Would you call 911 because a government electronic billboard told you to?

[Reason]

ie:

You are driving down the freeway.

You see an electronic billboard (the kind they typically use for amber alerts) except this time the message does not say "amber alert" it only says the following:

Black Toyota sedan Plate #X23JJ2Y, CALL 911

It gives no other information.

As you continue down the freeway, you see the car described.

(You can't see into the car, the windows are tinted, they are driving normally, just under the speed limit)

Do you call 911 absent any sort of knowledge of why that particular individual is wanted by the state?

[MelissaWV]

No. Let's even take it at face value that their information would not be up there unless they did something really bad. Let's assume s/he's a really bad person.

How much faith do you have that the person even typed in the tag number correctly? How much faith do you have in the cops having all the right information (is this a suspect? person of interest?)? How much faith do you have in the fact that, in the amount of time it took to distribute this information and get it posted, the actual wanted person has kept the exact same car with the exact same license plate?

Too many variables, too much potential for life lost.

[fr33]

I only call when an ambulance or fire truck is needed.

[thoughtomator]

Driving normally and just under the speed limit are two separate and usually mutually exclusive things.

[RockEnds]

Is this a trick question? Of course not. It's illegal to use a cellphone and drive.

[Origanalist]

Is this a trick question? Of course not. It's illegal to use a cellphone and drive.

It's a trap!

To answer the question, no.

Lol, didn't see the poll. Me thinks this is going to be a bit lopsided...........:p

[RockEnds]

It's a trap!

To answer the question, no.

That's right. There was no guarantee of immunity for me.

Officer, yes, I saw the billboard, and yes I saw the vehicle, but I would never break the law by dialing a cellphone in a moving vehicle. Hey, I don't write the rules. I just play by them. ;)

[oyarde]

That's right. There was no guarantee of immunity for me.

Officer, yes, I saw the billboard, and yes I saw the vehicle, but I would never break the law by dialing a cellphone in a moving vehicle. Hey, I don't write the rules. I just play by them. ;)

I would never call , can still use my phone legally , but never answer when driving , I carry it in my shirt pocket and cannot get to it , seat belt is in the way :)

[Tod]

If you see something, say something.

That is just what some idiot in the town next door did.

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/viewart/20130228/NEWS01/302280014/Geocaching-causes-bomb-scare


Geocaching causes bomb scare
MANSFIELD — A city man could face felony charges for placing a geocache on a public guardrail, causing a three-hour investigation Monday afternoon.

Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, similar to a scavenger hunt, in which the participants use a Global Positioning System or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called “geocaches” or “caches,” anywhere in the world.
Around 2 p.m., Joel Smith said he was on his way to pick up his wife when he spotted two people at Winwood Drive and Hollywood Lane.
“We’ve had so many break-ins in this neighborhood that I always like to keep an eye out for anything suspicious,” Smith said. “It appeared like they were exchanging papers or envelopes. I did a three-point turn and was going to go back to try and get a picture, but they were already zooming past when I turned around.”

Smith said he got out of his car and looked behind the guardrail where the pair had been standing and found a small yellow box duct-taped to the back.
He called the Mansfield Police Department, which called in the Ashland County Bomb Squad, the Mansfield Fire Department and the Richland County Sheriff’s Office.

After a few hours, police received a tip the box may contain a geocache.
“I can’t believe this has happened again,” said Steve Zigmund, who has been involved with geocaching for years. “The police just went through a similar situation in Loudonville and then again in Ashland in the past year. These are hidden all over the place.”
When the container was opened, authorities found a small yellow-and-green plastic frog and a few notes from the man who hid the geocache, Scott Toney.
Mansfield police Detective Joe Petrycki said the investigation report will be sent to the Mansfield law director’s office to see if felony charges for inducing public panic are warranted.
“There was a lot of time, manpower and resources that went into this,” he said.
Toney and his wife, Kathryn Toney, were taken aback by the incident.
Kathryn said because the public guardrail sits against Sterkel Park, they’d gotten permission from the parks department to place the geocache where they did.
Scott said the couple has been geocaching for almost four years without problems.
“We’ve traveled all over the country doing this,” he said. “We enjoy the hunt. You go into the woods, into the community, all kinds of settings. We often bring our dog. We do it quite often. It’s a family thing.”
The cache, placed Feb. 23, was titled “Will I Be The 2,000,000th Cache?”
“We chose to put it there because we drive by that area all the time and it’s sort of fun to see people stopped there and searching for it,” Kathryn said. “It was also far enough away from the other geocaches in Sterkel Park.”
Kathryn said she hopes Monday’s incident is an eye-opener for police and for the community.
“I want police to just be aware that this is going on,” she said. “If someone calls again for something like this, they should be checking to see if a geocache is a possibility.”

[Philhelm]

Tinted windows? I'd assume that a six-foot-something, 200 pound, bald, black, former LAPD officer turned rogue would be the driver and immediately spray gunfire into the car.

[kcchiefs6465]

Hell no.

ETA: Frankly, I wouldn't call 911 if I knew why. Child molesters and the like might get beat half to death and the ambulance driver might realize he's a wanted man to turn him in, aside from that I really couldn't care less.

[Anti Federalist]

LOL @ Thread.

[leverguy]

If you see something, say something.

That is just what some idiot in the town next door did.

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/viewart/20130228/NEWS01/302280014/Geocaching-causes-bomb-scare

I swear this whole freakin' country is turning into a Marx brothers movie.

[pcosmar]

No. I do not trust the Government.
And No. My phone is at home. I have no (and will not have) cell phone.

[pcosmar]

LOL @ Thread.

And even here 2 people voted "Yes,, I trust the Government"

:(

[acptulsa]

And even here 2 people voted "Yes,, I trust the Government"

:(

There's a sucker born every minute.

[Origanalist]

And even here 2 people voted "Yes,, I trust the Government"

:(

Anonymous poll. I wonder if they're just trolling...............

[DamianTV]

ie:

You are driving down the freeway.

You see an electronic billboard (the kind they typically use for amber alerts) except this time the message does not say "amber alert" it only says the following:

Black Toyota sedan Plate #X23JJ2Y, CALL 911

It gives no other information.

As you continue down the freeway, you see the car described.

(You can't see into the car, the windows are tinted, they are driving normally, just under the speed limit)

Do you call 911 absent any sort of knowledge of why that particular individual is wanted by the state?

I would not even be allowed to call the cops because calling the cops would be a crime, especially if calling 911 while driving because it would be criminal on my part to use my cell phone while driving.

File Under: DO NOT TALK TO COPS. The rest of the thread can vary.

---

So if it wasnt a crime, I still wouldnt call the cops. Most likely they'd arrest me and charge me with some sort of crime. The crime of calling the cops to begin with.

[DamianTV]

Tinted windows? I'd assume that a six-foot-something, 200 pound, bald, black, former LAPD officer turned rogue would be the driver and immediately spray gunfire into the car.

Corrupt Cops have a word for this: Retirement.

[bolil]

lol at data mine. OP, I understand that your masters have terrible power, but don't project it here.

[DamianTV]

There's a sucker born every minute.

Apparently two for the two who voted YES.

[MelissaWV]

Apparently two for the two who voted YES.

Three now.

[oyarde]

Polls should be public:)