surgeon, accountant in NYPD, anything really that indicates you're "one of them". A thin blue line sticker will also work.

It's wonderful.

This sounds awful lot like a conspiracy theory. I assume a reflective vest is easy enough to obtain

And yet: https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2018/01/ge...

"In the movies I’ve seen people who try to get out of a traffic ticket by telling the police officer they made a donation to the policeman’s ball, but those were comedies. I had no idea that not only does this exist there are official cards. In fact, the police in New York are livid that the number of cards is being limited."

FWIW I've seen a car displaying a PBA badge get ticketed for not having a front license plate. The tricks don't always work.

>If I had to go to court and pay a fine for a guest who put out the trash incorrectly -- no warning, straight a ticket -- I have exactly ZERO sympathy for these ...

Will fining other people make you feel better about the way you were treated?

Equal enforcement of the law? Yes, absolutely.

Indeed the subtitle of the article: “Some drivers respond with fists.”

For example,

> “I go out thinking I’m going to get assaulted,” said Ernest Welde, 47, an environmental attorney. “I’ve had my bags stolen by truck drivers. I’ve been physically assaulted. I’ve had to call the police a couple of times.”

>Another man, Eric Eisenberg, had a similar experience across town last year. An Amazon driver and two colleagues noticed Mr. Eisenberg pointing his phone’s camera at their idling truck, knocked him to the ground and held him down, according to a lawsuit Mr. Eisenberg filed in January.

> >Another man, Eric Eisenberg, had a similar experience across town last year. An Amazon driver and two colleagues noticed Mr. Eisenberg pointing his phone’s camera at their idling truck, knocked him to the ground and held him down, according to a lawsuit Mr. Eisenberg filed in January.

There has to be some way to make Amazon.com pay for the actions of people who are working for them even if they are technically a separate LLC. The situation won't improve unless the CXO and the board at Amazon.com not some mid level or low level manager, not some contractor goes to prison for these things.

Or maybe, the perps could get arrested for assault?

Probably a few problems worth addressing (the assault being one, the idling another) but in the mix would be the timeframes and budgets expected of couriers. The city sets rules, Amazon sets expectations of time and cost, and the brutal area in the middle is left to drivers maintaining vehicles, dealing with rising fuel costs, trying to find a place to park near the delivery target, etc. I have parking when it's something I need to do once that week; can't imagine having to deal with it constantly every day while on the clock. I'd say that pressure carries over when they cop attention for a separate issue such as idling.

You don't tell them you're tattling. The average truck is passed by hundreds or thousands of pedestrians per day. How is the driver going to know which one phoned him or her in?

Because you have to stand there for multiple minutes recording. Truckers will learn how to spot them.

> According to the article, you have to record a three minute long video which clearly shows the vehicle owner and captures the sound of the engine.

> Because you have to stand there for multiple minutes recording. Truckers will learn how to spot them.

I wonder... can you record a three minute video of a New York Police Department patrol car? If so, who pays for it?

Congratulations, you've just unlocked infinite money. But also infinite debt. So it's a double-edged sword I guess?

> If so, who pays for it?

Taxpayers.

According to the article, you have to record a three minute long video which clearly shows the vehicle owner and captures the sound of the engine.

If you report these offenses it's common for your home address to show up in court documents. Unless you live in a building with doormen you're putting yourself at quite a decent amount of risk.

> If you report these offenses it's common for your home address to show up in court documents. Unless you live in a building with doormen you're putting yourself at quite a decent amount of risk.

All the more reason for EVERYONE to do it.

I propose while we are at it, we don't try to guess what is a "Legally authorized emergency motor vehicles" and complain about NYPD cars that are idling anyway. They can't kill us all!

https://www1.nyc.gov/nycbusiness/description/idling-regulati...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com