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posted by mrpg on Thursday April 27 2017, @09:29AM   Printer-friendly
from the illegal-to-doubt dept.

Running red lights can get you a ticket. But in Oregon, you can be fined just for talking about it.

Mats Järlström learned this first-hand last year when the state of Oregon fined him $500 for publicly suggesting that yellow lights should last for slightly longer to accommodate cars making right turns.

[...] He did a little Googling and found the formula used to set traffic-light times. The length of time a traffic light stays yellow is based on a relatively straightforward mathematical formula, originally drafted in 1959. Mats realized that the formula is incomplete, because it fails to capture the behavior of drivers making right turns.

[...] Mats's work was generally met with interest and praise, but when Mats e-mailed the Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying, things took an abrupt illegal U-turn. The Board told Mats they had no interest in hearing about his ideas. Fair enough. But the Board didn't stop there. They launched a full-blown investigation, alleging that he'd engaged in the unlicensed "practice of engineering."

After a two-year-long investigation, the Board fined him $500. According to the Board, "critiquing" the length of yellow lights and talking about his ideas with "members of the public" made Mats a lawbreaker because he's not an Oregon-licensed professional engineer.

The Board also told Mats that he couldn't refer to himself using the word "engineer" either. Most people would probably agree that "engineer" is a sensible way to describe Mats, given his education, experience, and skills. (He has a degree in electrical engineering from Sweden, and he's worked in a range of technical fields for decades). But in Oregon, none of that matters; the word "engineer" is off-limits to everyone who is not a state-licensed professional engineer.

Source: Institute for Justice


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  • (Score: 2) by Soylentbob on Thursday April 27 2017, @02:18PM (2 children)

    by Soylentbob (6519) on Thursday April 27 2017, @02:18PM (#500688)

    I think, in your own home you are allowed. But don't discuss in public how it is done.

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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Thursday April 27 2017, @04:35PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday April 27 2017, @04:35PM (#500771) Journal

    Which did you mean? The process of unclogging, or clogging?

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 27 2017, @04:38PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 27 2017, @04:38PM (#500777)

    But can I discuss in public how many bureaucrats it takes to change a light bulb?