But Hummers are made to float!
February 19, 2005 11:58 AM   Subscribe

Stupid motorists, beware. Arizona goes it one step further. This should be a federal mandate, imho. (Breaking FPP cherry).
posted by Baby_Balrog (34 comments total)
 
I find it hard to believe that this is the first time that Arizona has seen fit to cite someone based on a already-standing "stupid motorist" law.
posted by .kobayashi. at 12:13 PM on February 19, 2005


See, the way I read the story, it was that particular county's first time invoking that law, not the first time it had been invoked in the entire state.
posted by saladin at 12:17 PM on February 19, 2005


Shouldn't the "stupid motorist" law be enforced when you buy the Hummer?
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 12:23 PM on February 19, 2005


God, leave the federal government out of this, damnit. Are states so incompitant that they can't even figure out how to deal with stupid drivers on their own?

Arizona has a big problem with this kind of thing, aperantly but other states don't need it, why force it down their throats?
posted by delmoi at 12:28 PM on February 19, 2005


(Breaking FPP cherry).

(using defective condom)
posted by quonsar at 12:29 PM on February 19, 2005


Arizona has a big problem with this kind of thing, aperantly but other states don't need it, why force it down their throats?

My state needs it - I can't count the number of times I've seen "towfloats", or these little boats they use to ferry towlines out to swamped motorists, in my homestate of Michigan. Maybe states are just that incompetent.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 12:43 PM on February 19, 2005


(Breaking FPP cherry).

(using defective condom)

(catching metafilterrhea)
posted by alteredcarbon at 12:48 PM on February 19, 2005


Sorry, just having fun. Good post.
posted by alteredcarbon at 12:49 PM on February 19, 2005


The great thing about this is now he has a stigma attached to his actions. He has been publicly labeled a "stupid driver," and all his friends and family recognize that. Next time he tries to do something stupid with family in the car, he's going to hear about it. Now if they could just put some kind of mark on the car, like a big, red letter S, it would be perfect.
posted by fatbobsmith at 12:49 PM on February 19, 2005


did anyone else think of Brazil?
posted by mcsweetie at 1:19 PM on February 19, 2005


Shouldn't the "stupid motorist" law be enforced when you buy the Hummer?

Thank you for that.
posted by rafter at 1:24 PM on February 19, 2005


"Stupid motorist" laws unfairly persecute stupid people.
posted by recurve at 1:49 PM on February 19, 2005


Of course, some idiot is going to worry that they'll be labelled a "stupid motorist", not call for help, and endanger themselves further. Maybe even get killed. Then there'll be some whiny activists of some sort trying to repeal the law.

It's a pity too. This is a great law. Still, I've never met a Hummer driver, or anyone who even wanted a Hummer that I would trust with driving a go-kart.
posted by Saydur at 1:50 PM on February 19, 2005


Of course, some idiot is going to worry that they'll be labelled a "stupid motorist", not call for help, and endanger themselves further. Maybe even get killed.

Sounds like a great candidate for a Darwin Award.
posted by sbutler at 1:57 PM on February 19, 2005


Now if they could just put some kind of mark on the car, like a big, red letter S, it would be perfect.

"Look at that 'S' car go!"
posted by sourwookie at 2:05 PM on February 19, 2005


Hahaha, 3 children in the car. What an idiot!
posted by Dean Keaton at 2:10 PM on February 19, 2005


(Breaking FPP cherry).

Umm...was it good for you?
posted by ChrisTN at 2:13 PM on February 19, 2005


I don't imagine there's much doubt this guy has other driving issues: hummer ownership, willfully disregarding rules he figures are made for other lesser mortals. Who knows what future accident was just prevented, who knows how many of his fellow citizens will experience a little less intimidation on the road at least, assuming he gets it of course.

Too bad they didn't rescue the people and lose the vehicle.
posted by scheptech at 2:17 PM on February 19, 2005


I think the "lesser mortals" attitude is a requirement to be a hummer owner, no? I must say, I'm mighty sick of slamming on my brakes when a SUV pulls out in front of me. They do it because they know, if I hit them, their fender will be scratched and I'll be a blot on the pavement.

San Antonio has a "stupid motorist" law, of a kind: if you drive around "high water" barricades and get stuck, you have to pay a big giant fine plus costs. The penalties should be harsher, because cops and firefighters have died in high-water rescues.
posted by MiHail at 2:47 PM on February 19, 2005


One skid rests and balances on the vehicle, allowing rescuers to scoop up victims, while the other skid hovers above the water.

Maybe they could use the one skid to scrape an "S" on the roof.
posted by faceonmars at 2:51 PM on February 19, 2005


I read this to my wife and said "I think they should have a Stupid Motorists law here." She looked at me, paused, and then said, "No you don't."
posted by spock at 3:02 PM on February 19, 2005


mcsweetie
did anyone else think of Brazil?

The country or the movie? And if the movie, what aspect of it?

Either way, the answer for me is "no", but you've piqued my interest now ...
posted by kcds at 3:13 PM on February 19, 2005


I hope he gets a big red S on his license so that the next time he's pulled over, the cop knows he's already established himself as a moron and he'll be ticketed accordingly.

But I like that his wife can now officially call him a stupid driver. That's kind of sweet. And his kids will grow up calling him a stupid driver.

I wish there were an easy hand signal for dumbass that I could show to the dumbasses who drive them around here.
posted by fenriq at 3:20 PM on February 19, 2005


The law has been around for years... in tucson it was invoked a couple times each year for the past few years from what i can remember....

this is just the first time it was used in scottsdale.

tucson has much more dry washes that flood though, scottsdale is much more city and probably doesn't have as many places that flood enough to grab a car the size of a hummer.
posted by Spydr at 3:22 PM on February 19, 2005


There was an English guy who was trying to break a world record for solo rowing between New Zealand and somewhere else (or maybe around the world). He was fairly incompetent and had to be rescued multiple times during his travels, so finally the NZ government -- after he got swamped, lost an oar and broke his arm all in one go -- confiscated his boat until he reimbursed them the cost of the naval rescue. Unfortunately I can't remember enough details to find an article about it.
posted by tracicle at 4:01 PM on February 19, 2005


Interesting. Did anyone else notice that this is all occuring in Maricopa County, under the watchful eye of Sheriff Joe Arpaio ? Arpaio - along with charging Hummer-drivers with stupid driving - is fond of dressing prisoners in pink, housing them in tent cities where the temperature reaches 138 degrees, and putting them on chain gangs. He has also has been accused of "gestapo-like tactics" by the local paper.
posted by googly at 5:51 PM on February 19, 2005


On the assumption that anyone who announces her/his first post is begging for feedback: This would've made a better front page post with the addition of some context for the story, which itself is pretty thin for a NewsFilter post.
posted by mediareport at 6:34 PM on February 19, 2005


The country or the movie? And if the movie, what aspect of it?

Either way, the answer for me is "no", but you've piqued my interest now ...


the movie, and the bit where those found guilty should pay for their periods of detention and the information retrieval procedures used in their interrogation.
posted by mcsweetie at 6:42 PM on February 19, 2005


"Look at that 'S' car go!"
posted by sourwookie at 2:05 PM PST on February 19


Haha, zing!
posted by sugarfish at 9:31 PM on February 19, 2005


On the assumption that anyone who announces her/his first post is begging for feedback: This would've made a better front page post with the addition of some context for the story, which itself is pretty thin for a NewsFilter post.

I agree. A tiny bit of research - like, say, googling the people named in the story - might have led you to some interesting background.
posted by googly at 10:05 PM on February 19, 2005


mcsweetie - It's not just in the movies. I can't recall the recent story that I ran across, but states suing inmates (1, 2) or charging a per diem is not unheard of.

In Georgia they tried to charge for pre-trial costs, which according to this article is against the Georgia constitution.
posted by tvjunkie at 10:41 PM on February 19, 2005


Did they slap pink handcuffs on the guy?
posted by Vidiot at 12:30 AM on February 20, 2005


Uh, sorry I couldn't find a better source for this; searching BBC news failed miserably. Anyway: Innocent UK prisoners charged room and board.
posted by Drexen at 9:37 AM on February 20, 2005


[the] stupid motorist law, which was passed in 1995 and requires drivers to reimburse the state for the cost of rescues.

This hardly seems either draconian or unreasonable. Just seems a little bit odd that they actually had to implement a law to cover this kind of thing. I thought the state could press for reimbursement in the case of negligence as a matter of course.
posted by psmealey at 11:47 AM on February 20, 2005


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