Have you given any mind-space to the total inequality of fining as a punitive measure? If I have, it hasn't been much. But the other day, having no money to buy more gas for a couple days, I was re-routed on the way to Girl's school and I was so frustrated I started screaming just as I went by a cop. My insides tightened, and I realized that I drive stressed out these days, because I know what a ticket could cost me.
Think about it. I'm sure that a huge amount of drivers on the road really don't give a second thought to speeding or reckless driving unless they are inclined to be safe for humanitarian reasons. Why? A ticket gets absorbed into their lives very quickly. And a small few... it's as if it never happened. But for those who live pay check to measly pay check, being stopped by a police officer could mean a ticket that they can't pay and--I know for us--possible loss of insurance (because I could not pay an additional premium) and therefore a car. That's really punitive for ten over.
Of course, if you made a sliding scale for the fine, that still wouldn't help with the richest people, who still wouldn't have to care, and then you have the poorest people now not heeding the rules because what's $5? It's never going to happen anyhow, because the biggest expense with a ticket is in the insurance adjustment and in time lost at work to go to court.
Just thinking. Once again, it just doesn't seem to work out.
Think about it. I'm sure that a huge amount of drivers on the road really don't give a second thought to speeding or reckless driving unless they are inclined to be safe for humanitarian reasons. Why? A ticket gets absorbed into their lives very quickly. And a small few... it's as if it never happened. But for those who live pay check to measly pay check, being stopped by a police officer could mean a ticket that they can't pay and--I know for us--possible loss of insurance (because I could not pay an additional premium) and therefore a car. That's really punitive for ten over.
Of course, if you made a sliding scale for the fine, that still wouldn't help with the richest people, who still wouldn't have to care, and then you have the poorest people now not heeding the rules because what's $5? It's never going to happen anyhow, because the biggest expense with a ticket is in the insurance adjustment and in time lost at work to go to court.
Just thinking. Once again, it just doesn't seem to work out.
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