OT Should I tell the police?

[micky]

I don't think so. There was short-lived talk about parking stickers, but it drowned in discussion of visitors who stayed for a day or 10.

Absolutely. There was a time when there wasn't enough parking. A lot of people seemed to have an extra car, and there might even have been an abandoned car, but that only lasted for a year or two. Plenty of empty spaces now.

I agreed with you, but couldn't help myself. Stuffed a note to the owner in the door, and then when no one was looking, I tried the doors. Both are locked. PT Cruiser, tinted windows except next to the front seat.

Very few elderly. The one old woman I know lives far from this and parks her car in front of her house. But one can die at any age.

Still, if he's dead now, he was dead two weeks ago too. The mailmen are supposed to keep their eye out for someone who doesn't empty his mailbox. (Did I say this already?)

I didn't know about the HOA until the end of the closing. I wasn't from Maryland either. Every neighborhoood built by a builder, since maybe 1970 or 75 in Baltimore County** has to have an HOA, though it doesn't have to meet or collect dues.*** I think the most important clause, which I"m sure every HOA must have, is the right to repair a house if the owner doesn't, and to put a lien on the house for the cost of the repairs. I think the goal was to prevent a slum-like house from dragging down the n'hood, and though there's no real chance*** of that now, in 50 years things might be different.

***I take that back. If someone was sick for years or died and it took a long time for an heir to get good title, a house could deteriorate a lot, with no one but the HOA to repair it . **Or maybe multiple counties. Maryland has a lot of state laws that apply only in certain counties. I didn't know states could do t hat after the 14th amendment's equal protection clause. ***Ours has to collect dues because there is some land that belongs only to the HOA, like the island in the middle of the parking lot. And because we own our own streets and have to plow them and sometimes repave them.

[micky]

You have a point. I've thought of going door-to-door to find the owner, but I expect I would bump into the biddy who tried to get it towed in the first place.

Maybe two weeks from now. before the tire goes flat again.

Now that I think about it, every house in that "building" has 2 spots right in front of the house, but this one is parked in general parking, in the center, or between two parallel streets if you look at it that way. That would imply if he lives here, he has three cars, maybe his, his wife's, and one teenager. But I can't imagine a teenager letting his car sit for a month. Or maybe all of them his.

I hope so.

[rbowman]

What's really fun is when you come in slightly less than sober and park your rental in a large hotel's multi-layer underground parking lot. The next morning you realize you don't have a clue where you parked the car -- or what it looks like. I think that must be why they invented those key fob things that make the car go whoop whoop when you're close.

Even a large parking lot can be trying. I drive a small Toyota or ride one of several bikes. Everybody else in the state drives a XXXL extended cab F350 dually. You could hide an Abrams tank in most of the parking lots.

[micky]

Right but when I went there, there was nothing about license plates. Only names, states, and optionally, cities. Or phone numbers.

I want to look up a plate.

There WAS an ad on the original page that offered those lookups for $5, not 25, but when I put in my own plate number, I got

"Unable to connect

Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at

The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few moments. If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network connection. If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that Firefox is permitted to access the Web."

Oh, it did work a few minutes later. Wow. And they want 5 dollars. With a "future payment" a week from today of 20 dollars. I never saw that ruse before.

It still might well be worth it, sometime, that is, assuming there isn't another payment due after the next one.

[micky]

One time is too early, but 5 times is too late.

In NYC, years ago, they arrested one guy for a subway crime, and while he was in jail. the crime rate in the subway went down 33%.

[micky]

I"m not sure if you're talking about my situation, or not. But note the last post in this thread, that when I made crystal clear that I didn't want to know the owner's name, only if it was stolen, he DID check that for me.

Even though I only asked if it was reported stolen, he had assumed I wanted to know who the owner was, maybe because other people do ask that question.

Maybe the first guy would have checked also, if I had been crystal clear with him. But he certainly didn't relate to me like I was a stalker, etc. He sounded bored and told me he couldn't do it. I said, "Well, thank you." and he said "You're welcome".

(On the second call, the woman convinced me that they had no ability to run plates at her office, but she sounded bored too.)

Anyone except a 911 opersator who answers the phone for 4 or 8 hours is bound to be bored.

If I were in charge of the police, I wouldn't have them give out the owner's name either, unless someone filed a traffic accident report.

I think most cops know that a lot of people don't trust them.

[micky]

When I first noticed the sticker, two middle-aged women from the n'hood who were driving out of the n'hood stopped to talk to me. When I said I would pump it up, they praised me for being a good guy.

[J Burns]

That's not what Connecticut Statutes, Chapter 246, Section 14-96g says.

It has 5 paragraphs. A and B are about marker lamps, marker reflectors, clearance lamps, identification lamps. A says the ones on the front half must be amber. B says the ones on the back half must be red. E says failure to have and mount these required lamps and reflectors shall be an infraction.

C is the only paragraph that prohibits some lights or reflectors. It says all lights and reflectors on the rear of a vehicle must be red except signal lights, including brake lights, which can be red, amber, or yellow (yellow brake lights!); license plate lights, which must be white: and backup lights, which must be white or amber.

In many states, license plates seem to use prismatic sheeting. If Connecticut does, and it's not red, they violate Connecticut statutes.

Paragraph B contains a sentence that's out of place because it's an exception to C. A vehicle owned by a government agency and engaged in construction or repair, may have red or white reflective sheeting on the rear. Shouldn't this apply to a private contractor doing the same work? What about the trucker who rolls up 95 with the DOT-mandated red-and-white reflective tape on the rear? Does Connecticut throw him in jail?

The sign on the back of slow equipment is framed in a triangle of dark-red DOT retroreflective sheeting, but the inner triangle isn't the same color; it's typically a shade of orange. One might think this section outlaws such signs, but as long as the inner triangle doesn't meet DOT criteria as a reflector, it doesn't have to be red.

Paragraph D says school buses may be excepted from C, but it's explained elsewhere in the statutes. There are no exceptions for police cars and ambulances. The reason seems clear. As long as they have the proper markers, this section has no restrictions on the color of additional lights, except on the rear.

I used Scotchlite. According to the DOT, retroreflective sheeting must use prismatic reflectors. It's expensive and hard to cut. It reflects

80% of the light back to the source.

Scotchlite is not considered a vehicle reflector because it uses glass beads. It reflects only 30% of the light back to the source. It was developed as a fluorescent tape to make clothing and equipment highly visible at midday, twilight, and night. Besides having far less retroreflectivity than a DOT reflector, it has a different color and a fluorescent appearance at night.

Are you talking about tape or lights? I ran into a legal forum where a college student asked if it was legal to put blue reflective tape on his bike, like cops. The expert lectured him on why trying to look like a cop was a bad hobby, but he said styling his bike with tape was perfectly legal. (I assume it was glass-bead tape.)

Back about 1984, I decided a cowboy hat would be more practical on the farm than the hats I'd been wearing. Chocolate looked like the most practical color. For the six cooler months each year, it kept the bugs, wind, and sun off my face and kept my head warm.

I continued wearing it when I moved to town. I was amazed on several occasions when kids and even adults addressed me as if I were a cop. I'd assure them I was no cop, but they'd persist. I dressed like someone doing chores. The crown had a cattleman's crease. The brim was turned up slightly on the sides. In 30 years, I've never had it cleaned. The only similarity was that police in the area wear chocolate felt hats with 4" brims.

It seems some people believe brown is legally reserved for police hats.

[J Burns]

Colleges may discourage or prohibit freshmen from having cars. For now, the freshman's family has an extra car.

[Nil]

On 17 Oct 2014, micky wrote in alt.home.repair:

I wouldn't care who or what praised me. I still wouldn't want an abandoned car in my neighborhood, and anyone who leaves a car untouched in a residential neighborhood for three weeks, especially without informing the neighbors, deserves to have it towed. I certainly wouldn't touch it or open the doors or pump up the tires.

[gregz]

I've always made sure all my stuff reflects. Trailers, boats, cars and trucks, campers, from all angles. I actually put red tape on the side of my truck, because the red matches my red truck, and the truck is not very visible from the side at night. Front red bumper too. I too make sure there is a reflector inside doors or tape. Some vehicles come with the reflector. I know of no law with tape, only lighted indicators. Bicycles should have standard reflectors, no extra tape needed, regardless of having lighted indicators.

Greg

[Stormin Mormon]

I mean, gee. If you had to call 911 and wait for ten or fifteen minutes to get a donut? I've heard in some states, you can even get them at drive up windows with no proof of age.

[Stormin Mormon]

I thought you were going to tell the one about the guy who had too much to drink. Cop pulls him over. After the field sobriety test, he gets back in his car and drives home. About ten minutes later (five minutes in donut years) the cops are knocking on his front door. Brief conversation, and some loud denials.

The cops and the intoxicated fellow walk through the house and open he door from the kitchen to the garage. There sits the cop car, lights still going around.

- . Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

.

[RobertMacy]

During the summer of 2001, on a VERY extended driving tour of the US, early morning as we love to drive along a coast, somewhere in New England, we were confronted with being thwarted. The road path no longer seemed to support/allow us following along the coast. Faced with FOUR lanes of one way TOWARD us [yes, FOUR lanes, and not a single vehicle in sight and early sunrise in process!] I drove to the 'right' of the yellow line, which on retrospect was the parking lane. So, envision us driving ever so slowly along the parking lane, adjacent to all the businesses essentially going the WRONG way with CA license plates, too. We were enjoying the sunrise, the quaint town, albeit strange to have that many oneway lanes preventing us from following the coast, only to look ahead and see, YES! a black and white just nosing into the curb a slight distance in front of us, blocking our path. My heart sank. But we kept the 6 mph pace gently driving along the parking edge, until we got beside and noticed the officer's car was parked in front of a donut shop and he was so intent on getting into that shop, he did NOT even notice us! Thank you, God! We could clearly watch his face as he exitted his vehicle and dashed for the shop's door. Whereupon, we went around, and on our way, finishing the drive along the coast.

[Stormin Mormon]

That simply brings tears of joy and delight to my eyes.

Donuts delite!

- . Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

.

[micky]

The HOA in the past has been a big problem. For decades I think there was no towing unless an owner wanted his car towed (or a repossession), but there was a period for a year or more when a lot of people who live here seemed to have 3 cars.

I should say that there are two parking places, nose in, in front of almost every house. A few houses farther from the street only have one space, including me, but I only have one car. People like me who have two cars, park on in the center.

The center is a grassy island with extra parking, for about 30 cars, nose in.

The car in question is parked in the center, at the other end from where I live, so even though townhouses don't have wide lots, it's still almost the length of a football field to the middle of the next building (Usually 8 houses per building)

During the period when the center was full, the president of the HOA signed a towing contract that let the tow company drive around and tow any car they thought violated the rules, and they did that. They cruised in the middle of the night and towed cars before dawn. The president, though about 60 years old, is either very ignorant of the ways of tow companies, or she was getting a kickback. I think it was a kickback. I know she's dishonest.

Everyone rebelled and now a resident has to call to get a car towed.

[thekmanrocks]

micky wrote: "When I first noticed the sticker, two middle-aged women from the n'hood who were driving out of the n'hood stopped to talk to me. When I said I would pump it up, they praised me for being a good guy. "

If I noticed a car like that, one tire flat and a HOA or any other sticker on it, I'd LEAVE IT THE FUCK ALONE AND STAY AWAY FROM IT.

One additional car, in such condition, will not have any impact on my daily life, nor should it on yours. Unless you're either retired, or sitting on a significant sum of money meaning you have 35-45 extra hours per week to do nothing with but obsess over a possibly abandoned car.

Get.

A.

Hobby.

Build models, feed the homeless, explore local politics, start a musical ba nd, ANYTHING.

SMH... This whole thread is a big waste of time.

[Doug Miller]

TimR wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I think you missed the point. What you really mean is "did not end up with jail time before the

5th TIME THEY WERE CAUGHT" which is nowhere nearly the same as "5th offense".

[micky]

A classic. Should be included in a movie.

[micky]

You're free to do that.

It's not that the car has an impact on my life. It's that my inaction would have a negaitve impact on me.

I have plenty to do, believe you me.

And I'm not obsessed. It took 5 seconds to decide to pump up the tire and maybe 10 minutes to do it. Then nothing for four more weeks. Then another 10 minutes. And I slid a note into his car door. Took two minutes to write and 2 minutes to stuff it in. I hope he calls. I'm curious where he's been for the last month.

The only question was whether to tell the police where it was, and the police reaction was interesting in itself and enjoyable to watch. And I got the info I wanted without telling them anything but the plate number.

I appreciate all the people who replied. You helped me think things through.