4 ms·

>They haven’t figured out how to make it illegal yet, but I can only imagine that’d happen pretty quick if it became a ‘thing,’ you know? How can this be legal

by ginko 8y ago

>They haven’t figured out how to make it illegal yet, but I can only imagine that’d happen pretty quick if it became a ‘thing,’ you know? How can this be legal in the first place?

dsfyu404ed 8y ago
>How can this be legal in the first place? It's almost certainly not (statutes that make it illegal to tap into your neigbor's electricity downstream of the meter could easily be warped for this use case). However, a combination of factors could make that a non-issue in the short term for the Prius driver. 1) The people who enforce the law usually don't enforce it to it's fullest against middle aged white men driving Priuses. 2) Most people in a position to screw the driver over for the laws he's violating aren't well versed in that niche of the law. The probably just look the Prius and go "WTF did I just see". 3) This guy might have some connections that help out in keeping enforcement from looking his way. 4) Something else I'm not thinking of.
- stcredzero 8y ago
  3) This guy might have some connections that help out in keeping enforcement from looking his way. I can attest that this does happen.
SolarNet 8y ago
I mean it's an April fools joke. But considering the fact that it's on a public road, and easily accessible, there may be an argument there. Like I'm allowed to hit crossing buttons, and all that equipment is owned by the city, and powered by their electricity. Point is there is probably no law on the books making it illegal, it's perfectly reasonable for a citizen to assume (after reading the law; consulting with a lawyer) that they are allowed to do that because no one said otherwise (as long as they are safe about it). It's not like the law explicitly makes hitting crossing buttons legal. But the city probably would pass an ordnance pretty quickly. That part is definitely wrong.

by ginko 8y ago

>They haven’t figured out how to make it illegal yet, but I can only imagine that’d happen pretty quick if it became a ‘thing,’ you know? How can this be legal in the first place?

dsfyu404ed 8y ago

>How can this be legal in the first place? It's almost certainly not (statutes that make it illegal to tap into your neigbor's electricity downstream of the meter could easily be warped for this use case). However, a combination of factors could make that a non-issue in the short term for the Prius driver. 1) The people who enforce the law usually don't enforce it to it's fullest against middle aged white men driving Priuses. 2) Most people in a position to screw the driver over for the laws he's violating aren't well versed in that niche of the law. The probably just look the Prius and go "WTF did I just see". 3) This guy might have some connections that help out in keeping enforcement from looking his way. 4) Something else I'm not thinking of.

stcredzero 8y ago
3) This guy might have some connections that help out in keeping enforcement from looking his way. I can attest that this does happen.

SolarNet 8y ago

I mean it's an April fools joke. But considering the fact that it's on a public road, and easily accessible, there may be an argument there. Like I'm allowed to hit crossing buttons, and all that equipment is owned by the city, and powered by their electricity. Point is there is probably no law on the books making it illegal, it's perfectly reasonable for a citizen to assume (after reading the law; consulting with a lawyer) that they are allowed to do that because no one said otherwise (as long as they are safe about it). It's not like the law explicitly makes hitting crossing buttons legal. But the city probably would pass an ordnance pretty quickly. That part is definitely wrong.