going 85 in a 70 zone? that is not even close to minor infraction. That is major speeding. I agree, it should cost a lot of $$.
b
I’m not arguing about deserving a fine, but before the crackdown the fine would have been a lot less. The state wa up front about what they would do. I offered it more as a warning for anyone driving through VA.
85 mph is sort of unusual example, but states seem to be using traffic fines not just as a way to induce safer driving, but also as a means to get general revenue. Higher traffic fines mean less taxes I guess is the reasoning.
This method to collect revenue is used here in Calif in spades. Not coming to a complete stop when making a right hand turn at a 4 way stop sign in a quiet residential neighborhood, and instead coasting through at 1-2 mph, if you get caught, will likely net you close to a $500 fine.
Good thing you don’t live in Finland…Or it might be good…depending on you income.
Speeding ticket fines are in part based on your income. A very wealthy man in Finland received a $60,000 speeding ticket. That same ticket to the rest of us would be just a few hundred dollars.
I sometimes wonder why so many municipalities complain about low revenue, when there is such a huge source of revenue available by just enforcing the traffic laws.
I once stood at a busy intersection in Boston and counted the number of cars that ran a red light. It was about 5 per signal change. Taking some guesses, that comes to about 100 per hour. Considering 6 hours of rush hour traffic only, that’s 600 per day or about $60000 per day, for ONE intersection only. Multiply by 100 intersections and 200 days per year, and you get about a billion dollars per year.
Obviously this would not happen, as drivers would quickly learn to stop at a red light. But the revenue would still be high and the streets safer.
b
Man, running red lights has become an epidemic here. They’ve even gone so far as to install little blue lights that the cops can use to tell when a light they can’t see is red so they can still nab you. But they rarely actually station a cop at the intersection, so it doesn’t change anything.
I was thinking of camera’s to record infractions and an automatic billing system.
b
Enforcement cameras, aside from the obvious constitutional problems of being unable to confront the witnesses against you in court, are problematic in that they do not know when they are wrong. If I stop for a red light, but the camera thinks I’ve crossed an imaginary line beyond which I am “running” the light, then even if I don’t go until the light turns green, I get an automatic ticket.
They’ve also been known to cause people to slam on the brakes and cause wrecks because they’re afraid the robot will give them a ticket if they misjudge the light timing.
And when administered by private companies, it has happened that the companies adjusted the yellow light timing specifically to cause more people to run the red light and increase revenues.
I’m certainly not a fan of the implementation scheme that usually happens, which is that a private company installs the city’s cameras for free or for a very low cost in exchange for a percentage of the ticket revenue. Often these contracts include clauses that guarantee a certain amount of ticket revenue, which in turn guarantees a certain number of tickets issued. I do not believe a profit motive should be a factor in the justice system - it sets up an inherent conflict of interest.
I’d much rather see the cops stop fiddling with their radar guns and bothering people for doing 5 over on the interstate and instead start enforcing, in person, actual safety problems such as tail gating and red light running.
I sometimes wonder why so many municipalities complain about low revenue, when there is such a huge source of revenue available by just enforcing the traffic laws.
Many towns in MA and NH have in their budget the amount of revenue they need from traffic tickets. Each year those revenues go up.
@BillRussell, your camera and automatic billing system is alive and well in MD and DC at least, and I’m sure many other states. Many intersections have red light cameras as do school zones and road work zones.