[deslok]

This driver responsibility fee is in addition to regular driving ticket fees. It includes excessive points, failure to provide proof of insurance, and drunk driving infractions.
Most people that get these fees cannot pay a double ticket. ( 125 dollars for a speeding ticket, and then 500 to the state for 2 years for responsibility fees)
I don't have a problem with personal accountablility. I could pay the fee. Others cannot, so it is causing these folks to drive around now without a license in some cases, burying people even deeper into debt. Wayne Kuipers, the same person that voted to tax services recently, is the republican that fathered the bill.
Am I all for punishing bad drivers and people that cannot control their points, manage their credit, etc... Yes. But not this way, in some cases this makes them unable to do anything other than save up to pay these silly fees, which takes away from the rest of our economy. It is not curbing drunk driving or doing anything of it's intended purpose. Throw bad driver's in jail, since monetary punishment is not working. You cannot take from someone that has zero.

[TaxBait]

Originally Posted by khfar

... or take defensive driving...

No option for that in MI.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by deslok

This driver responsibility fee is in addition to regular driving ticket fees. It includes excessive points, failure to provide proof of insurance, and drunk driving infractions.
Most people that get these fees cannot pay a double ticket. ( 125 dollars for a speeding ticket, and then 500 to the state for 2 years for responsibility fees)
I don't have a problem with personal accountablility. I could pay the fee. Others cannot, so it is causing these folks to drive around now without a license in some cases, burying people even deeper into debt. Wayne Kuipers, the same person that voted to tax services recently, is the republican that fathered the bill.
Am I all for punishing bad drivers and people that cannot control their points, manage their credit, etc... Yes. But not this way, in some cases this makes them unable to do anything other than save up to pay these silly fees, which takes away from the rest of our economy. It is not curbing drunk driving or doing anything of it's intended purpose. Throw bad driver's in jail, since monetary punishment is not working. You cannot take from someone that has zero.

If you can't control yourself behind the wheel of an automobile and have no money, you need to ride the bus, plain and simple. An automobile in the hands of a careless and/or reckless driver puts my life and my family's life in danger.

TaxBait, your situation, while it sucks, was underhanded and probably more the exception than the rule.

[Wabbit]

Originally Posted by TaxBait

That's starting to get a little harsh. I can see it easily happening just driving in the 85 percentile. The State recently snagged me in a very blatant worker zone trap. It was 6:30 on Friday night. Nothing was going on in the several mile long construction zone and it was 98% finished. I see a cruiser sitting at the very end of the zone sitting in long shadows. I'm looking practically into the sun to see it. I check my speed, no problem under 60 mph, nothing going on, but I vaguely remember someone standing at the driver's window of the cruiser. Maybe an off-duty road worker chatting with the cop I thought. As our group of cars pass, the cop runs down two of us saying there was a worker present. I protest "what worker" and she says they were right in front of her cruiser. That would have been nowhere near the open lane of traffic. The entire right lane was still coned off. It was clearly just an attempt to clip innocent travelers in a very sneaky manner.
Worse yet I called to inquire about my options since the jurisdiction wasn't local. If it was local I would have contested it just to tell the judge what blatant scam it was. .

And it's the same for everyone out there. I think you have a case of APB (there out to get me!) phobia. Their job is to catch you breaking the law, your job is to not get 'got'. The best way to do this is (obviously) to toe the line.
When I lived in Grand Haven there was 25 Mph near where I lived that was on a steep hill. You literally had to ride your break all the way down it to maintain the speed limit. One day, while I was doing this, I looked in my rear view mirror to see a cop tailgaiting me (they NEVER went twenty-five down it). He then passed me on the hill and continued on to the stop light, which was red. I pulled up beside him, rolled down my window and asked him why he was following me so closely. He laughed and went on his way. Their job is not to be fair, to give you breaks or be your buddy. If you don't give them the opportunity (as a driver), you don't need them to be. From what limited experience I've had dealing with the police, I found the State officer to be very professional and the Sheriff to be the stereotype. I've never dealt with the G.R. police but from what I've heard, they're good.

[laszlo]

Thanks, for the response. But, the idea behind the post is to discuss the additional penalties associated with tickets, not my driving record. Also, it's sad that people think it's a privalege to drive..with that mentality, you know this country is doomed.

I have seven points on my record because i speed and turn on red between 1pm and 3pm. I log 40K miles a year and tickets are a way of life for me. (for the record, i have never been in an accedent.) I understand paying the ticket but where do you draw the line in fines. It seems they keep tacking on fines for what ever they want... shoe's untied -$150, garbage on the floor-$200, unsigned registration-first born child. The question is when and/or where will it end?

[irvm]

Originally Posted by laszlo

I have seven points on my record because i speed and turn on red between 1pm and 3pm. I log 40K miles a year and tickets are a way of life for me.

Keep speeding and turning in front of people who aren't expecting you to, and you'll find it's also a way of death.

[TaxBait]

Originally Posted by Wabbit

And it's the same for everyone out there. I think you have a case of APB (there out to get me!) phobia. Their job is to catch you breaking the law, your job is to not get 'got'....

No phobia, just pointing out that it might not be that hard to pick up 7 points in MI. A speed trap, a rolling stop, bad luck on a stepped up enforcement day, forgot to check the tail llights lately and pretty soon you're there.
Not that I'm superstitious, but they say bad luck comes in three's. One month my fridge quit and then the TV. I was dreading the next hit but it turned out to be the just coffee pot.
And yea, around here I routinely see cops 5 - 10 over, changing lanes without signaling, and doing rolling stops. Drive like a typical cop and you WILL accumulate points.

[suydam]

Originally Posted by laszlo

Thanks, for the response. But, the idea behind the post is to discuss the additional penalties associated with tickets, not my driving record. Also, it's sad that people think it's a privalege to drive..with that mentality, you know this country is doomed.

Is it a right? Off course not.

Rights are covered by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are speak to more heady things like speech, thought, freedom of religion, etc.

Driving is something you have to earn, and if you fail to do it right, it's something the law can take away from you. That is, by definition, a privilege.

[Cliffie]

Originally Posted by laszlo

WOW! Just got a bill in the mail from Lansing. Turns out a bill was passed that penalizes drivers with 7 or more points on their driving record. Now i have to cut an annual $150.00 check to lansing until the points are gone. Oh ya, it's due in 30 days or they will suspend my license!!!! They're calling it a Driver Responsibility fee.

I can't believe that governor is still around. How/when will this continuous stealing end. SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE!!!!!!!!!!!

Has anyone else received this bill?

I hadn't even heard of it before this. Dang! Honestly though, I think it's a reasonable place to slap someone with a fee. I say that as someone who has attended a few too many funerals due to lousy driving. I wonder how much money they're expecting to drum up this way?

[khfar]

Originally Posted by TaxBait

No option for that in MI.

No, I'm not suggesting that's an option here. I was saying in my home state, you either pay the ticket OR take defensive driving. Either way, it has to be done within 30 days of the ticket. If you choose to take defensive driving (you only have that option if you haven't had a ticket in over a year) then it costs almost as much as the ticket would have, but your insurance doesn't go up. Which is nice!