Friday, April 11, 2008

The Importance of Being Idle

Has our legislature tackled tough issues like criminal justice reform, or reducing the energy prices they accidentally tripled on us with energy deregulation? No. But they are prepared to pass a fine of $95 if you let your car idle.

As the New Haven Register reports this morning, a bill before the State Senate would prohibit motorists from letting their "unmoving vehicles" idle for more than three minutes. There are exceptions, such as if you happen to be in a traffic jam, or need the heat or air conditioner to "ensure safety and health" of driver and passenger.

The article doesn't say which genius Senator is behind this proposal which was supposedly introduced because we don't know how much fuel we are wasting when we idle. Of course, thanks to the Democrats in the General Assembly, the price of gas in Connecticut has gone up, and our tax on it will go up again this summer. If they really want to help us save money, they could cut the gas tax.

And who will enforce this idling bill? The police? Those are the only people I see actually idling their vehicles, waiting to catch speeders. Don't the police have better things to do than pull up behind someone who ran into a donut shop and start a stopwatch?

It's a good thing for the legislature that THEY don't get fined for being idle, or they'd have to give us all our taxes back. They haven't done a single significant thing since their much lauded "Supermajority" came to power last session, and this session is no different. There is less than a month left for them to do anything meaningful... anything at all.

3 comments:

Adam J Schmidt said...

I should be able to waste as much gas as I care to pay for. Don't see how the government has a regulatory angle here.

Headless Horseman said...

Yes... they are fining you for your own good young man!

mccommas said...

I read this blog entry last week and I have been thinking about it since. I am really pissed off about this.

How dare these people?! Who the hell do these busy bodies think they are? Bit by bit we are giving away our freedoms in the name of political correctness.

All last week and all winter long I go out and start my car before I start my shower. It’s running about 15 minutes and is nice and warm when I go out there. Sure I waste some gas, and I do notice it, but it’s my damn money. I think it’s worth it. I hate to be cold and it is nice not having to scrap my windshield on those frosty mornings.

I will say here and now that if this law is passed I will ignore it. Two of my neighbors do exactly the same thing at the same time in the morning. What are they going to do, arrest us or will the local storm troopers just tase us?

What next? Will they ban my air conditioning as well?

What will make these econuts happy? Do they want us all to forsake technology all together and live in holes in the ground eat grass like antelope or something?