Here is a case of a law being broken by a large number of people because the penalties are practically non existent. You won’t get a ticket for this infraction (same for cell phone use) because the fine is not high enough be worth the time of the police officer.
Speeding 10 mph over the speed limit will cost you a minimum of $150 here in Tennessee. Speeding will contribute to more accidents and increase the severity of injuries and rate of fatalities in those accidents, even though the speed itself is seldom the primary cause of the accident. It only makes the accident harder to avoid and means a higher impact speed for accidents that would be unavoidable even at the speed limit.
High bumpers also seldom are the cause of an accident, but studies have shown that the fatality rate in accidents involving high bumpers is 25 times the rate for normal accidents. About 60% of all vehicles sold today are SUVs or trucks. Many of the larger 4x4 come from the factory with ridiculously small tires in order to meet the bumper height laws. The buyers immediately go out and get larger tires and rims to fill the wheel wells, making the vehicle over the limit.
If the legislators attached a fine that matched the danger involved, like a $1000 per offense, this would stop. What will probably stop it is when the heir of someone killed by a high bumper gets a smart lawyer who sues the vehicle manufacturer for this practice. They should also sue the tire shop, especially if its a chain, for putting on those oversize wheels and tires, the bank that financed it, and of course the insurance company that insures the vehicle for way above the policy limits for their contribution for allowing these vehicles on the road.
This should also apply to vehicles with illegal headlights or anything else that unnecessarily and greatly diminishes the safety of the highways for the rest of us.
A $250 fine for cell phone use would stop that practice too.