Sad News from the Brown Shirt League down at Havre’s City Hall.
Our wonderful leaders approved the cell phone ban last night on a 5-3 vote. This new ordinance is to take effect on October 1st and then the police will be pulling you over and ticketing your criminal hide if they even spot you making like you were talking on the cell phone and driving. The best part of this new cell phone ordinance is that it EXEMPTS City Police, Firemen and certain other city employee’s. I guess they are cell phone safety trained and just plain smarter than the rest of us. Considering that the City taxpayers are already paying for a cell phone for each department head I wonder if the City will now be saving us a few bucks and taking those unsafe phones away from those employees.
To give credit where credit is due - Council people Janet Tretheway, Gerry Veis and Andrew Brekke voted No to this absurd ordinance. Kudos to those three for having actually put some thought into the Pandora’s Box this little snafu will be opening up. Also don’t forget former Havre Daily News publisher Val Murri who ceaselessly hounded the council until this was passed. Funny thing is he doesn’t seem to think that driving while holding his little poodle on his lap is at all dangerous – just cell phone use.
Deadline for Filing for a position on City Council is June 30th with 4 positions currently up for grabs
Sure, and why stop at ticketing a driver talking on the phone. Lets find out the person on the other end and give them a ticket too, and thier mother for having you.
ReplyDeleteI can understand the safety issue involved here, but exempting the very people that make and enforce the rules reminds me of one of those middle east dictatorships.
But surely the police will have reasonable cause, i.e. driving in a reckless way etc before they ticket you, just as the alcohol one consumes goes un-noticed unless you do something stupid.
ReplyDeleteThis is just grand
ReplyDeleteKen they now can pull you over for just seeing you talking on the cell phone. By passing this the city just said it is stupid to talk on the phone while driving so there you go
You made a great point about the City providing cell phones for the employees. When can they legally talk on them? And why do they need them when every city vehicle already has a radio? Get rid of the cell phones and save us some money.
I am calling the cops every single time I see a police or city worker talking on the cell phone. I hope everyone else does also
ReplyDeleteDon't take this out on the city workers. They have one vote same as you and I. The 5 duly elected council members are the ones forciing this down our throats! But I do agree,no one should be exempt.
ReplyDeleteThere are checks and balances built into the system.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest anyone ticketed for this infraction demand a jury trial.
If I were on the jury I would deliberate the issue for DAYS at city expense before finding a NOT GUILTY verdict.
Three of the five council people voting for this ban have already announced they will not be running for a second term. Bob Kaul, Cal Long and Pam Hillary just gave us all a goodbye up your ass Havre with this vote. The city is also forced to spend hundreds of dollars buying road signs to alert drivers coming into Havre of this ordinance. Another waste of our limited funds
ReplyDeleteWhat seats and from what areas are going to be vacant?
ReplyDeleteIt's not the talking on the cell phones that need to be addressed, it's the texting. How many times have you driven down the road and seen someone staring at their phone rather then the road. At least when they are talking on the phone they are normally watching the road.
ReplyDeleteI concur with all. Send your city officials packing with something up their ------- .
ReplyDelete