I got a speeding ticket today

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Deleted member 688153

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So, I opened the letterbox this evening and was greeted with a ticket for $279 for apparently going 56 in a 50 zone a few days ago around town.

Is it just me that really questions this practice?

I'm generally a big supporter of law enforcement. Most standard laws make open-and-shut sense and I have no sympathy for serious criminals, especially violent offenders.

But I would much rather our police focus on tackling violent crime and helping its victims than sitting around in a van on a suburban street with a radar gun. It's a waste of their time and a waste of taxpayer's money.

Not to mention it's just shameless revenue raising for the state. Our highly trained police officers are often reduced to being tax collectors in all but name.

When will the madness end? When will our police be freed up to investigate serious violent offences instead of taxing me for having good reflexes and getting to uni on time?

Doesn't pass the pub test.
 
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Deleted member 688153

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I've already paid the ticket though. Court isn't worth the time or potential extra cost.

At least my local government is modern enough to allow online payments.
 
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Deleted member 688153

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Chadillac said:
Tomic in the making. Wanting to drive faster than you serve :(
Click to expand...
:D

It's not like I was even being reckless. As I remember there was no traffic around and my car and tyres are more than good enough to handle a blistering 56km/h.

To be fair I'm more salty about the points on my licence than the cash fine. You don't get many on a provisional one.
 
Gary Duane

Gary Duane

G.O.A.T.
Firstservingman said:
:D

It's not like I was even being reckless. As I remember there was no traffic around and my car and tyres are more than good enough to handle a blistering 56km/h.

To be fair I'm more salty about the points on my licence than the cash fine. You don't get many on a provisional one.
Click to expand...
First speeding ticket?

My last ticket was more than 50 years ago. My moto is don't worry about speed unless you are driving faster than everyone else on the road. :D
 
Bartelby

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
If you think about it, you break several road rules every time you drive in all probability, so a fine is simply a kind of further tax you pay for the pleasure of driving.

The real trouble in Australia is that fines are too high and are not proportional to income, so they don't really function well to promote good driving.

They just cause anger and resentment.
 
ollinger

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
Firstservingman said:
When will the madness end? When will our police be freed up to investigate serious violent offences instead of taxing me for having good reflexes and getting to uni on time?
Click to expand...

they're being freed up currently, with more communities installing camera/radar gun devices that read the license plate and send a ticket.
 
D

Deleted member 688153

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ollinger said:
they're being freed up currently, with more communities installing camera/radar gun devices that read the license plate and send a ticket.
Click to expand...
Even then it's just shameless revenue raising.

But at least those are in fixed locations with warning signs so I can slow down in time. :D
 
D

Deleted member 688153

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Gary Duane said:
First speeding ticket?

My last ticket was more than 50 years ago. My moto is don't worry about speed unless you are driving faster than everyone else on the road. :D
Click to expand...
Exactly.

Everyone always says "drive to the conditions".
I do that too - I just take it a bit further than my state government intended. :D
 
Bartelby

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
It's funny how some moan about the loss of our liberties and then go on to demand an increase in the number of police.

We could easily reduce the numbers of police drastically with essentially no change in our level of security.
 
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Sentinel

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
Bartelby said:
It's funny how some moan about the loss of our liberties and then go on to demand an increase in the number of police.

We could easily reduce the numbers of police drastically with essentially no change in our level of security.
Click to expand...
Where is this Freedonia ?
 
P

PMChambers

Hall of Fame
You don't have to pay speeding fines Don't speed, no fine. I was once told it was gathering revenue through the stupid. Youll never win the speed saves lives, all the data is against you. Try not to speed Or drink and drive
 
D

Deleted member 307496

Guest
Firstservingman said:
So, I opened the letterbox this evening and was greeted with a ticket for $279 for apparently going 56 in a 50 zone a few days ago around town.

Is it just me that really questions this practice?

I'm generally a big supporter of law enforcement. Most standard laws make open-and-shut sense and I have no sympathy for serious criminals, especially violent offenders.

But I would much rather our police focus on tackling violent crime and helping its victims than sitting around in a van on a suburban street with a radar gun. It's a waste of their time and a waste of taxpayer's money.

Not to mention it's just shameless revenue raising for the state. Our highly trained police officers are often reduced to being tax collectors in all but name.

When will the madness end? When will our police be freed up to investigate serious violent offences instead of taxing me for having good reflexes and getting to uni on time?

Doesn't pass the pub test.
Click to expand...
I can't even drive. :D
 
Raul_SJ

Raul_SJ

G.O.A.T.
Haven't had a speeding ticket in over 10 years. Too much hassle so I just stay at ~ 70-74 mph.
But several times over the past few months cars zoom by at 90+ mph. Often at dangerously high speeds.
I wonder where the hell are the CHP. Hopefully they were caught down the road ... but I wonder.

Although SFBA traffic is so bad, you are lucky to break 40 mph on the freeway. :eek:
 
Raul_SJ

Raul_SJ

G.O.A.T.
Haven't had a speeding ticket in over 10 years. Too much hassle so I just stay at ~ 70-74 mph.
But several times over the past few months I've seen cars zoom by at 90+ mph. Often at dangerously speeds.
I wonder where the hell are the CHP when you need them. Hopefully they were caught down the road ... but I wonder.

Although SFBA traffic is so bad, you are lucky to break 40 mph on the freeway. :eek:
 
Raul_SJ

Raul_SJ

G.O.A.T.
Firstservingman said:
So, I opened the letterbox this evening and was greeted with a ticket for $279 for apparently going 56 in a 50 zone a few days ago around town.

Is it just me that really questions this practice?

I'm generally a big supporter of law enforcement. Most standard laws make open-and-shut sense and I have no sympathy for serious criminals, especially violent offenders.

But I would much rather our police focus on tackling violent crime and helping its victims than sitting around in a van on a suburban street with a radar gun. It's a waste of their time and a waste of taxpayer's money.

.
Click to expand...

Sounds like an automated robotic camera ticket. Very cost effective.
 
ByeByePoly

ByeByePoly

G.O.A.T.
"Not to mention it's just shameless revenue raising for the state. Our highly trained police officers are often reduced to being tax collectors in all but name."

Exactly. Our state and city recently accumulated debt, and now there are radar checks constantly. If it was for public safety, where were all these tickets before the debt. We have lots of street construction due to neglected infrastructure, and the speed limit will change from 45 to 25 with very little warning. The motorcycle cop with radar gun will be first side street after cones started... pulling people over non-stop for hours. We all know there is better things for them to be doing to protect us than tax revenue collection. Fair enough ... if we want tickets to remind all of us to slow down, but $150, $300+ is not about that ... it's about punitive revenue measures.
 
T

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
I haven't been pulled over for speeding in the US in more than 20 years.

But last year I did a road trip through Africa, and while passing through Botswana, I received 3 citations on the same day.

In contrast to the rest of Africa, That's a country that really takes rules seriously.

Ironically, prior to last year, the previous time I had been pulled over for speeding (in 1998) was also in Botswana, but that time I got off with a warning. Times are changing.
 
T

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
I haven't been pulled over for speeding in the US in more than 20 years.

But last year I did a road trip through Africa, and while passing through Botswana, I received 3 citations on the same day.

In contrast to the rest of Africa, That's a country that really takes rules seriously.

Ironically, prior to last year, the previous time I had been pulled over for speeding (in 1998) was also in Botswana, but that time I got off with a warning. Times are changing.
 
r2473

r2473

G.O.A.T.
Firstservingman said:
So, I opened the letterbox this evening and was greeted with a ticket for $279 for apparently going 56 in a 50 zone a few days ago around town.

Is it just me that really questions this practice?

I'm generally a big supporter of law enforcement. Most standard laws make open-and-shut sense and I have no sympathy for serious criminals, especially violent offenders.

But I would much rather our police focus on tackling violent crime and helping its victims than sitting around in a van on a suburban street with a radar gun. It's a waste of their time and a waste of taxpayer's money.

Not to mention it's just shameless revenue raising for the state. Our highly trained police officers are often reduced to being tax collectors in all but name.

When will the madness end? When will our police be freed up to investigate serious violent offences instead of taxing me for having good reflexes and getting to uni on time?

Doesn't pass the pub test.
Click to expand...
This would be a fun argument to flow diagram
 
Sysyphus

Sysyphus

Talk Tennis Guru
i am sure some of these points have some valence, but the way the this is presented as a reaction to getting a speeding ticket, some of it reads a lot like the illustrations from some textbook chapter on cognitive dissonance and the need to justify our actions. People have a way of coming up with endlessly creative justifications when they get confronted with some information that goes against their normal positive self-conception as a moral or competent person (the smoker who convinces himself the research on health is inconclusive; the test-cheater who convinces himself that everyone does it anyways; or the guy who gets a speeding ticket and hence ends up strengthening his belief that the police/government is the real entity at fault for wrongly distributing resources).
 
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v-verb

v-verb

Hall of Fame
That's draconian. We routinely go almost 20 km over the limit. At 20 they will nail you. Under 20 they don't bother
 
Gary Duane

Gary Duane

G.O.A.T.
ollinger said:
they're being freed up currently, with more communities installing camera/radar gun devices that read the license plate and send a ticket.
Click to expand...
I did get a ticket a few years ago for speeding in another city where I had never been!

(The ticket was thrown out. They did not even have the correct license plate number.)

The company was in a state hundreds of miles away.
 
max

max

Legend
Bartelby said:
It's funny how some moan about the loss of our liberties and then go on to demand an increase in the number of police.

We could easily reduce the numbers of police drastically with essentially no change in our level of security.
Click to expand...

Good stuff. I'd just add that if people were more civil/kind to each other, we'd need yet fewer.
 
max

max

Legend
Bartelby said:
It's funny how some moan about the loss of our liberties and then go on to demand an increase in the number of police.

We could easily reduce the numbers of police drastically with essentially no change in our level of security.
Click to expand...

Good stuff. I'd just add that if people were more civil/kind to each other, we'd need yet fewer.

I got an automatic speeding ticket from Chicago a couple of years ago; a mounted camera. Paid it and cursed. Interestingly enough, I think recently some judge somewhere didn't like the program, so allowed people to file for return of their fine money. No one really publicized this, and I didn't hear about it until it was too late. . . but of course, the judge said you'd only get 50% of what you'd paid.
 
movdqa

movdqa

Talk Tennis Guru
My only ticket was in 1980 or 1981. I was sick and wanted to get home and was doing 30 in a 25. Yeah it was a speed trap but I was in no condition to argue. I think that it cost me $25. They didn't kill your insurance rates back then like they do today. You could always run for Town Council or Mayor if you want to change things. Or you could get some GPS tracking equipment to argue if you think that their stuff isn't accurate.
 
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Deleted member 688153

Guest
Sysyphus said:
i am sure some of these points have some valence, but the way the this is presented as a reaction to getting a speeding ticket, some of it reads a lot like the illustrations from some textbook chapter on cognitive dissonance and the need to justify our actions. People have a way of coming up with endlessly creative justifications when they get confronted with some information that goes against their normal positive self-conception as a moral or competent person (the smoker who convinces himself the research on health is inconclusive; the test-cheater who convinces himself that everyone does it anyways; or the guy who gets a speeding ticket and hence ends up strengthening his belief that the police/government is the real entity at fault for wrongly distributing resources).
Click to expand...
Oh in this instance it's not really about trying to justify my actions. It's about being annoyed that the state seems to be more interested in shaking me down for money than in prosecuting crimes and offences that actually matter.

And what's worse - I pay taxes to fund this, too.
 
ollinger

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
Firstservingman said:
annoyed that the state seems to be more interested in shaking me down for money than in prosecuting crimes and offences that actually matter.
Click to expand...


ummm, I think you're demonstrating Sysyphus' point here. Suffice it to say the state is probably interested in limiting speeders AND prosecuting other crimes. (and yes, getting nailed for doing 56 in a 50 zone does seem a bit harsh)
 
Raul_SJ

Raul_SJ

G.O.A.T.
This city council-woman was pulled over for going 42 in a 30. Absolutely agree that she should be ticketed.

But the cop then proceeds to spend 30 minutes with her listening to her cry and moan about her ticket.

Utter waste of police time.

 
Last edited:
Raul_SJ

Raul_SJ

G.O.A.T.
This woman was pulled over for going 42 in a 30. Absolutely agree that she should be ticketed.

But the cop then proceeds to spend 30 minutes with her listening to her cry and moan about her ticket.

Utter waste of time.

 
D

Deleted member 688153

Guest
Bartelby said:
It's funny how some moan about the loss of our liberties and then go on to demand an increase in the number of police.

We could easily reduce the numbers of police drastically with essentially no change in our level of security.
Click to expand...
I'll be honest - you're probably quite right about that.
And lower our taxes accordingly too.
 
ollinger

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
Bartelby said:
We could easily reduce the numbers of police drastically with essentially no change in our level of security.
Click to expand...

the best data suggest that the number of police does NOT have a large effect on the rate of violent crime, though does affect the rate of crime against property
 
D

Deleted member 688153

Guest
ollinger said:
ummm, I think you're demonstrating Sysyphus' point here. Suffice it to say the state is probably interested in limiting speeders AND prosecuting other crimes. (and yes, getting nailed for doing 56 in a 50 zone does seem a bit harsh)
Click to expand...
Obviously it's the "state giving me a fine" part of this that I'm more annoyed about than the "police misusing resources" part
 
movdqa

movdqa

Talk Tennis Guru
Raul_SJ said:
This city council-woman was pulled over for going 42 in a 30. Absolutely agree that she should be ticketed.

But the cop then proceeds to spend 30 minutes with her listening to her cry and moan about her ticket.

Utter waste of police time.

Click to expand...

The Police do have to be careful who they pull over - some people have an inordinate amount of power, even over the police.
 
Bartelby

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
Interesting. I suppose I am a little surprised about property crime. If there is a group engaging in property crime, they are pretty good at catching them.

They don't seem to function as dissuasion in the first place where I live and if you get robbed they do indeed just tell you to think solely about the insurance.

ollinger said:
the best data suggest that the number of police does NOT have a large effect on the rate of violent crime, though does affect the rate of crime against property
Click to expand...
 
Bartelby

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
There is a bridge built as a chicane to slow vehicles down into the area where I lived at one time.

To get through it you had to slow quite radically to stay within your lane in what is a rather sleepy area.

People sped through it using the driver's line until a policeman moved into the area.

He used to stalk the bridge and fine people for crossing the double lines as he came on or off duty.

Firstservingman said:
Obviously it's the "state giving me a fine" part of this that I'm more annoyed about than the "police misusing resources" part
Click to expand...
 
R

Rafaisdabest

Hall of Fame
Is that your first fine?!
I haven't had a fine yet but I know some people that have and they have gotten out of paying it if it's their first fine and it's only a few kms over...
 
donquijote

donquijote

G.O.A.T.
Once I was rejected in the test for driving slow at 54 on a 60 km speed limit road.
Impossible to satisfy the people who work for the government.
 
Username_

Username_

Hall of Fame
Firstservingman said:
So, I opened the letterbox this evening and was greeted with a ticket for $279 for apparently going 56 in a 50 zone a few days ago around town.

Is it just me that really questions this practice?

I'm generally a big supporter of law enforcement. Most standard laws make open-and-shut sense and I have no sympathy for serious criminals, especially violent offenders.

But I would much rather our police focus on tackling violent crime and helping its victims than sitting around in a van on a suburban street with a radar gun. It's a waste of their time and a waste of taxpayer's money.

Not to mention it's just shameless revenue raising for the state. Our highly trained police officers are often reduced to being tax collectors in all but name.

When will the madness end? When will our police be freed up to investigate serious violent offences instead of taxing me for having good reflexes and getting to uni on time?

Doesn't pass the pub test.
Click to expand...
take it to court, then post pone it. post pone it again and again and keep doing it until they give up and you're free.
 
D

Deleted member 688153

Guest
Rafaisdabest said:
Is that your first fine?!
I haven't had a fine yet but I know some people that have and they have gotten out of paying it if it's their first fine and it's only a few kms over...
Click to expand...
It is, yes.

I've already payed it anyway so I guess it's a bit late for me to try anything suggested here.
Thanks anyway though guys. :)
 
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