SL Bill going to governor

[SIKSUKR]

I don't want to start another debate and don might not even want me to post this but it is certainly relevent news to this forum more than any other outlet.

From WMUR:
A bill to make boat speed limits permanent on New Hampshire's largest lake is on its way to Gov. John Lynch.

The bill would set the daytime limit at 45 mph and the nighttime limit at 30 mph on Lake Winnipesaukee.

The bill also would make permanent a requirement for Marine Patrol to report violations to the Division of Motor Vehicles for inclusion in the person's driving record.

The Legislature set speed limits for two years starting in 2009 to test whether they were a good idea. Critics of the move to make them permanent said lawmakers should wait until the study is completed to act.

The Senate agreed to House changes to the bill last week.

[Pineedles]

And one other thing is that if you are adjudicated to be in violation of the new speed limit law on the lake, your auto, motorcycle, or truck driving privileges will be affected. The law requires that MV be notified of your violation. Think about that folks, the part-time college students that are the MPs on the lake in the summer will potentially affect your right to drive a motor vehicle in NH and who knows where else? Not saying they are incompetent, but do you really want to lose your license because some kid thinks you were speeding? Ok, I've said my piece. Put me on moderation now.

[OCDACTIVE]

Hopefully the Gov. will do whats right and not sign it....

[secondcurve]

Originally Posted by OCDACTIVE

Hopefully the Gov. will do whats right and not sign it....

If you obey the speed limits you won't have to worry about being stopped. Pretty simple.

[XCR-700]

Originally Posted by secondcurve

If you obey the speed limits you won't have to worry about being stopped. Pretty simple.

Sorry not convinced of that myself having been stopped in the past for very illegitimate reasons.

I believe far too many Law Enforcement organizations have traded in their “to protect and serve” motto’s for “to enforce and punish”

Not painting all LE with that brush by any means, but speaking from a civil service perspective, I don’t find too many LE organizations that act as if they understand that they work for the tax payers in a public service role.

More often than not it has been my experience that too many LE Officers are under-experienced in people skills and have been hired for their very aggressive personalities.

The days of Adam 12 or Dragnet cops are long gone,,,

[BroadHopper]

terrorizing the lake while the MPOs are looking for speeders. One representative already stated the MP budget was cut and that money has to be spent for radar training and more radars.

Be careful what you wish for!

[LIforrelaxin]

Originally Posted by secondcurve

If you obey the speed limits you won't have to worry about being stopped. Pretty simple.

I will agree with you that if you obey the law you should have nothing to worry about. However Knowing what I know about radar guns and how easy it is to pick up the wrong vehicle at a distance. It is entirely possible for someone to be wrongly accused of speeding. On land and On the water. That is why so often the LEO look at many vehicles and pull over only the extreme outliers. Quite often when they pull someone over they end up not even getting them at the full speed they where truly traveling. There is a lot of variability at play here.... And being on the water where the LEO officer is potentially even further away from the action then on the highway using a radar gun, I have serious concerns about all of this.

It is going to be extremely hard to enforce, and is going to be a drain on the time of the certified officers. Time which could be better spent enforcing other laws. My belief is that every ticket will be contested in court especially where it is effecting Driving Records. This law is going to be an extremely costly endeavor for the state especially given the turnover rate of MP officers, and the court cost for every contested ticket. When all is said and done if apples are compared to apples I don't believe the lake is going to be any safer for this, however the state will be a little more in the RED because of it.

[XCR-700]

Originally Posted by LIforrelaxin

Time which could be better spent enforcing other laws.

Not picking on you, just observing your selection of words and wondering if it reflects yours and others opinion of the proper role of the NH MP (one of enforcement vs protect and serve) and how we got here.

I for one am disturbed to see organizations like the NH MP focusing on law enforcement. They are a public safety organization and as such I would hope to see public service ahead of law enforcement in their mission statement. Sadly that is not the case,,,

I would gladly pay more for my NH boat registration if the MP functions focused more on search and rescue, towing back stranded boaters, education, and such as opposed to writing tickets for expired stickers.

I choose to live in the US because I don’t like ridged Police States like you see in communist countries, unfortunately we seem to be headed in that direction and I am surprised to see this change is supported by US citizens.

So much for “Live Free or Die”,,,