Slow moving vehicle sign

[Lt CHEG]

Around here, if a burgler alarm goes off at a business.. they won't enter the property till an owner/manager/employee shows up.. then they send that poor fellow in first! I kid you not! BTDT with a frined that owned a store in the city.. I used to play cards with him at night after closing.. he was brok into a few times and each time cops summoned him out there and we had to go in first. sweet. makes me feel safer just thinking about it again!

soundguy

Let me explain why the police departments want someone with a key to respond to a burglar alarm. When the police go to a burglar alarm they will check the building to see if it is secure. If there is an open or unlocked door or window then they will clear the building. If however after checking the building and finding that there is no way that they can get inside without breaking a window or kicking in a door they will wait for a responder. The reason for this is that at least 98 times out of 100 if the building is secure and the alarm is going off, it is probably a false alarm. So rather than break a window or kick in a door and have the property owner pay for the repairs they wait until they can get inside without doing damage and then they will clear the building. If someone is breaking in to a building then they are generally not going to take the time to re lock all points of egress, especially if they set off an alarm, so an overwhelming majority of the time the police aren't going to miss out on catching someone by not breaking in to a building themselves. Now if the police are outside waiting for a responder and they hear something stirring about inside or if they hear a call for help or something, then they will force entry to the building. It's just that weighing the damage done to buildings for the overwhelming percentage of burglar alarms that are false vs. the tiny percentage of burglars you would catch by forcing entry on every alarm drop, the odds support waiting for a responder with a key when the building is secure. Things may be different in FL, but I can tell you that this is how things work in NY, where I was a uniformed cop and I can also tell you that in hundreds of burglar alarms responded to over the years, I never found an actual burglary to have occurred in a building that was secure upon my arrival.

 

[whistlepig]

Here in north central Indiana, they will pull you over if you dont remove the SMV triangle from a trailered tractor or piece of equipment. If its on a trailer being pulled by a pickup ect, then you have to cover or remove the SMV triangle from the tractor. A buddy found this out the hard way on the way to a tractor plowing event. Cheers Mike

I think I would have to have a very long talk with Barney Fife if he pulled me over on this one.

 

[Pops15]

If you have a friend with a sports car or a fast bike you can put a SMV symbol on the back of it...always good for a chuckle.

But when my "friends" put one on the back of my motorcycle it wasn't funny.

Back when I raced I threatened to put one on the back of my buddy's stock car. I didn't do it though. I figured he'd wreck me if I did.

 

[JB4310]

What if you are involved in an accident with your SMV do you have to have insurance? Can an under aged driver operate a SMV? What are some of the other generally accepted rules?

 

[Soundguy]

Nice wall of text.. but didn't address -ANYTHING- I said.

I got no problem showing up with a key to let the cops in.. I got the problem with them making me go in first... i don't get paid to be shot at, apprehend criminals.. and I don't have a state issued bullet proof vest...

soundguy

Let me explain why the police departments want someone with a key to respond to a burglar alarm. When the police go to a burglar alarm they will check the building to see if it is secure. If there is an open or unlocked door or window then they will clear the building. If however after checking the building and finding that there is no way that they can get inside without breaking a window or kicking in a door they will wait for a responder. The reason for this is that at least 98 times out of 100 if the building is secure and the alarm is going off, it is probably a false alarm. So rather than break a window or kick in a door and have the property owner pay for the repairs they wait until they can get inside without doing damage and then they will clear the building. If someone is breaking in to a building then they are generally not going to take the time to re lock all points of egress, especially if they set off an alarm, so an overwhelming majority of the time the police aren't going to miss out on catching someone by not breaking in to a building themselves. Now if the police are outside waiting for a responder and they hear something stirring about inside or if they hear a call for help or something, then they will force entry to the building. It's just that weighing the damage done to buildings for the overwhelming percentage of burglar alarms that are false vs. the tiny percentage of burglars you would catch by forcing entry on every alarm drop, the odds support waiting for a responder with a key when the building is secure. Things may be different in FL, but I can tell you that this is how things work in NY, where I was a uniformed cop and I can also tell you that in hundreds of burglar alarms responded to over the years, I never found an actual burglary to have occurred in a building that was secure upon my arrival.

 

[Soundguy]

What if you are involved in an accident with your SMV do you have to have insurance? Can an under aged driver operate a SMV? What are some of the other generally accepted rules?

I'd check with YOUR insurance company.

I drive my tractor between my 2 properties.. it's about 4 miles each way.

MY insurance told me, as long as i'm driving to or from my properties to do my own personal work ( IE.. not for hire ).. then I'm covered under the liability portion of my homeowners.

soundguy

 

[Lt CHEG]

Nice wall of text.. but didn't address -ANYTHING- I said.

I got no problem showing up with a key to let the cops in.. I got the problem with them making me go in first... i don't get paid to be shot at, apprehend criminals.. and I don't have a state issued bullet proof vest...

soundguy

I think I did address the first part of your post, namely that the police wait for someone with a key to arrive before searching the building. I can't explain why they would have the property owner or manager go in first, or even at all. I know we would just have the key holder unlock the door, and then we would go in and clear the building while the property owner waited outside. Sometimes for something like a school with many locked doors we would make an initial check of the building and then have a janitor or some other key holder come in with us to unlock some of the doors so that we could check certain areas, simply because we didn't know which key would open which door. I think I am in agreement with your sentiment though, I know I wouldn't want a civilian not familiar with our tactics entering a building with us while we make a sweep.

 

[dcyrilc]

I got no problem showing up with a key to let the cops in.. I got the problem with them making me go in first... i don't get paid to be shot at, apprehend criminals.. and I don't have a state issued bullet proof vest...

soundguy

Must be a Florida thing...

Here in Western Washington the police do exactly as Lt Cheg described.

Back on subject...

I'll have to check locally. I know that you can't have farm vehicles on the road without them. Not sure about having to remove them when trailered.

 

[LBrown59]

What if you are involved in an accident with your SMV do you have to have insurance?

Yes ya do.

 

[JB4310]

What if you are involved in an accident with your SMV do you have to have insurance? Can an under aged driver operate a SMV? What are some of the other generally accepted rules?

Let me rephrase the question, of course if you cause an accident you need some coverage if you don't want out of pocket expense, but what about in states that require proof of auto insurance to be on the road. Can you be pulled over and asked for proof of "auto" coverage ?

 

[dcyrilc]

I would think it would be similar to if you were riding a bicycle and caused an accident.

 

[Soundguy]

I think I did address the first part of your post, namely that the police wait for someone with a key to arrive before searching the building. .

The first part of my post wasn't the problem. As I stated.. showing up with a key is not an issue... going in with the 'troops' WAS/IS the issue.

soundguy