A new Road Rage bill comes out in Hawaii

[bing101]

http://khon2.com/2016/08/19/new-bill-aims-to-curb-road-rage-by-outlawing-aggressive-acts-on-the-road/

Penalties and Jail time are included.

[kphoger]

It's now illegal to yell profanities while driving?  Is that not stepping over the free speech line?

[roadfro]

http://khon2.com/2016/08/19/new-bill-aims-to-curb-road-rage-by-outlawing-aggressive-acts-on-the-road/

Penalties and Jail time are included.

It should be noted that this is a City and County of Honolulu ordinance, and not a statewide law from what I saw.

The linked article indicates this does NOT specify penalties for violations. That is confirmed by the text of the ordinance linked from the story.

It's now illegal to yell profanities while driving?  Is that not stepping over the free speech line?

The text of the ordinance prohibits a driver/passenger of a vehicle from committing certain actions against a person in another vehicle, one of which is "shouting obscenities or threats".  So you can curse all you want, but you gotta keep it confined to your car and not actually shout it at someone in another car.

[kphoger]

The text of the ordinance prohibits a driver/passenger of a vehicle from committing certain actions against a person in another vehicle, one of which is "shouting obscenities or threats".  So you can curse all you want, but you gotta keep it confined to your car and not actually shout it at someone in another car.

So I'm perfectly free to exercise free speech, as long as no one else hears me?

[AMLNet49]

Town near me banned any public swearing, fine of $15. Absurd if you ask me, words are what people interpret them to be.

[thenetwork]

So if you get pissed off because someone cut you off, profanities are only legal if you pop in a rap or similar R-rated CD and play it loud enough for the other driver to hear as it is not your voice uttering said words... 

[roadfro]

The text of the ordinance prohibits a driver/passenger of a vehicle from committing certain actions against a person in another vehicle, one of which is "shouting obscenities or threats".  So you can curse all you want, but you gotta keep it confined to your car and not actually shout it at someone in another car.

So I'm perfectly free to exercise free speech, as long as no one else hears me?

The legal precedents on "free speech" don't allow everyone to say absolutely anything they want in any venue... Offensive speech, if it rises to the level of "fighting words", is not necessarily protected speech under the First Amendment.

[slorydn1]

The text of the ordinance prohibits a driver/passenger of a vehicle from committing certain actions against a person in another vehicle, one of which is "shouting obscenities or threats".  So you can curse all you want, but you gotta keep it confined to your car and not actually shout it at someone in another car.

So I'm perfectly free to exercise free speech, as long as no one else hears me?

The legal precedents on "free speech" don't allow everyone to say absolutely anything they want in any venue... Offensive speech, if it rises to the level of "fighting words", is not necessarily protected speech under the First Amendment.

Yeah, but is me saying you are a dipshit for cutting me off or hogging the left lane fighting words or just me expressing my opinion of your lack of driving talent?

[Occidental Tourist]

Yeah, but is me saying you are a dipshit for cutting me off or hogging the left lane fighting words or just me expressing my opinion of your lack of driving talent?

The Fighting Words Doctrine is very narrow.  This statute is written in such a way that it could be read to prohibit speech outside Fighting Words.  If and when it is challenged, it will be struck down facially on vagueness grounds or on an "as applied" basis for prohibiting protected speech.

[roadfro]

The text of the ordinance prohibits a driver/passenger of a vehicle from committing certain actions against a person in another vehicle, one of which is "shouting obscenities or threats".  So you can curse all you want, but you gotta keep it confined to your car and not actually shout it at someone in another car.

So I'm perfectly free to exercise free speech, as long as no one else hears me?

The legal precedents on "free speech" don't allow everyone to say absolutely anything they want in any venue... Offensive speech, if it rises to the level of "fighting words", is not necessarily protected speech under the First Amendment.

Yeah, but is me saying you are a dipshit for cutting me off or hogging the left lane fighting words or just me expressing my opinion of your lack of driving talent?

I'm no legal expert, and can only really go off of some case law discussions I had in a graduate level higher education law class I took a few years ago... But I think it would largely depend on the context and manner in which you said it.

[Occidental Tourist]

I'm no legal expert, and can only really go off of some case law discussions I had in a graduate level higher education law class I took a few years ago... But I think it would largely depend on the context and manner in which you said it.

Except both the overbreadth and vagueness doctrines would apply here, and because the prohibited conduct involves a constitutional right, a court would knock it down based simply on the fact that it could prohibit protected speech, regardless of whether it actually did prohibit protected speech in a specific context.

Or, alternatively, you could have a circumstance where some is convicted under the statute based on protected speech, at which point it could be challenged by that convict under an as-applied challenge.  Because the prohibition affects the exercise of a constitutional right, when the prohibition was applied to convict someone for speech other than fighting words, the prohibition would fail a strict scrutiny test and be struck down.