Virginia's new $3,550 speeding ticket
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I agree with Scan that speed is the major cause of accidents.
It's inattentive driving that takes the cake. Speeding is easy to guage/measure so it's the easiest to not arbitrarily punish. Anyone (and I mean anyone) can be trained to operate and properly use a radar gun. It's much harder to be objective in what's consider "inattentive". In fact, inattention can be practiced within a fraction of a second. How do you capture that? Not impossible, but much much harder to police.
As for the outrageous fine, the law is obviously intended for persistent offenders. This gives them that leverage. It's application is key.
It's inattentive driving that takes the cake. Speeding is easy to guage/measure so it's the easiest to not arbitrarily punish. Anyone (and I mean anyone) can be trained to operate and properly use a radar gun. It's much harder to be objective in what's consider "inattentive". In fact, inattention can be practiced within a fraction of a second. How do you capture that? Not impossible, but much much harder to police.
As for the outrageous fine, the law is obviously intended for persistent offenders. This gives them that leverage. It's application is key.
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What financial cost does the speeder burden the state with?sunshine229 wrote:Well at least the state can recover some of the financial burden that all those law-breakers cost year after year....s0crates82 wrote:This is just another way to tax people. I seriously doubt it will have any effect on speeders in VA, aside from plunging them into poverty one by one.
People say I'm stupid and apathetic. I don't know what that means, and I don't care.

Always wear a helmet, eye protection, and protective clothing. Never ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Always wear a helmet, eye protection, and protective clothing. Never ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
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It was just a comment... I was thinking about costs like those associated with running a police/fire/ambulance service to control wreckless drivers (or clean up after them after an accident).Johnj wrote:What financial cost does the speeder burden the state with?sunshine229 wrote:Well at least the state can recover some of the financial burden that all those law-breakers cost year after year....s0crates82 wrote:This is just another way to tax people. I seriously doubt it will have any effect on speeders in VA, aside from plunging them into poverty one by one.
Andrea 

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A police/fire/ambulance service would be needed even if there were no speeding drivers. In most areas these services are paid for by taxes levied on the citizens of the area plus the fines assessed by the court for people that violate the laws. If the policeman/fireman/ambulance drivers wages, and the equipment costs are already covered in the current budget, where are the extra financial costs coming from?sunshine229 wrote:It was just a comment... I was thinking about costs like those associated with running a police/fire/ambulance service to control wreckless drivers (or clean up after them after an accident).John wrote:What financial cost does the speeder burden the state with?sunshine229 wrote:Well at least the state can recover some of the financial burden that all those law-breakers cost year after year....s0crates82 wrote:This is just another way to tax people. I seriously doubt it will have any effect on speeders in VA, aside from plunging them into poverty one by one.
People say I'm stupid and apathetic. I don't know what that means, and I don't care.

Always wear a helmet, eye protection, and protective clothing. Never ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Always wear a helmet, eye protection, and protective clothing. Never ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
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You don't think a $3500 speeding ticket will make someone think twice about speeding again?roscowgo wrote:I grew up in VA.
Screw Virginia. Idiot thing to do. It will affect speeding roughly as much as cutting down a tree on top of a mountain 25 miles from the nearest road.
It's someone somewhere, wearing a suit, that can't quite afford the armani version of the Hummer. Fark em.
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I Know it won't.
It might "reform" one or two broke people. The vast majority.... No.
If you haven't had the pleasure, take a trip up I-81, north or south. I would like you to kindly notice that you are going 80 out of self preservation, (last I checked limit was still 65, and since i'm presumably riding to maryland next week, i'll make a point to look again.) and still being passed with alarming regularity.
May I also suggest I-95. Same experience. Even more traffic.
I think speeders are going to speed, whether you charge them 3500 a ticket. 7 grand a ticket, give them ana probes with rusty pliers per ticket, or take their car away from them with every ticket. A person may be a logical, peaceful, law abiding citizen normally. Unfortunately a lot of the time, if you put them behind the wheel of 3000lb's of metal capable of going 130 mph, they become 12 years old. If they want to make speeding stop, they need to put speed limiting devices on the machines themselves.
You can legislate, and charge people money, and threaten, and harass, and generally aggravate the living hell out of people, and they Won't Stop doing what they want to do. Don't believe me? Look at new orleans. Or anyone that lives in a flood plain. farmers in the midwest in tornado land, Californians with earthquakes, drugs, the 60's, prohibition, hell look at the middle east.
It might "reform" one or two broke people. The vast majority.... No.
If you haven't had the pleasure, take a trip up I-81, north or south. I would like you to kindly notice that you are going 80 out of self preservation, (last I checked limit was still 65, and since i'm presumably riding to maryland next week, i'll make a point to look again.) and still being passed with alarming regularity.
May I also suggest I-95. Same experience. Even more traffic.
I think speeders are going to speed, whether you charge them 3500 a ticket. 7 grand a ticket, give them ana probes with rusty pliers per ticket, or take their car away from them with every ticket. A person may be a logical, peaceful, law abiding citizen normally. Unfortunately a lot of the time, if you put them behind the wheel of 3000lb's of metal capable of going 130 mph, they become 12 years old. If they want to make speeding stop, they need to put speed limiting devices on the machines themselves.
You can legislate, and charge people money, and threaten, and harass, and generally aggravate the living hell out of people, and they Won't Stop doing what they want to do. Don't believe me? Look at new orleans. Or anyone that lives in a flood plain. farmers in the midwest in tornado land, Californians with earthquakes, drugs, the 60's, prohibition, hell look at the middle east.