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- Aug 20, 2006
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Apparently, you can be fined in Oregon just for being an armchair engineer. Some guy wrote to his state’s government to complain about the timing of yellow lights, but he got fined instead after being accused of practicing engineering without being licensed. Wait, does this mean that every engineering student in Oregon can be fined, too?
…Mats Järlström, an electronics engineer living in Beaverton, Oregon, sent an email to the state's engineering board. The email claimed that yellow traffic lights don't last long enough, which "puts the public at risk." "I would like to present these facts for your review and comments," he wrote. The Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying responded with this dystopian message: "ORS 672.020(1) prohibits the practice of engineering in Oregon without registration … at a minimum, your use of the title 'electronics engineer' and the statement 'I'm an engineer' … create violations." In January of this year, Järlström was officially fined $500 by the state for the crime of "practicing engineering without being registered."
…Mats Järlström, an electronics engineer living in Beaverton, Oregon, sent an email to the state's engineering board. The email claimed that yellow traffic lights don't last long enough, which "puts the public at risk." "I would like to present these facts for your review and comments," he wrote. The Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying responded with this dystopian message: "ORS 672.020(1) prohibits the practice of engineering in Oregon without registration … at a minimum, your use of the title 'electronics engineer' and the statement 'I'm an engineer' … create violations." In January of this year, Järlström was officially fined $500 by the state for the crime of "practicing engineering without being registered."