Posted on 06/19/2008 1:22:45 PM PDT by 300magnum
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Some cash-strapped US municipalities are resorting to slapping fuel surcharges onto tickets issued to speeding drivers in order to fill dwindling city coffers hit hard by skyrocketing gas prices.
Beginning July 1, the Georgia town of Holly Springs, near the city of Atlanta, will add a surcharge of 12 dollars for each moving violation as a means to avert a budget deficit brought on by high fuel prices.
"It's a creative and innovative idea of our police chief," said Holly CothranDrake, spokeswoman of the city administration which on Wednesday received queries from several American municipalities that are considering similar measures, including Florida's Key West and California's Los Angeles County.
"The reason is to offset the cost of the trend of rising fuel prices," CothanDrake said.
The 12-dollar charge is expected to pull in around 20,000 dollars for the town of 7,700 people.
Nearby Atlanta is conducting a feasibility study for a similar measure that would tack on 10 to 15 dollars per violation.
"The hike in gas prices seriously hurts our ability to patrol," said Clarence Martin, the Atlanta city council member who proposed the measure.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
SOOOOO!
$20,000 / $12 surcharge = 1,666 tickets in a town of 7700 people.
What’s wrong with this picture!!!
It used to be driving the 65 speed limit was a good way to get yourself killed around here. Now it seems like normal traffic speed. At $4/gallon, getting somewhere 5 minutes earlier isn't worth the drop in mileage.
So now we have the gas tax on top of the speed tax. Why not just put cameras up on the highway with one of those speed displays and bill the poor slepp in the mail. That way we can lay off a lot of cops and save even more money! Yea, that’s the ticket!
It’s very noticeable here, and in other places I have lived, that the highway patrols are out in force toward the end of the month, when they have to make up their budget deficits.
We had an armed robbery at our local market a couple of years ago, and no indication that the police made any perceptible effort to catch the perps. And if your car is stolen, there’s no point in even bothering to report it, unless your insurance company requires it.
But they go all out to collect traffic fines.
In reality, if they slowed to 55, and stayed right lane, they would catch more speeders coming up from behind, have less wear on the vehicles, and probably save 30-40% on fuel.
But, they don't have to pay for it, and the adrenaline rushes are really neat! Junkies are still junkies... adrenaline addictions are real! Why wouldn't cops and firefighters love their jobs....
To Protect and Serve...
Somebody slap that hyphenated moron, please.
That is what it always has been about. A local cop around here told me that they are not allowed to give warning tickets. If the stop is for a violation, they write you a ticket that makes you pay. Doesn't want cops wasting time stopping someone they are not going to ticket. If they are going to take the time to stop you, you have to pay. That simple.
Thusly, for many many many years now, I do not ever speed. We drive no faster than the limit. Don't care how mad people get. I am not being the one to donate to the local policeman's Christmas ball. The last ticket I got was about 25 years ago. That time I was the SIXTH car in line. I was stopped. The other five kept going. Cop said I was 15 MPH over limit. I asked how fast the car in front was going. Really pissed him off. He said I was the one speeding. I told him that if I were going faster than the other five he let go, then I would have run over them, and since I did not run over them, all must have been going faster or as fast as me! So, him being a nice guy, he wrote it for FIVE over. Real nice guy.
Paying a traffic fine is the stupid-est waste of money that I can think of.
Think "rural Georgia speedtrap."
-PJ
First sentence, pull my hair out and scream, bump.
We have upwards of 40 million illegal aliens in this country, they entered illegally, and they drive illegally, most all are using gasoline. Illegal aliens are probably using several million gallons of gas everyday in America.
Why is our government and those in this Georgia town not worried about that massive use of gasoline harming their ability to operate?
I understand,
I live in a rural Tennessee speedtrap. But but then our reputation proceeds us, and apparently the police are finding it difficult to write tickets because we don’t have that many speeders.
Good point.
These cities attempting to rape the citizens of their money has become laughable.
Sounds like somthing congress would do.
Holly Springs is next to my town. Note that the money does not go to the police, but to general funds. Nice going mayor.
If not speeding, then seat belts. If not seat belts then maybe 0.01BAC. If not that then maybe fines for having 3 cracks in your windshield.
Follow the money. It’s all a back end tax.
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