I was driving peacefully through my Connecticut hometown this afternoon. I wear my seat belt. I wasn't speeding, and my car is 100% legal. I turned onto the only bridge in town that leads to my home and lo and behold I encountered 4 town police cruisers, 8 cops, traffic cones diverting the 3 lane bridge into 1 lane, and a nice, newly printed orange road sign stating "SAFETY CHECK"
Since the roadblock was less than 250 feet from the intersection and the road consisted of 3 lanes I saw at least 5 people almost crash turning onto the bridge, and due to traffic backing up into the busy intersection. "Safety Check" indeed...
But the REAL issue is that as an adult I do NOT need the government to "Keep me safe." How dare the government even CONSIDER that I somehow need protection from myself? And how dare the government think that it somehow needs to 'oversee' me as if I am some sort of child or mentally deficient being incapable of making decisions for myself regarding my safety? Connecticut has a seat belt law which I vehemently oppose. I remember when then Governor William O'Neill signed this bill into law. The proposal of the seat belt law in Connecticut caused a HUGE controversy. Most citizens were loudly and vociferously opposed to it. In order to get the bill passed in the legislature O'Neill and proponents of the bill PROMISED the public "This law will NEVER be enforced primarily as a stand alone infraction. There will NEVER be police staring into your car solely to check for seat belts. The only time someone will get a ticket for not using their safety harness is when stopped for another infraction." Back then, SENSIBLE citizens (True, Constitution loving Americans.) abhorred even the IDEA of police standing on the side of the road looking into your car!
How far we have fallen... That promise has turned into police making road blocks that in themselves are safety hazards - Solely to enable them to look inside your car. This is NOT Freedom - It is tyranny. Despite all the 'good intentions' claimed by our government. It takes a person driving down the road causing NO problems, minding their own business, and bothering NO ONE and turns them into a criminal allegedly deserving of Government imposed punishment. And THAT is tyranny as well as complete bullshit.
And let's keep it real. Given that the Government doesn't seem to give a rats ass about the fact that police all over the country are gunning down citizens like rats in a barrel, why would it be so concerned about your safety regarding seat belts? The ONLY thing this law is REALLY for is to "Fleece the flock" and collect revenue for the state.
I saw 5 or 6 cars pulled over in the short time it took me to pass through the check point. Presumably these people were not wearing seat belts. And the sad thing is, you want to know WHY these people were not wearing their seat belts? Because they think the law is bullony too. The average reader, even if they do wear a seat belt likely feels the same way. Yet despite that fact, NO ONE protests the law, or makes even a whimper when they are targeted. These same citizens put up with watching TV commercials of police threatening to arrest or fine them for their personal choice that affects NO ONE but them. And we pay the bill. On a Friday evening, which is a busy time for police, I can only surmise that these cops were working Overtime. 8 cops, 4 cruisers. I wonder how much THAT cost we taxpayers.