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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, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 27 2017, @05:21PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 27 2017, @05:21PM (#500802)

    He didn't say anything like "I am licensed professional engineer, registered in the state of Oregon." while accepting payment for engineering.

    That ought to be covered, ideally as fraud and deceptive advertising. Anything less, NO. The term "engineer" is used for all sorts of stupid shit, like operating trains.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 27 2017, @10:30PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 27 2017, @10:30PM (#500906)

    ...like recording studio knob twister.

    (I was also going to mention railroad train driver before I got to your comment. To any of those traveling to Ontario: be careful what you call yourself while there.)

    No one yet has specifically mentioned that this is censorship against someone critical of the way a government is doing something.
    Now, had the guy made any mention of seeking employment using his technical skills, -that- would be different.
    This is simply a power play by thin-skinned bureaucrats.

    -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]