4 ms·

For what it's worth, that's already a thing in NYC. NYC shares the ticket revenue for illegally idling vehicles with the reporter, and so some people have made

by czinck 2y ago

For what it's worth, that's already a thing in NYC. NYC shares the ticket revenue for illegally idling vehicles with the reporter, and so some people have made 6 figures in one year reporting idling vehicles[1]. There was a push to get a similar provision in a recent bill about illegal parking in bus and bike lanes, but they ended up just allowing citizen complaints with no bounty payout. [1] https://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/nyc-anti-idling-law-turns-into-huge-payday-125k-for-one-man-for-citizens-who-report/3637231/ https://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/nyc-anti-idling-la...

potato3732842 2y ago
That guy's continued breathing is a testament to how good NYC's surveillance dragnet is or at least how good people think it is. I can't imagine doing what that guy does at the scale he does. Like you can only wrong so many people until you run across the guy for whom you are the final straw. Though I guess that might be why he mostly runs a ring these days instead of being on the street.
- woodruffw 2y ago
  Nobody is going kill someone for reporting idling trucks. The drivers of these trucks don't care; the company tells them to idle and swallows the fine (typically bartered down in bulk).
  - potato3732842 2y ago
    If you go around doing it you'll make a name for yourself. Couriers, ubers, delivery drivers, they all have social media. Eventually you'll run across the guy who "wrong pedals" you. I wouldn't risk it.
    - woodruffw 2y ago
      The idling law in question is for commercial vehicles, meaning trucks. It has nothing to do with couriers or delivery drivers. (The city has other, unincentivized, idling laws for other classes of vehicles.)
      - potato3732842 2y ago
        I mean delivery like box truck, not delivery like doordash. I was imprecise to lump them all together like that.
        woodruffw 2y ago
        Sure, I suppose it could happen in that case. There's no public evidence of any such occurrence, however; most of the city's truck traffic is big companies, and I don't see why any driver would risk prison time to stave off an idling ticket that Amazon, etc. is just going to negotiate down in court anyways.
        potato3732842 2y ago
        You live in different worlds. Pretty much everyone who depends on small business in NYC hates the government and law enforcement of NYC and sees them as revenuers (Louis Rossman covers this in detail on his youtube channel, to mention someone who's respected here on HN). The idea that someone would help them for a cut is incredibly disgusting to most people who live in this world. It's incredibly foreseeable that some guy in the cab of a box truck who's distracted with his dispatch iPad looks up to see some guy taking pictures, puts two and two together and puts the truck in drive. They don't hire middle class techies to drive these trucks. Your morals don't translate to onto some 20yo guy from Newark. And they also don't translate into his hotheaded 16yo helper who runs with a less than law abiding crowd and you didn't see come out of the building just behind. Like I said, the risk ain't worth my life.
        woodruffw 2y ago
        I've lived here my whole life, and I know a fair number of people who drive trucks (and cabs, and do food delivery) for a living. Again: it's possible, but I have never heard of anybody even getting a beatdown over this, much less getting killed. > Like I said, the risk ain't worth my life. Then don't take it! But I don't think the evidence supports treating the average truck driver as a psycho who's one idling ticket away from vehicular manslaughter. Edit: as a case in point: Kuntzman[1] has been going around the city fixing car - including plenty of cop car - license plates for years. I think the worst he's gotten is verbal abuse, and he's doing something much more overt and aggressive. [1]: https://www.curbed.com/2023/12/congestion-pricing-gersh-kuntzman-toll-evasion-license-plates.html https://www.curbed.com/2023/12/congestion-pricing-gersh-kunt...

by czinck 2y ago

potato3732842 2y ago

That guy's continued breathing is a testament to how good NYC's surveillance dragnet is or at least how good people think it is. I can't imagine doing what that guy does at the scale he does. Like you can only wrong so many people until you run across the guy for whom you are the final straw. Though I guess that might be why he mostly runs a ring these days instead of being on the street.

woodruffw 2y ago
Nobody is going kill someone for reporting idling trucks. The drivers of these trucks don't care; the company tells them to idle and swallows the fine (typically bartered down in bulk).
- potato3732842 2y ago
  If you go around doing it you'll make a name for yourself. Couriers, ubers, delivery drivers, they all have social media. Eventually you'll run across the guy who "wrong pedals" you. I wouldn't risk it.
  - woodruffw 2y ago
    The idling law in question is for commercial vehicles, meaning trucks. It has nothing to do with couriers or delivery drivers. (The city has other, unincentivized, idling laws for other classes of vehicles.)
    - potato3732842 2y ago
      I mean delivery like box truck, not delivery like doordash. I was imprecise to lump them all together like that.
      - woodruffw 2y ago
        Sure, I suppose it could happen in that case. There's no public evidence of any such occurrence, however; most of the city's truck traffic is big companies, and I don't see why any driver would risk prison time to stave off an idling ticket that Amazon, etc. is just going to negotiate down in court anyways.
        potato3732842 2y ago
        You live in different worlds. Pretty much everyone who depends on small business in NYC hates the government and law enforcement of NYC and sees them as revenuers (Louis Rossman covers this in detail on his youtube channel, to mention someone who's respected here on HN). The idea that someone would help them for a cut is incredibly disgusting to most people who live in this world. It's incredibly foreseeable that some guy in the cab of a box truck who's distracted with his dispatch iPad looks up to see some guy taking pictures, puts two and two together and puts the truck in drive. They don't hire middle class techies to drive these trucks. Your morals don't translate to onto some 20yo guy from Newark. And they also don't translate into his hotheaded 16yo helper who runs with a less than law abiding crowd and you didn't see come out of the building just behind. Like I said, the risk ain't worth my life.
        woodruffw 2y ago
        I've lived here my whole life, and I know a fair number of people who drive trucks (and cabs, and do food delivery) for a living. Again: it's possible, but I have never heard of anybody even getting a beatdown over this, much less getting killed. > Like I said, the risk ain't worth my life. Then don't take it! But I don't think the evidence supports treating the average truck driver as a psycho who's one idling ticket away from vehicular manslaughter. Edit: as a case in point: Kuntzman[1] has been going around the city fixing car - including plenty of cop car - license plates for years. I think the worst he's gotten is verbal abuse, and he's doing something much more overt and aggressive. [1]: https://www.curbed.com/2023/12/congestion-pricing-gersh-kuntzman-toll-evasion-license-plates.html https://www.curbed.com/2023/12/congestion-pricing-gersh-kunt...