Which rules/laws in the construction industry....

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emahler

Senior Member
peter d said:
I think the answer to this is a moving target, and as such defies an absolute answer. But generally speaking, and human nature being what it is, people will be inclined to follow or break what ever rule is beneficial to them at a particular moment in time.

you and wireman71 hang out together?:D
 

emahler

Senior Member
brian john said:
I try to be 100% legal at all times, but must admit I may have broken a few licensing rules over the years. I HATE, having to be caught doing anything wrong, I hate trying to explain myself out of a mess that I started by breaking a law/regulation/rule.

i agree...sometimes we break rules simply because they are what we would deem stupid....but does that make us right?
 

George Stolz

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Location
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Occupation
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bkludecke said:
If I do a California Roll at a stop sign where there are clearly no other cars approaching I don't loose much sleep.
My friend is currently losing some sleep due to this: his wife pulled out in front of a semi Sunday afternoon and was killed instantly. His two little girls (ages 2 and six months) are in critical condition, they were airlifted down the Children's Hospital in Denver and are fighting for their lives.

Just a reminder to slow down and make sure nobody is coming; nobody ever died waiting.

I don't really understand the original question, as wide open as it is, but y'all have fun with it.
 
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satcom

Senior Member
emahler said:
i agree...sometimes we break rules simply because they are what we would deem stupid....but does that make us right?

How about when a sport event is played we throw out the rules we don't like, when the opposing team brings in a home run we slam him with a bat, after all it 's only a game. It appears we take rules of a sport more serious, then how we conduct our own affairs.
 
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petersonra

Senior Member
Location
Northern illinois
Occupation
engineer
satcom said:
How about when a sport event is played we throw out the rules we don't like, when the opposing team brings in a home run we slam him with a bat, after all it 's only a game. It appears we take rules of a sport more serious, then how we conduct our own affairs.
There are no absolutes. Part of the deal with rules is that you are at liberty to break them at your own discretion. You just have to accept the consequences if you get caught.

How many times have you seen a DB grab a receiver to prevent a touchdown? It happens in nearly every game. The DB gets penalized for it, but he avoids the other team scoring against him. He has accepted that the penalty for breaking the rule (if he gets caught) is less offensive than the consequences of not breaking the rule.

When we incur a debt, we agree to the repayment rules. Can anyone here state honestly that they have paid every bill on time?

Some rules are meant to be broken by the very people that created them. Most of the time speed limits are set to generate a certain amount of revenue. If people did not violate the speed limit, that revenue would be lost. No one really believes that most speeders are a threat to anyone else. For practical purposes, speeding tickets are essentially a license to speed granted randomly and in a capricious manner.
 
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cowboyjwc

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Location
Simi Valley, CA
Funny thing. Last night my son (13) and I were watching "No Country for Old Men". Don't know if you've seen the movie, but one of the characters comes upon a drug deal gone bad in the desert and finds a case full of money and just walks off with it.

My son asked, would you keep the money if you found it? I honestly had to say, I don't know. I hope I would do the right thing and notify the authorities, but I just really couldn't answer his question.:-?
 

LawnGuyLandSparky

Senior Member
satcom said:
How about when a sport event is played we throw out the rules we don't like, when the opposing team brings in a home run we slam him with a bat, after all it 's only a game. It appears we take rules of a sport more serious, then how we conduct our own affairs.

Starting with a level playing field. :grin:
 

LawnGuyLandSparky

Senior Member
cowboyjwc said:
Funny thing. Last night my son (13) and I were watching "No Country for Old Men". Don't know if you've seen the movie, but one of the characters comes upon a drug deal gone bad in the desert and finds a case full of money and just walks off with it.

My son asked, would you keep the money if you found it? I honestly had to say, I don't know. I hope I would do the right thing and notify the authorities, but I just really couldn't answer his question.:-?

What money?
 

tmbrk

Senior Member
Location
Illinois
petersonra said:
How many times have you seen a DB grab a receiver to prevent a touchdown? It happens in nearly every game. The DB gets penalized for it, but he avoids the other team scoring against him. He has accepted that the penalty for breaking the rule (if he gets caught) is less offensive than the consequences of not breaking the rule.

This is very true. And depending on which team's side you are on will determine whether you cheer or call foul.

It goes back to what Peter d said:

"people will be inclined to follow or break what ever rule is beneficial to them at a particular moment in time."
 

tmbrk

Senior Member
Location
Illinois
I think another question is why do people follow rules/law.

I would guess that most of us are certainly afraid of getting caught doing something wrong and facing the consequences. But also, there is self respect in not doing something you know is wrong whether there's a chance of getting caught or not. Of doing the right thing.

Without going into great detail over specifically what rules I personally will or will not break, this thread has made me think about it.
 

emahler

Senior Member
the question is not whether or not we disregard codes/rules/laws in the construction industry...

the question is where do you personally draw the line, and why?

why is it ok for you do a small kitchen remodel without a permit (assuming one is required in your area), but you wouldn't think about jumping the neutral and ground on a GFCI to pass a CO inspection?

why would you be ok with running NM-B underground through PVC, yet can't bring yourself to use 12/3 and remark the red for an Isolated Ground circuit (you'll only use cable specifically identified for IG)?

where is your threshold?
 

emahler

Senior Member
tmbrk said:
Without going into great detail over specifically what rules I personally will or will not break, this thread has made me think about it.

glad to hear that...that was kind of the whole purpose:D
 

crossman

Senior Member
Location
Southeast Texas
tmbrk said:
But also, there is self respect in not doing something you know is wrong whether there's a chance of getting caught or not. Of doing the right thing.

And therein lies the problem. What is "right" for one person, may not be so for another. Regardless of the law. If a person doesn't believe that a particular law is proper, the person will most likely not worry about violating that law if there is slim chance of getting caught.
 

emahler

Senior Member
crossman said:
And therein lies the problem. What is "right" for one person, may not be so for another. Regardless of the law. If a person doesn't believe that a particular law is proper, the person will most likely not worry about violating that law if there is slim chance of getting caught.

and that's well and good...but what's your threshold? when do you decide that a law/rule/code is stupid and ok to be broken?

do you hang out with peter d and wireman 71?
 

billsnuff

Senior Member
emaler

emaler

thank you for this thought provoking thread. One thing i do believe is that you cannot legislate morality. that said, what is you opinion of the following:

"Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools."

by the by, i golf, therefore, i don't lie, cheat or steal. :grin: :grin:

p.s. credit quote to mason
 

crossman

Senior Member
Location
Southeast Texas
emahler said:
and that's well and good...but what's your threshold?

The threshold cannot be determined until I am presented with a situation in which I have to make a decision. The question is too vague to give a concrete answer. There are just too many variables that factor into what is right and what is wrong for each individual.

As an example, yes, I drive over the speed limit. But that is dependent upon the cicumstance. If I am out in the middle of nowhere and the speed limit is 65, I may do 75. But if there is a policeman driving beside me, I go the speed limit. If I am in a residential neighborhood, I do the speed limit. If in a school zone, I try to do the speed limit. On the freeway and everyone else is doing 10 mph over, I will blend in and do the same.

I know this is concerning electrical stuff.... so present some scenarios to us. Then we can each give an account of what we would do. That would be fun!
 

cschmid

Senior Member
"Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools."

The wise man reads the rules and understands and uses rule to the fullest..fools reads rule and follows blindly..
 

emahler

Senior Member
billsnuff said:
thank you for this thought provoking thread. One thing i do believe is that you cannot legislate morality. that said, what is you opinion of the following:

"Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools."

by the by, i golf, therefore, i don't lie, cheat or steal. :grin: :grin:

p.s. credit quote to mason

we're not talking about legislating morality....we are talking about why some guys feel justified in doing side work illegally and taking food off a legal contractors table, but would call the labor board on their boss if he shorted them 15 mins in their weekly check?

we're talking about why some guy thinks he can not follow the prevailing wage laws, but let a customer not pay him....

so while morality comes into play, we are talking about when and why do you decide that the existing legislation doesn't apply to you?
 
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