I can’t say that I really did but like the Stasi, half of the battle is with the psychological threat. So I had to deal with three different jurisdictions: local police, Sheriff’s Dept., and Highway Patrol. The patrol guy is the one that gave a friend a ticket for no seat belt a half mile away. Phone rang, stopped his truck on the gravel driveway before entering the highway, truck in park, and took the belt off to get at and answer the phone. The Patrol is under the jurisdiction of the Gov. with the help of the AG who has fined restaurants thousands for opening and even threatened criminal charges.
Like I said crazy state. You miss the point if you mix up what they can do with what they do do. Just depends on who.
[quote="VDCdriveer
I am an exceptionally law-abiding person who doesn’t want to ever see the inside of a jail cell,
Agree with not wanting to see the inside of a jail cell but sadly did see inside a few. Way back early in my driving career this was way before computers and cell phones if you was out of state and you got a traffic ticket after court hours you spent the night or two or three in jail un till the court opened and you could pay the fine and be on your way’ not something I would want to go back to.
I like to think of it as a calculated risk.
In my state, “in theory” you can’t pump your own gas, and there are a LOT of people who seem to think that a cop is going to jump out from behind a tree and slap cuffs on them if they dare to touch a gas pump. In reality, nobody has ever been arrested for that “offense” in my state.
I realize that perception constitutes reality for many people, but in almost every case that reality doesn’t really exist–except in their unfounded fears.
A friend was stopped by the police. He took his seatbelt off to get his license out. The officer saw that his belt was not secured, and cited him for it. My friend tried to tell the policeman why the belt was undone, but it made no difference. Indiana, about 20 years ago. It seems to me that this is just everyday policing, right or wrong.
Neither have I. I’d LOVE to see evidence that it actually happened. In fact I’ll bet it NEVER did because that would bring a lawsuit.
I still work…and during the pandemic there were times I had to get into the office which meant driving from NH to MA.
Good. Restaurants and Bars are still at the top of the list of contacting Covid. This has nothing to do with preventing some idiot from getting Covid. It’s to help prevent Covid from spiking again that it overwhelms our health system again.
Not only tough, but impossible.
I don’t go in for that progressive stuff and trying to even everything out for everybody. Life isn’t fair and it’s not going to be that way.
Many on the lower end of the income ladder don’t contribute much (some actually receive other tax paying contributor’s money as credits) in the form of tax dollars, donations, and philanthropic activities.
In my county in FL, the progressives were going after a county commissioner for showing favoritism to older folks in a community in the county (help getting timely Covid shots). They were livid (or acting like it). I don’t have a problem with extra benefits for people who supply the grease for the wheels on the wagon in which many complainers are riding. Keeping the wealthiest the healthiest is sound thinking.
You should see how much some folks pay for property tax alone, on Anna Maria Island, Lido, and Longboat Key! Then, there’s sales and Fed Income tax, too.
Everywhere creeping socialism has been tried it has failed, hurting everybody.
In your eagerness to rail against progressive tax policy you didn’t notice that we were talking about solving the problem of dangerous driving, not taxation.
It’s undeniable that if we subscribe to the idea that punishment will deter crime if it’s severe enough, then the punishment must be severe enough for anyone receiving it.
It’s pointless to try and stop speeding by mandating fines which only punish those who are not rich. A rich person not particularly care about a fine that to him is almost unnoticeable even if a poor person would look on it as nearly insurmountable. That means the rich person is less likely to stop speeding, and if our intent is to stop people from speeding, it’s dumb to expect good results if we let people keep speeding as long as they have money.
Basing traffic fines on the wealth of the person who broke the law isn’t socialism (and on that - you might want to look into what socialism actually is. Hint: It’s not what your TV shows are telling you it is). Basing traffic fines on the wealth of the person who broke the law is just, uh, common sense if we intend the fines to be effective across the board.
I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree. I stand by my statements. Have you noticed our country is divided down the middle?
Oh, and to enlighten you, since you just assumed things (you know what that causes, eh? ), I studied Slavic Worlds, socialism, communism, and the damage done, in my undergrad years. We had many speakers from many socialist and communist countries as part of the classes.
We have a large population of former Cubans here in FL. They have lived it and don’t want what the “progressives” are selling and I’ve had many tell me about it. I just bought a cell phone from a Cuban (smart, nice guy) COSTCO employee who escaped life in a country that went down that path.
Back to traffic fines… It’s not going to be fair, regardless of how you try and even it up (lawyers, favors, etcetera, people of influence) but even if a handful of wealthier tax payers are speeding, at least some/many folks will be deterred by steep fines. It’s easier on your brain and soul to accept that. CSA
I fail to understand your resistance to charging wealthy people more for their traffic violations when charging people for their traffic violations is supposed to be punitive. That’s not socialism - and by the way, stop trying to derail conversations you can’t win by bleating about socialism and then hoping it gets shut down before people can respond - it’s making things that are supposed to be punitive, actually punitive.
Your proposal is more along the lines of “screw the poor, and let the rich skate, because we certainly can’t be solving traffic problems if it means some rich guy might have a bad day” which also isn’t socialism, but it’s definitely stupid.
I don’t like traffic law violators and I’m quite careful and law abiding, especially being an avid bicyclist in the sixth most dangerous (to pedestrians) county in the number 1 most dangerous state. I will not have to worry about fines.
Thank you for your opinions on traffic fines, I guess. Oh, and thanks for accusing me of things I’m not doing, too, I guess. Anyhow, have a nice warm sunny afternoon, as I will. My glass is always half full. Cheers!
Oh wow. I was going to break down and buy a $2.50 newspaper but the clerk said she had to charge me $35 because of my income. I said I’ll pass, it wasn’t even worth the $2.50.
Maybe just eliminate the roads? That’ll stop people from that terrible offense of speeding.
Yes, I’ll have to say that has been my experience too. When in Prague the people would talk about how grateful they were now to be a free country again. Still issues but free. Same thing in Eastern Germany. Something wrong with those folks in Italy though.
In my area (Western NY State, the Walmarts have several large men at the limited entrances, you will not get in without a mask. Compliance was spotty for the first month but the state sent inspectors into our area and 5 store got $1000 fines with the promise of steeper fines for second offenses. Soon, every store had signs saying you had to have a mask to enter and they would not wait on you if you were not wearing one. I have been buying my groceries from Walmart with their free curbside pickup for a year.
Like almost everyone else, I did not like Walmart much, but was sometimes driven there by their prices. But I have to applaud them, they are the only grocery supplier that did not charge extra to shop for and load groceries into your car and unlike many others , they did not require you to have an app on a smartphone.
You could also buy a large selection of other products. I got motor oil and a hair cutting kit and many other things with my groceries.
I find this service so convenient that I will continue to use it even now that I am fully vaccinated. I will buy some things from other grocery stores, but the bulk of them will continue to come from Walmart.
), I studied Slavic Worlds, socialism, communism, and the damage done, in my undergrad years. We had many speakers from many socialist and communist countries as part of the classes.
Cheers!