Yeah, but on the other hand we can own all the guns we want.
So they say.
I mean, scrap metal salvaging/stealing is such a problem you have to have a license to collect and sell it? That's pretty jacked up.
I've Been Charged with My First Misdemeanor!
- Thread starter Kommander
- Start date
I mean, scrap metal salvaging/stealing is such a problem you have to have a license to collect and sell it? That's pretty jacked up.
For an outsider it looks like every single US state has totally different (and sometimes crazy) laws, rules and regulations. Utterly confusing!
How do you manage to get through every day life without committing any major legal offenses??
Also, we have no such huge cities, earthquakes or sandstorms like some regions in the US where it'd be utterly careless to drive that fast. There speed limits make sense. Big parts of our highways have speed limits, too (in cities, on dangerous crossings or where there is road damage). But where there is no danger, the limit is what your car can make, which in case of my business car is only about 125 mph.
I think the prob is that they just never got a chance to practize, like we do: a certain number of driving lessons on the Autobahn/highway is mandatory to be permitted to the driving test you need for getting your license.
Also, we have no such huge cities, earthquakes or sandstorms like some regions in the US where it'd be utterly careless to drive that fast. There speed limits make sense. Big parts of our highways have speed limits, too (in cities, on dangerous crossings or where there is road damage). But where there is no danger, the limit is what your car can make, which in case of my business car is only about 125 mph.
That's a very interesting (and quite scary) article! Thank you!
We do have tons of outdated and unenforced laws on the books. Doesn't usually mean anything unless you piss off the wrong person.
I don't think requiring a license to sell scrap as a business is unreasonable. The bond seems a bit much, though.
Making a misdemeanor out of it is not so reasonable, though, as first offenses go.
Good luck, Kommander!
I don't think requiring a license to sell scrap as a business is unreasonable. The bond seems a bit much, though.
Making a misdemeanor out of it is not so reasonable, though, as first offenses go.
Good luck, Kommander!
You'll note that the states are the size of most European countries, so it does make sense that different states have different laws, mostly due to different needs. But most people stay in one state for their everyday life, so it's not an issue until you take a trip somewhere. Even then it's not really an issue anyway since most states have very similar laws.For an outsider it looks like every single US state has totally different (and sometimes crazy) laws, rules and regulations. Utterly confusing!How do you manage to get through every day life without committing any major legal offenses??
I'd ask the same thing about trying to drive across Europe!
I see. I got most of my impressions of America from TV (documentaries as well as daily soaps) and there it seemed as if it was rather normal for Americans to travel literally across the country.
Over here people do travel a lot during their vacations. Hardly anyone stays at home. But apart from traffic regulations the law is pretty much the same all over the EU. The maximum sentences may vary a bit but the offenses are quite identical, afaik. The only exception I can think of atm is that it's propably frowned upon if you go skinny dipping in the Vatican
Over here people do travel a lot during their vacations. Hardly anyone stays at home. But apart from traffic regulations the law is pretty much the same all over the EU. The maximum sentences may vary a bit but the offenses are quite identical, afaik. The only exception I can think of atm is that it's propably frowned upon if you go skinny dipping in the Vatican
^ I was there a few weeks ago. Those fountains were awfully tempting! 
I mean, we do travel across the country, but it's hardly a regular thing. If we have to do it regularly, chances are we're going to take a plane.
Most states are pretty large. It's just not practical to drive across them on a daily basis. My parents and I live in the same state, but it's still a 3-hour drive if I want to visit them.
We all have our misconceptions about foreign countries, I think, but one thing I've noticed from posting here is that a lot of non-Americans really don't grasp just how HUGE the United States is. I'm 30 years old, and in that time I've only ever been to maybe half the states (and never farther west than Iowa).
I see. I got most of my impressions of America from TV (documentaries as well as daily soaps) and there it seemed as if it was rather normal for Americans to travel literally across the country.
Over here people do travel a lot during their vacations. Hardly anyone stays at home. But apart from traffic regulations the law is pretty much the same all over the EU. The maximum sentences may vary a bit but the offenses are quite identical, afaik. The only exception I can think of atm is that it's propably frowned upon if you go skinny dipping in the Vatican
I've only ever been to 7 states, including my own. It would take me several hours to get to a neighboring state from where I am now. I don't think I've been out of state in at least 5 years. And yes Americans do travel on vacation, but I would bet that a large percentage have never been in a plane and can't afford to go out of state very often in their life. If they do it's likely just to one or two neighboring states rather than traveling across the entire country.
Also, Americans take less vacations and for shorter lengths of time! I'll basically only be taking a week of vacation this entire year and I'm just going camping an hour away from home!
Haha, yeah. My "vacation" this year is a 3-day weekend that I'm taking in July to go to Milwaukee. Woo.
Yeah, the US is gigantic. Such massively long drives as a regular thing is not possible. Most people spend their daily life in one state and then go to other states for special reasons (either vacations or to visit relatives, etc.). I'm on the east coast, though, where things are a bit smaller, so it's not as unusual to travel to a different state on a weekend, but it's still a fairly narrow, predictable area.
Even then it can be somewhat difficult work-wise. It's common for people in northern Virginia to live in Washington DC or Maryland. Because of that, there's an agreement so those who live in Maryland or DC but work in Virginia only have to file their taxes in one state. However, now I'm down by North Carolina on the southern border. I don't plan to live in North Carolina, but, if I did, I would have to file my taxes in both Virginia and North Carolina because there's no agreement.
But, for the most part, there's a lot of commonality in the laws. It's usually the random regulatory stuff is different.
Raleigh is still quite a bit of a hike (it's about as close to me as Washington DC is). But the road to work basically has signs saying "this way to the Outer Banks" so I can easily go to Kitty Hawk or Nag's Head or one of those places on a whim if I wanted to.
Had no idea you moved, though. Thought you were still in Florida.
Had no idea you moved, though. Thought you were still in Florida.
When I moved from Chicago to San Francisco, that was a distance of about 2100 miles. My last day of work in Chicago was on a Thursday, and I was due to report in San Francisco the following Monday. I averaged about 700 miles a day, arriving Sunday with enough time to find a motel to temporarily settle in until I had a day off to find an apartment. Weather was good until I got to Wyoming and hit a snow storm, and this was in late May.
Depends on what you consider a large percentage. According to this Department of Transportation report from 2003, 18% of Americans have never flown on a commercial airline (which of course excludes people who have been on military or non-airline civil flights, and also includes a lot of young children).
About one out of five adult US residents (18 percent) reported that they had never flown on a commercial airline. Compared to flyers, non-flyers were much more likely to
- report having a disability or health impairment
- be under 25 years of age
- have no more than a high school education
- have a yearly household income of less than $30,000.
