For those who don't buckle up and travel across the bridge into Maryland, you might want to take a look at this interesting new tactic that MSP is using. If it is not already in FFX Co's playbook, it will be soon:

Night-Vision Goggles Help Seatbelt Campaign

POSTED: 12:36 pm EDT June 2, 2005

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The "Click It or Ticket" campaign is getting some high-tech help in suburban Washington.

Maryland State Police are using a military tool to make sure drivers buckle up.

Officers had night vision goggles on Rockville Pike outside the nation's capital last night to look inside darkened cars. Police said they can see from a distance whether drivers have their seat belts fastened.

Authorities said 40 percent of drivers are less likely to wear their seat belts at night and that could be deadly. Maryland State Police Cpl. Kevin Sherwood told Washington, D.C., television station WRC that night-vision goggles are an effective way to catch those drivers.

Maryland authorities said they issued 111 citations Wednesday night as part of the campaign.


Unlike VA, in MD no seatbelt is a primary offense, which means u can be pulled over solely for it in MD.

 

If you aren't wearing your seatbelt, you're a retard anyways....

Dan

 

Agreed. Seatbelt use is only useful to the user.

BTW good job Fairfax. Night Vision is expensive, and I for one am very glad to see our high taxes are being wasted away, once more.

 

Wait, how is the MSP taking a page out of FFX Co's playbook, if FFX isn't doing it yet?

 

Because Fairfax could use this Nazi-like tactic, and everybody wouldn't be surprised b/c of how Fairfax enforces other laws. And for all we know, Fairfax could already be doing this and just not publicizing it. I mean, doesn't a police dept using night vision to catch people sound like something Fairfax would do, instead of the typically lax MSP??

 

I 'd like to know how Md could see you without your seatbelt at 60+ miles an hour, plus having all the headlights and all the street lights interfering with the
NVG. I think they advertise it so people will be scared and where their seltbelts. Just my 02.

 

It sounded more like this was near the border of MD. Where there are not so many street lights.
Further more, i'm sure if they set up infrared flood lights facing traffic, it would clearly illuminate the car for the officer wearing the nightvision.
And yeah, not a hard leap of my imagination to see FFX Co doing this.

 

You make a good point. However, Rockville Pike, where they have already done this once, has a top speed limit of maybe 40 mph.....but there is so much traffic and so many traffic lights on the road that people never get close to the speed limit unless its ultra late at night.

They wouldn't be able to pull something like this off on the Beltway. But then, except for two places on the Beltway, MSP takes a fairly hands off approach to speed enforcement on 495. This is due to narrow shoulders in most places, and the fact that whenever MSP pulls someone over on 495, the rubberneckers cause backups and possible minor pileups.

 

Turn your interior lights on at night. It blinds NV to a degree.

 

A friend of mine got pulled over the other day for not wearing his seat belt. Three out of the four people in the car got individual tickets, even the guy in the back.