Isn't there a cop on the board? Maybe shed some insight on thin blue lines? And especially why people with thin blue lines are consistently the most thoughtless, inattentive, fast, and generally ill behaved drivers on the road, and in the most need of scrutiny?
AFIK they are only for immediate family members of and police themselves.... greg, bluelinescooby chime in....
from what i have found out the thin blue line is for police officers it also supposedly alerts and officer that there is a weapon in the vehicle. but they are for the fraternal order of police. i was curious about the same thing cause i see them everywhere. people also say they make them invisible to police because they are a get out of jail free pass for tickets and stuff.
They aren't a get out of a ticket pass, they are supposed to be for family members only but people found ways to make them and try to take advantage of them
but why would you need to take advantage of them if there is no advantage to be taken? (which is the very cyclical arguement often made) I have no way of knowing if any of the knucklehead drivers I see with these things are legitimate or bootleg, but I sure know one thing and thats they are the ones to watch out for....
i have to agree with you, i see them everywhere and they are normally people who cant drive, but thats atlanta for you. there is another one called the thin red line which is for fire fighters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_Blue_Line_(emblem) It used to be a symbol of brotherhood for police officers, for the officers and their immediate families to show their support for each other..... many other people saw it as a "get out of a ticket" sticker, and so they started making counterfeit stickers thinking it would keep them from getting pulled over..... needless to say, that symbol has lost the majority of its meaning, and I know very, very few officers who display it on their vehicles.....
yeah if you read down to the bottom of above listed wiki article you will see what most already perceive as a good idea gone bad.I know of several people who have them and they have no relation to law enforcement personnel.To me there might be better ways to show solidarity.Not sure how though.maybe a police license plate(i.e. you pay your 25$ and get a plate with a little symbol that shows you support law enforcement though this too could be misconstrued and misused) It used to be people bought F.O.P. stickers and plastered them across the back window. If anything those who have the thin blue line should be better examples of good driving along with the people with the icthus (fish) symbol.
I called up my good buddy, who is a police officer for Forsyth County, about this. I asked him what they do about this now. They honestly cant do anything about it, like bluelinescooby said it has lost its meaning. Most police officers just carry there badge with them and if they get pulled over, most cops will give one another a break, just depending on the situation. Even if they do have a strip and they are doing something stupied, they get tailed and plates ran anyway.