News, Tennessee considers extra fines for 'super speeders' (Knoxville, Johnson City: home, income)

[JD59]

Tennessee lawmakers are considering ways to add new monetary penalties for speeding drivers as a way to boost funding for the state's trauma centers, where speeders often wind up needing treatment.

As introduced, the "super speeders" bill would fine drivers $200 for traveling 15 mph above the speed limit.

Tennessee considers extra fines for 'super speeders' | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

[jessyj2009]

One of the first things I learned when moving here... if you drive in the cities (Knoxville for me) on the freeway and go less than 65 they run you down. The speed limit is 55 but nobody seems to go that at all.

[jabogitlu]

I-26 is getting to be that way, too. The problem in Johnson City, though, is that some drivers go 70-75 the whole way, while rural drivers go 50 or 55 the entire way - even when it's 70, between Kingsport and Johnson City. I basically learned how to drive in Knoxville and for me, you get on the Interstate and go 70 in the city, and 80 outside the city limits. Drivers here don't do that at all.

[NHartphotog]

It's about time we stopped letting local governments use speeding tickets as an income source. I am a fairly slow, cautious driver. I always drive the speed limit or less. I have been driving for many decades and have never had an accident; I drive defensively and avoid situations where I might be caught by other drivers doing stupid things.

One week driving home from work, I turned onto my rural road in farm country, with a design speed of 65 mph or so. It was posted 40 mph. It is a straight road with huge, clear rights of way open about 50' on either side of the road. I was accelerating after turning onto the road and saw a cop car hidden in the trees way up ahead. I was only going about 30 mph, what I always do on this stretch, and couldn't believe it when the cop pulled out and pulled me over. He asked for my license and registration and said "you were speeding." I couldn't believe it. I said, "I was doing 30!" He said "You were doing 46. Your fine is $210." That was more than I took home for a week at work. I started to cry. I asked why it was so much. He said "You were going 15 mph over the speed limit" and pointed to a newly installed sign: they had lowered the speed limit on this road, which looked like I-95, to 30 mph!

I learned later that they hadn't met their quotas for speeding fines, so they went and did these scams all over the County: lowering the speed limit on a road to a ridiculously low level, then having the cops claim that everyone was going 15 mph over the limit to get the maximum fine. A month later the speed limit was back to 40 mph. The newspapers said those who went to court to fight it all won, because the cops admitted they didn't exactly get a clear readout on the radar detectors. But all they had to do was lie, and their testimony would trump the citizen in the car.

I went down that road a thousand times when I lived there, and whenever I reached a comfortable speed (and I drive slow) it was around 30 mph. I know I was not speeding, even at the low/trap speed they set up. I was thoroughly disgusted at the unethical behavior of people who are supposed to "protect us," and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they will continue to use their almost-unlimited power to steal far more from citizens than a herd of robbers and criminals could.

[tijlover]

The police don't realize, any number of potential tourists, comb these sites on City-Data.com in planning their next trips somewhere in the country.

Gee whiz! Our jobs are stressful enough today, and when we decide to go on a vacation from stress, do we want to miss all the scenery by keeping our eyes glued to the speedometer and stress out everytime we see the needle going 5 miles over or see a cop car hidden somewhere?

What a great way to destroy a vacation by getting a speeding ticket or be under constant stress of getting one.

I never stressed out driving around Mexico. God bless the corrupt police down there! Hand them a twenty dollar bill, and away you go! And even the times I wasn't speeding and got a ticket down there, I was still thankful for them.