Posted on 10/20/2012 5:14:53 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The D.C. Council is poised to lower the cost of speed camera tickets from a maximum of $250 to just $50. The plan unveiled on Tuesday is meant to create the impression that the District has seen the light and has finally decided to go easier on motorists. Considering the source of the latest plan, that’s hardly likely.
The District and the for-profit vendor in charge of the robotic cameras dish out more tickets in a year than the city has residents. This has created a pile of loot so lofty that it’s only a matter of time before it crosses the $100 million per year mark. That looks bad, so Councilman Tommy Wells and Councilman Mary M. Cheh decided to set up a task force to draft legislation reducing the fines.
Of course, Mr. Wells and Ms. Cheh both adore speed cameras, and their hand-picked task force was a love fest of like-minded people who don’t drive cars. Members included the AARP, the D.C. Pedestrian Advisory Council and the D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council. Bureaucrats from the Department of Motor Vehicles, the District Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Police Department also had seats at the table. The lone representative who might stand up for motorists, AAA-Mid-Atlantic, has a record of lobbying in favor of ticket cameras everywhere in the region.
So it shouldn’t come as a shock to learn the new plan actually makes classic business sense. A high-volume, low-margin approach is what makes stores like Walmart a financial success. So instead of shaking down drivers for an average of $120 per ticket, the proposed law would trade the lower fines for more cameras. This is how Maryland has used modest $40 fines to haul in $77 million per year, according to the calculation of the StopBigBrotherMD.org website.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Maryland "Freak State" PING!
..another rat money making operation
that’s why they don’t want citizens to have guns.. they are afraid of target practice revenge.
escort passport 9500ix.
just be careful in dc and virginia.
I just went to court and beat a $189 ticket for for going 25 in a 20 mph school zone. If the ticket was $50 I don’t think I would have bothered with it.
I just went to court and beat a $189 ticket for for going 25 in a 20 mph school zone. If the ticket was $50 I don’t think I would have bothered with it.
the only good gatso is a dead gatso
That’s the thing about this...so many folks are tying up the traffic court on challenges....that the city thinks if the deal is $50....you just won’t argue and you’ll write a check easily. That’s the deal. If just ten percent of the folks challenged the tickets...you can imagine the various lawyers that the city would have to have on staff....to handle these cases. You can figure half the occasions go for the driver anyway, if challenged.
In Germany...there are ‘experts’ who hire themselves out now...to appear in court and take down the positive nature of the cameras. There area dozens of ways to cast doubt on the picture or camera being accurate. The state rarely wins if these experts show up to vouch for your case.
We'll see how far that strategy goes.
I actually got a DC red light ticket dismissed the other day. The best part was that the form invited me to “go green” and sign up for e-mail ticket notifications. I liove in MD. They post that the construction zone and speed camers don’t pop until 12 mph over. A friend slowed down for one the other day. The guy behind him got mad, changed l;anes and floored it with his middle finger out the window, just in time for the speed camera to flash
In the UK they put gasoline in an old bike tire, light it, and use a stick to set the tire upon the speed camera. End of camera.
For US cameras they need to have an image of the face of the violator. Just wear a terrorist style ski mask when going past them.
In DC it takes a task force to draft legislation reducing traffic fines from $250 to $50?
(Insert 0bama comment)
In an earlier article the Times cited a study showing that increasing the yellow light time by one second reduced red light violations by up to 80%.
If the goal is to reduce injuries from drivers running red lights, the message is clear: lengthen the yellow to improve safety. Some municipalities have a different idea: shorten the yellow to increase revenue.
Widespread speed cameras have changed the meaning of a yellow light. Yellow used to mean "Stop before the intersection if you can do so safely." It now means "Forget safety, slam on the brakes instantly or risk getting a ticket." This increases rear-end collisions from tailgaters, which is why the accident rate has been shown to increase at intersections with cameras.
The government camera scammers spell safety with a capital $.
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