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Comment by Simulacra | Hacker News Reader

This is laughable. It's our freedom of speech to alert others to DUI checkpoints, speed traps, or coupons at at the donut shop. Whatever we want. It's the same as flash the brights, which the police have tried (and failed) to stop [1]. I hope the NYPD does try to push this so they can get smacked down in court.

[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/201...

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That's true, but something tells me the same people opposing this will scream like banshees when people start sharing lists of known speeders and bad drivers publicly.

The government doesn't have freedom of speech rights, and in any case accusing people of being "bad drivers" likely gets into issues of slander in a way that pointing out the fact of the existence of checkpoints or cameras doesn't.

Indeed, it's almost as if the laws were designed to defend liberty and hinder authoritarianism. As if even when authoritarianism sounds like a good idea, it is not...

Just an FYI, the comment you replied to didn't imply that the government do the publishing.

There are several initiatives to tag evidence to plates and locations so that people can watch out for bad and dangerous drivers.

Eg, https://baddrivers.com/

Court records that relate to traffic citations are public record already (with the exceptions of those who can use traffic school to avoid a conviction or violations that are granted expungement for whatever reason).

> something tells me the same people opposing this will scream like banshees when people start sharing lists of known speeders

There is no stigma to speeding. Nobody thinks it reflects badly on you.

People would scream if the government started circulating lists to traffic cops of cars that should be watched for speeding, but that's really not an issue of "being labeled a speeder" so much as "being singled out for harassment by the government".

>There is no stigma to speeding.

Where on earth do you get this generalization from? In my circle of associates, speeders are near-universally castigated as people who willfully endanger the safety of innocent people. And I wouldn't think that would be surprising when you take into account the fact that many/most friends and loved ones have to drive frequently, and the fact that car accidents are so common in the domain of stupid pointless horrible accidental deaths.

Unless you're referring to people who are just going 5-10 mph over, which most people wouldn't call "speeding" conversationally.

FWIW, I've also never head of any sort of generalized stigma regarding speeding. In specific contexts, yes - like "that guy who speeds down this residential street lined with yards full of playing children". But I've never heard of anyone speaking of "speeders" in general the way we speak of, say, "rapists", or "drug dealers", or "kiddie fiddlers" or any of the general "bad people" templates that exist.

Sharing donut coupons doesn't kill bystanders. DUI and speeding does.

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