Eng-Tips is the largest engineering community on the Internet

Intelligent Work Forums for Engineering Professionals

Update on Oregon suit of man claiming to be an engineer... 8

Status
Not open for further replies.
Replies continue below

Recommended for you

I am also glad that got resolved as it did. I'm all for protecting the title of professional engineer and similar protected professional titles, but the overreach of fining valid engineers who disciplines don't require professional licensure was getting absurd. For IRstuff and those who work in such industries I'm glad the "engineer" pushed back as hard as he did.

Ian Riley, PE, SE
Professional Engineer (ME, NH, VT, CT, MA, FL) Structural Engineer (IL)
American Concrete Industries
 
Yay! I can call myself an engineer in Oregon, anyways. We'll need to see how that shakes out for California, although I am in an exempt industry, but it's not clear whether the ruling by itself nullifies the comparable California statutes, or whether someone in California will need to sue and use the Oregon decision as a precedent.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list
 
Glad to see common sense forced on to the Board,
and yes that is the board that I have my License from.

But my question is:
Did City of Beaverton adjust their traffic lights back to a reasonable timing?

Hydrae
 
I don't know about other places, but here in Wyoming if the light turns red while you're in the intersection, you ran the red light. His argument about the yellow needing to be longer to accommodate slowing down for a left turn wouldn't fly here.
 
In California, as long as the light was NOT red when you entered (your front wheels crossed the white line) the intersection, you've not violated the law.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
 
As I said, wroggent, here the time the light is yellow does not account for the time it takes vehicles to clear the intersection. The light only has to be yellow long enough for the driver to be able to decelerate and stop from the posted speed after the light turns yellow, before it turns red. The time that it is yellow is dependent solely on the posted speed limit of the street or road, not the size of the intersection.

There may be some allowance for the intersection size in the delay between one direction turning red and the other direction turning green, but that is a separate issue from the one that was being argued.

Edit: I should add, even though that is the 'letter of the law', I have never known anyone to get a ticket because the light turned red while they were in the intersection.
 
On the actual subject of the thread, I agree with the ruling - one does not need to be licensed to call oneself an engineer. Using the title 'engineer' to bolster his argument to the public, while likely misleading, should not be cause for prosecution or fines. To do so sets a dangerous precedent, especially for those work in exempt industries. I think the Board levying a fine was an overreach, as regulating speech is beyond their purview. If they could have proven their case that he was indeed 'practicing' engineering, then the board would have had standing.
 
Here is a article on the controversy about entering a intersection for a left hand turn:

I agree with this driver's education blog, but it is Canadian:

And:

To stay on topic, I agree with the decision the judge made about the engineering board. They have been trying to regulate the English language, not the Profession.
 
From the prior thread:
stevenal said:
I find it interesting that an attorney, presumably a member of the Oregon Bar, is arguing the matter this way.

From the ruling:
Beckerman said:
The word “engineer,” however, is different than the
other title restrictions courts have upheld in the past. Unlike “M.D.” or “certified public
accountant,” there is no fixed meaning to the title “engineer.” On the contrary, there are many
different types of engineers. Courts have long recognized that the term “engineer” has a generic
meaning separate from “professional engineer,” and that the term has enjoyed “widespread usage
in job titles in our society to describe positions which require no professional training.”

So i guess that's the difference. I still wonder whether the M.D., CPA, or J.D. licensed in another jurisdiction may use the title in this one.

Suggest taking a cue from Europe and begin using a term like ingenieur to distinguish us from train drivers.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top