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There has always been an argument in the city forums about police departments writing tickets to generate revenue, and you have people who defend it, and people who detest it. The defenders usually say it is for safety, and they want police to ticket "dangerous" drivers.
So, now comes a state who needs the money that is going to pass a law to jack up the price of speeding below ten miles an hour above the speed limit, and then keep more of the coin by not reporting it to insurance companies.
If anyone ever wondered if tickets were issued for "protection", well here is one state who now admits is is solely a cash generating policy.
There has always been an argument in the city forums about police departments writing tickets to generate revenue, and you have people who defend it, and people who detest it. The defenders usually say it is for safety, and they want police to ticket "dangerous" drivers.
So, now comes a state who needs the money that is going to pass a law to jack up the price of speeding below ten miles an hour above the speed limit, and then keep more of the coin by not reporting it to insurance companies.
If anyone ever wondered if tickets were issued for "protection", well here is one state who now admits is is solely a cash generating policy.
Last I heard the Michigan legislature was still debating a bill that would create strict guide lines for speed limits since so many cities have set up speed traps.
Yeah, in Michigan we have a law called Super-Drunk driving. But hey, the state has to make money somehow, although I think the laws are fairly ridiculous, i'd rather have them make it in people driving drunk than raising taxes
There has always been an argument in the city forums about police departments writing tickets to generate revenue, and you have people who defend it, and people who detest it. The defenders usually say it is for safety, and they want police to ticket "dangerous" drivers.
So, now comes a state who needs the money that is going to pass a law to jack up the price of speeding below ten miles an hour above the speed limit, and then keep more of the coin by not reporting it to insurance companies.
If anyone ever wondered if tickets were issued for "protection", well here is one state who now admits is is solely a cash generating policy.
So are red light cameras. As controversial as they are, they seem to bring in the bux.
When Houston introduced the cameras, the company operating them said it was all about safety, not about revenue. Fast forward to 2010, the citizens of Houston voted to do away with Red Light Cameras, and the City notified the comnpany that they were going to turn them off. Guess what the operator did? Yup, they are suing the City of Houston for something like 45 Million dollars.
Yeah, in Michigan we have a law called Super-Drunk driving. But hey, the state has to make money somehow, although I think the laws are fairly ridiculous, i'd rather have them make it in people driving drunk than raising taxes
Apart from drinking and driving laws, this bill would crack down on abuses by cities setting speed limits far below what is justified by the road's design.
Lincoln Park, MI is a prime example. Fort Street is set at 35mph throughout the city, but when you get to Southgate, the same road picks up to a more reasonable 45mph. When you drive through Stinkin' Park at 35mph it feels like you're crawling, but that's the idea since they almost always have police vehicles timing traffic on both sides of Fort Street.
They'll write the ticket for five over no matter what the real speed was then hang the threat of points over your head until you pay the much more expensive non-moving violation they offer. The whole set up is a scam.
Stinkin' Park recently closed half their schools due to a budget crisis. Lots of people have lost or simply abandoned their homes leaving a huge budget shortfall in the city. The idea behind the proposed law is hard pressed Michigan drivers shouldn't have to make up city revenue just because they drove down the wrong street in a nearly bankrupt city.
Location: Living near our Nation's Capitol since 2010
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I'm the first one who thinks drivers should drive at a reasonable and safe rate of speed. However, here in DC, the speed limits are set sooo unreasonably low that it would take forever to get anywhere if you drove at the posted limits(usually 25 mph, even in areas of low density). Of course, they have photo cops taking pictures of drivers exceeding the limit..dont tell me that isnt about the cash.
Red light cameras scare me to death. Since I know where many of them are, I am extremely careful to avoid even getting into the intersection on caution. But wow, I have almost been rear ended almost every time I stop. When I lived in Baltimore, red light cameras were cash cows. In fact, it was proven in court that the company that operated these cameras actually shortened the yellow caution light to just a few seconds..thereby causing people who were already in the intersection to get photographed and ticketed.
It makes me furious that the State is using punative speed laws and red light cameras to up revenue. Figure out a more FAIR way to collect and leave the drivers alone.
...It makes me furious that the State is using punative speed laws and red light cameras to up revenue. Figure out a more FAIR way to collect and leave the drivers alone.
Living within their means would be a good start. With a good sized family compared to most people (we have 4 kids), I have to think long and hard where to take the kids for Spring Break within a budget. I wish I could do what government entities do... just go all out and in First Class to Atlantis in the Bahamas then force my neighbors to chip in and pay for it later and threaten them if they complain, and don't pay up.
Location: Living near our Nation's Capitol since 2010
2,218 posts, read 3,454,433 times
Reputation: 6035
You are SO right, HookTheBrotherUp! There is no fiscal responsibility by our leaders.
In DC, one of our counsilmen hit the news by leasing a hideously expensive SUV ...here is a news report on it.."
Several weeks after Kwame R. Brown was elected D.C. Council chairman in November, city officials were asked to order for him a "fully loaded" Lincoln Navigator L with a DVD entertainment system, power moonroof and polished aluminum wheels.
It had to be black - all black, inside and out - and it had to arrive in time for his inauguration Jan. 2, never mind the District's projected $400 million budget shortfall.
As it happened, the District was stuck paying for two Lincoln Navigator L's after the first arrived with a gray interior and Brown insisted on the black-on-black color scheme, touching off a scramble for the model he wanted. A car dealer ended up driving Brown's Lincoln from Coldwater, Mich., to the District on Dec. 29 - for an additional $1,500. The District cannot return the one with the gray interior until October. " So now, DC tax payers are paying $1,900 a month for this lease.
How many speeding tickets does the District have to issue to even cover a month's worth of his lease? Sickening.
New Rome speed trap
New Rome police had systematically taken advantage of the village's sudden drop (from 45 mph to 35 mph) in posted speed along the busy thoroughfare of West Broad Street to pull over thousands of motorists, raising nearly $400,000 gross annually from speeding tickets but primarily vehicle citations including trivial offenses such as dusty taillights and improperly tinted windows. Nearly all of this money was funneled back into the police force, which almost exclusively dealt with traffic violations and so essentially existed to fund itself. The 60-resident village had as many as 14 policemen (all part-time), with the Village Council wanting more. New Rome, Ohio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New Rome cops are persistent, and they have a lot of time to make sure a cited driver doesn't just drive off and toss the ticket. Once stopped, drivers are routinely asked where they work. Fail to pay the fine on time, and a New Rome cop or two may appear at your work place the day after, handcuff you in front of the boss, and haul you off for payment discussions.
Town Without Pity - Feature
After 62 years of feeding off traffic-ticket money, the mean-spirited village of New Rome, Ohio, faces an attempt to vote it into extinction.
".. who's going to believe that in this day and age a family clan can still run a town? The makeup of the village council begins with Nancy Chapman, the wife of Charles Chapman, who had been mayor during the 1990s and ran the traffic court. The Chapmans' son and daughter, Charles Jr. and Alisa Gibbs, have been on the council.." Town Without Pity - Feature - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver
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Ha....
