Your jurisdiction may vary, but I have a $375 ticket for doing 59 in a 55 that begs to differ.

Nope! Never have, and I speed on a regular basis. I suspect that the police are picking and choosing, ticketing only the most egregious and life-threatening offenders. And they’re certainly not sneaking into people’s cars and covertly checking their speedometers.

You’ve never heard the term “speed trap”, then? Apparently you’ve never been pulled over by an unmarked police car, either.

Seems to me, though, that we pursue exactly the same strategy against speeding as Minneapolis was against bathroom sex, because the principle is the same - you get more effect from catching and punishing a speeder than you do from just the appearance of authority.

It is really vanishingly rare in actual experience. I DO know and recognize the signals, and I’ve only been cruised maybe a total of 3 times in my life. If it has been going on in restrooms where I was doing my business, the folks involved were suitably subtle about it.

Second, while I am not an expert, it is my understanding that the vast majority of cruisy bathrooms are in out of the way places and generally only get cruisy in off-hours or off days. (Hence the common “park bathroom” or “rest stop” idea).

It honestly surprises me that a men’s room in a busy airport ended up being one of the places, but then again, as I said, not an expert. And if a rest stop is anonymous, an airport would be even more so, since you could be from or to anywhere.

Even the guys who are into it have to go out of their way to find these places (though apparently, the Internet makes it easier - both for the tricks and the cops, I guess.)

And somehow we manage to pursue this “harm reduction” policy with respect to speeding without anyone arguing that it’s equivalent to abolishing speed limits and traffic control devices and lane markers and just allowing anyone to drive wherever they want. It’s almost like sex makes people lose their reason.

Ellie: I haven’t said that sex in public bathrooms should be allowed; I don’t think it should. I haven’t said I’m fine with children seeing strange adults going at it; I’m not. In fact I’m arguing for a solution to the problem of bathroom sex that I think is more likely than sting operations to prevent it from happening in the first place. Which will have the collateral benefit that children won’t go into public bathrooms and see adults being arrested for lewd behavior, which strikes me as a bad idea. I wasn’t snarking because I disagree with you about the problem; I was snarking because I agree with you and you’re angry because for some reason you think I don’t.

Lovely nuanced take on all the issues.

Anyone care to quantify?

What you’re interested in is bagging and shaming public sex participants. Which is fine and all, but drop the Who Will Think Of Teh Children business

and

It may be useful at this point to review what I actually said. This is not my position. My position is that there are better and worse ways to prevent toilet sex

Let’s see, you want the utmost respect for your attitudes about toilet sex while sneering at the slightest mention by others that their right to unimpeded, fair access to the same space includes the (apparently ridiculous) wish that their kids not have to deal with the sight or the goo of public toilet sex.

The latter are actually entitled to safe, clean facilities without being forced to navigate around public sex. The toilet traders are not entitled to impose their menu of sexual activity on non-consenting people who need to use the public facilities.

Maybe you should read what I wrote. Expecting grown ups to respect the shared nature of a common space — rather than be a jerk about parents and kids using it — is the most cost effective and sensible solution of all.

Next on the list of practical assurances would be to make those who can’t control themselves, or who refuse to respect the space, to pay to keep it safe, clean and user-friendly for those who actually have been put out.

People who simply need to go to the bathroom shouldn’t be burdened with the concern that by doing so, they’re inconveniencing those who want to abuse the space for sex.

This whole trip of pretending the toilet traders are the injured parties here is BS.

Get
A.
Room.

If I see a police car parked alongside the interstate, I slow down till I can no longer see it in my rear view mirror. If I get a ticket for speeding, I slow down for months and months.

Similarly, if someone looking to hook up in a restroom sees a cop/guard/guy handing out towels, he’ll just go to the next one on his list. If he gets busted for attempted sex, he’s going to refrain for a good while.