3 ms·

The legislation requiring automobiles to include seat belts[1] was passed at the federal level, not at the municipal level. At the municipal level, resources ar

by lmkg 17y ago

The legislation requiring automobiles to include seat belts[1] was passed at the federal level, not at the municipal level. At the municipal level, resources are also put into seat belt education campaigns and PSAs, which if effective would lower the availability of scofflaws as a potential revenue source. So yes, it's still a valid example. (I assume you meant type type "if laws didn't make people..." or equivalent) [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Traffic_and_Motor_Vehicle_Safety_Act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Traffic_and_Motor_Vehi...

Semiapies 17y ago
"I assume you meant type type "if laws didn't make people..." or equivalent" How would that even make sense?
- lmkg 17y ago
  Your original comment: > "Municipalities would miss out on a lot of traffic ticket money if laws made people wear seatbelts; not the best example." I thought that the original sentiment you meant to express was that municipalities have an economic incentive to create seatbelt laws, in order to fine people who break them, with the implication being that seat belt laws are made for selfish reasons, not reasons related to the public well-being. I parsed the sentence, as written, as saying that the presence of an additional fine-worthy offense would somehow lower the amount of fine-generated revenue, and inferred the mistaken absence of a negation. After scrutinizing your comment and follow-up for some time, it's possible to parse the sentence as saying that if seatbelt laws were more effective at making people wear seat belts, this would reduce revenue. This sentence, while correct, does not seem more than tangentially related in context of replying to the parent. Perhaps you can clarify if I'm missing something.
  - Semiapies 17y ago
    I'll put it simply: if seatbelt laws made people wear seatbelts, municipalities would not be able to collect revenue by ticketing people for not wearing seatbelts.
    - brazzy 17y ago
      And if the penal code made people not kill and rob and steal, prisons would be empty? Compliance to laws is not an all-or-nothing thing, and the statistics clearly show a massive increase in compliance after the enactment of seat-belt laws.
      - Semiapies 17y ago
        "And if the penal code made people not kill and rob and steal, prisons would be empty?" Let me know when someone gets convicted of a seatbelt violation after the extensive use of forensic evidence, victim testimony, and a statewide manhunt. Let me know when a police officer sweats a confession out of someone that ey didn't wear a seatbelt. Let me know when police offer a reward for information leading to the conviction of someone who failed to wear a seatbelt. At that point, your apples will then become oranges.

by lmkg 17y ago

Semiapies 17y ago

"I assume you meant type type "if laws didn't make people..." or equivalent" How would that even make sense?

lmkg 17y ago
Your original comment: > "Municipalities would miss out on a lot of traffic ticket money if laws made people wear seatbelts; not the best example." I thought that the original sentiment you meant to express was that municipalities have an economic incentive to create seatbelt laws, in order to fine people who break them, with the implication being that seat belt laws are made for selfish reasons, not reasons related to the public well-being. I parsed the sentence, as written, as saying that the presence of an additional fine-worthy offense would somehow lower the amount of fine-generated revenue, and inferred the mistaken absence of a negation. After scrutinizing your comment and follow-up for some time, it's possible to parse the sentence as saying that if seatbelt laws were more effective at making people wear seat belts, this would reduce revenue. This sentence, while correct, does not seem more than tangentially related in context of replying to the parent. Perhaps you can clarify if I'm missing something.
- Semiapies 17y ago
  I'll put it simply: if seatbelt laws made people wear seatbelts, municipalities would not be able to collect revenue by ticketing people for not wearing seatbelts.
  - brazzy 17y ago
    And if the penal code made people not kill and rob and steal, prisons would be empty? Compliance to laws is not an all-or-nothing thing, and the statistics clearly show a massive increase in compliance after the enactment of seat-belt laws.
    - Semiapies 17y ago
      "And if the penal code made people not kill and rob and steal, prisons would be empty?" Let me know when someone gets convicted of a seatbelt violation after the extensive use of forensic evidence, victim testimony, and a statewide manhunt. Let me know when a police officer sweats a confession out of someone that ey didn't wear a seatbelt. Let me know when police offer a reward for information leading to the conviction of someone who failed to wear a seatbelt. At that point, your apples will then become oranges.