Massachusetts: One year in jail and $500 fine for driving after 4pm curfew

[rambone]

The right to travel has been revoked due to weather in Massachusetts.


http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/201...zard-coming/lu16IdVkHUKvWpeDP5hf9K/story.html Gov. Patrick declares state of emergency, bans cars from road as of 4 p.m. as Mass. hunkers down ahead of blizzardhttp://www.boston.com/metrodesk/201...zard-coming/lu16IdVkHUKvWpeDP5hf9K/story.html

Governor Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency and banned cars from the road beginning at 4 p.m. today as Massachusetts braces for a potentially historic blizzard that could blanket the state with more than 2 feet of snow, whip up winds to 70 miles per hour, and batter the coast with giant waves.

Kurt Schwartz, director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, said at the news conference that the travel ban applies to all roads in the state, but there are various exceptions, such as for public safety, media, and vehicles supplying esssential businesses like convenience stores and hardware stores. Violating the travel ban, he said, could incur a penalty of a year in jail and a $500 fine.

 

[miguel]

People with Jeeps ought to take off their plates and joy ride, since it will be easy to lose the Hitlerites in the snow. That or snowmobiles...

 

[IndyDave1776]

'Uncle Joe' would be proud!

 

[VN Vet]

Hey there, they are just using this winter storm to practice their authority they are taking from the inner strength of their Obama.

 

[level.eleven]

Possibly the worst blizzard in history is bearing down. Governor issues order to stay off of roads and declares state of emergency. Gets compared to Stalin.

How did conservatives get to this point?

 

[littletommy]

I have so many conflicting thoughts on this.....If you have a vehicle capable of safely traversing the streets in this storm, then no big deal. If you don't have such a vehicle, and you get stranded, you would probably expect emergency services to rescue you. If you are a taxpayer, you pay for those services. It IS Massachusetts, after all. People are idiots. People are idiots as a result of years of government nanny-ism.

I guess the bottom line for me is, if you take the risk, and get stuck, you are on your own, and the government should not use this as yet another excuse to criminalize idiots. The governor should go on TV and instruct people to not be idiots, and leave it at that.

 

[chizzle]

Possibly the worst blizzard in history is bearing down. Governor issues order to stay off of roads and declares state of emergency. Gets compared to Stalin.

How did conservatives get to this point?

I think it was the "1 year in jail" part, just a guess.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Possibly the worst blizzard in history is bearing down. Governor issues order to stay off of roads and declares state of emergency. Gets compared to Stalin.

How did conservatives get to this point?

Threat of jail and the problem inherent to the notion that it is the prerogative of government to 'protect' people from themselves. It amazes me how the same people who embrace Darwinism with religious zeal refuse to allow it to work, and insist on legislating the entire population according to the lowest common denominator. This way of thinking and governing has nothing in common with the concepts of liberty and limited government. Next thing you know, the government will determine that salt is bad for you, hence illegal. Oh, wait. New York already bans salt from tables in restaurants.

 

[netsecurity]

They didn't arrest people who refused to evacuate during Katrina or hurricane Sandy. I agree that a "ban on driving", which includes criminal punishment is going way overboard.

 

[Liberty1911]

This is a good example of what happens when a society refuses to take responsibility for themselves.

The government is implementing a curfew because irresponsible jackwagons will tie up their resources calling in because they're stranded.

The public accepts this infringement on their liberty, because the alternative would be for the government to tell the citizens that anyone out traveling in this, will have to take responsibility for themselves and the government will likely not be able to respond.

People will not tolerate the second option and refuse to take responsibility for themselves, so we all have our liberty infringed as a result.

 

[jamil]

Possibly the worst blizzard in history is bearing down. Governor issues order to stay off of roads and declares state of emergency. Gets compared to Stalin.

How did conservatives get to this point?

I think the governor has a right to declare that people can't use public roads, and even to instruct snow crews to ignore the pleas for help when violators get hopelessly stuck. But my objection is making jail time the consequence violating his curfew.

Violators only consequences should be the natural kind that generally keep sensible people from going out in that kind of weather.

 

[level.eleven]

Threat of jail and the problem inherent to the notion that it is the prerogative of government to 'protect' people from themselves. It amazes me how the same people who embrace Darwinism with religious zeal refuse to allow it to work, and insist on legislating the entire population according to the lowest common denominator. This way of thinking and governing has nothing in common with the concepts of liberty and limited government. Next thing you know, the government will determine that salt is bad for you, hence illegal. Oh, wait. New York already bans salt from tables in restaurants.

No. Driving your car into a tree during a snow storm has nothing to do with evolution through natural selection, but this is beside the point.

I don't understand this childish, selfish position. Sometimes, when faced with crisis communities have to work together. Humans have decided that the best form of administering such situations is via a democratically elected government. In this case, there is going to be power loss, roads are going to be impassible, and emergency resources are going to be stretched to the thinnest of margins. So, the governor asks those whom elected him to stay off the roads unless it is an emergency. He gets compared to Stalin and a slippery slope fallacy about salt is now in the discussion.

This way of thinking and governing has nothing in common with the concepts of liberty and limited government.

In what ways? Knowing that resources are limited, the governor has asked the citizens to not consume said resources unless an emergency situation is at hand, during the 1-2 day crisis. This isn't an everyday occurrence. 30 inches of snow and 75 mph winds. Do you honestly feel that your liberty is being infringed because the governor asked you to stay inside during the worst blizzard, for the area, in history?

 

[level.eleven]

I think the governor has a right to declare that people can't use public roads, and even to instruct snow crews to ignore the pleas for help when violators get hopelessly stuck. But my objection is making jail time the consequence violating his curfew.

Violators only consequences should be the natural kind that generally keep sensible people from going out in that kind of weather.

Do judges actually convict people to a year in prison for violating these scenarios? Is a judge going to take a bunk in a jail or prison for the guy who went out to take a look? Or, are people running with max penalties to sensationalize a non-story?

What good is declaring a state of emergency if its only a friendly request? That line of thinking sort of throws the entire theory of jurisprudence out the window. The point is to keep roadways free off slide offs and wrecks so power crews, emergency services, and plow crews can more quickly restore a functioning city.

 

[jamil]

No. Driving your car into a tree during a snow storm has nothing to do with evolution through natural selection, but this is beside the point.

I don't understand this childish, selfish position. Sometimes, when faced with crisis communities have to work together. Humans have decided that the best form of administering such situations is via a democratically elected government. In this case, there is going to be power loss, roads are going to be impassible, and emergency resources are going to be stretched to the thinnest of margins. So, the governor asks those whom elected him to stay off the roads unless it is an emergency. He gets compared to Stalin and a slippery slope fallacy about salt is now in the discussion.

This way of thinking and governing has nothing in common with the concepts of liberty and limited government.

In what ways? Knowing that resources are limited, the governor has asked the citizens to not consume said resources unless an emergency situation is at hand, during the 1-2 day crisis. This isn't an everyday occurrence. 30 inches of snow and 75 mph winds. Do you honestly feel that your liberty is being infringed because the governor asked you to stay inside during the worst blizzard, for the area, in history?

The governor hasn't just [STRIKE]asked[/STRIKE] made a friendly request that the citizens not to use the roads. He ordered them with the threat of arrest and jail time. A friend of mine used to always say, "you get rid of the dumb ones first", until he had his glove sucked off his hand by his snow thrower. I think natural consequences should suffice.

 

[Liberty1911]

Do you honestly feel that your liberty is being infringed because the governor asked you to stay inside during the worst blizzard, for the area, in history?

I feel like global warming is an even bigger hoax than I thought.

 

[rambone]

If the governor "asked," then there would be no controversy.

 

[IndyDave1776]

No. Driving your car into a tree during a snow storm has nothing to do with evolution through natural selection, but this is beside the point.

I don't understand this childish, selfish position. Sometimes, when faced with crisis communities have to work together. Humans have decided that the best form of administering such situations is via a democratically elected government. In this case, there is going to be power loss, roads are going to be impassible, and emergency resources are going to be stretched to the thinnest of margins. So, the governor asks those whom elected him to stay off the roads unless it is an emergency. He gets compared to Stalin and a slippery slope fallacy about salt is now in the discussion.

This way of thinking and governing has nothing in common with the concepts of liberty and limited government.

In what ways? Knowing that resources are limited, the governor has asked the citizens to not consume said resources unless an emergency situation is at hand, during the 1-2 day crisis. This isn't an everyday occurrence. 30 inches of snow and 75 mph winds. Do you honestly feel that your liberty is being infringed because the governor asked you to stay inside during the worst blizzard, for the area, in history?

I don't know any better example of natural selection than dying of your own stupidity.

Advising people of danger is one thing. Coercive and punitive efforts are something entirely different.

 

[jamil]

Do judges actually convict people to a year in prison for violating these scenarios? Is a judge going to take a bunk in a jail or prison for the guy who went out to take a look? Or, are people running with max penalties to sensationalize a non-story?

What good is declaring a state of emergency if its only a friendly request? That line of thinking sort of throws the entire theory of jurisprudence out the window. The point is to keep roadways free off slide offs and wrecks so power crews, emergency services, and plow crews can more quickly restore a functioning city.

Don't say that I'm saying more than I'm saying.

 

[ArmedProgrammer]

Possibly the worst blizzard in history is bearing down. Governor issues order to stay off of roads and declares state of emergency. Gets compared to Stalin.

How did conservatives get to this point?

How do "conservatives" get blamed when Rambone posted it?

Really?

And I'm dead certain that he would approve of the Statist reference to Stalin.

Rambone's pretty much a libertarian from everything I've seen. yet you blame "conservatives". Sounds like you've got a minor axe to grind today, no?

If the sun is shining, it's Bush's fault. If it's raining, it's Bush's fault....

 

[Kirk Freeman]

You have no right to endanger lives by driving a car in a Nor'easter. When you drive in this stuff you endanger the lives of those that must come out to save you. You have no right to their lives.

Why do you think someone has the right to the life of another, ram?