Quote:
Originally Posted by Scrappy Doo
Tickets are not about generating money. The whole idea of when you break the law is some form of punishment. The theory stands that this punishment will ultimately correct the illegal behavior, or at least make you think twice about it.
While i agree that people going 5mph over the speed limit may not be a problem, where do you draw the line as to what is? My point is that legislatures enact laws for all of us to follow. If you don't like the laws ,then run for an elected spot that you can do something about it.
And I am not saying you can't speed, just don't drive faster than you can afford...
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Thats fine in theory, but not the way its been implemented. The tax collection is a direct result of the enforcement of traffic laws. You hear about speed traps, and drunk driving checkpoints. Not much else is really done on the grand scale. Yes, you have occasional tickets for running a stopsign or whatnot, but by-and-large, the item cited most is speeding. The why is because its the easiest to detect, and potentially used as a basis to check for other violations. The underlying outcry for speed limits being imposed is that speed kills. Which, in the barest form is true. However, speed is only a contributing factor of severity in most cases. The root cause of the problem is the situation causing of the accident in the first place. The idiot yammering away on the cell phone not paying attention at 65 is breaking a law and posing a far greater menace to society than the speeder driving properly at 75.
As for where to put the line? Meh, my personal feeling is that 85 and below on an interstate is well within the tolerance (live model being the autobahn, which has no speed limit... when possible). However, acknowledging that drastic, common-sense change doesn't occur overnight, it'd be great if the DOT would re-examine traffic laws within the confines of modern technology, and adjust accordingly.
Bottom line is that enforcement is, and likely always will be reactionary. If the goal is to make roads safer and reduce traffic congestion, proper driving education and enforcement of root cause issues is the mechanism by which to do so.