Should fines for speeding change?

[Jimbi]

I kind of think if someone gets caught speeding, the fine on their ticket should be a percentage of their yearly income rather than just the near flat fee it is now. I think it would make the road a much safer place. What are your thoughts on this, guys?

[Mister Mets]

I'm generally okay with this.

I suppose it may create perverse incentives for authorities to go after rich speeders in order to provide the funding that comes from tickets, but that's a step up from targeting the rest of the community/ middle-class visitors.

[thwhtGuardian]

I'd be for eliminating fines as punishment all together and making it community service based. As is it's basically just a revenue generator and not about public safety, it doesn't deter speeding and the financial consequences are disproportionately felt more by minorities and the working poor.

If the money was taken out of the equation you get rid of the inequity and the corruption and maybe the resources spent on speed traps would be better allocated elsewhere.

[DrNewGod]

The more likely cure will be insurance companies buying data from car companies or Google, and increasing rates on unsafe driving

[JackDaw]

Basically that system (making speeding fine proportionate to earnings) has been in force in UKfor a long time.

Also, a speed awareness course is often offered to first time offenders, rather than accepting penalty points on the licence. (The course takes about a day to complete and costs about a hundred quid…say 120 dollars.)

Not sure how effective those individual measures have been, but certainly see a lot less crazy driving on British roads than 20 or 30 years so.

[achilles]

Basically that system (making speeding fine proportionate to earnings) has been in force in UKfor a long time.

Also, a speed awareness course is often offered to first time offenders, rather than accepting penalty points on the licence. (The course takes about a day to complete and costs about a hundred quid…say 120 dollars.)

Not sure how effective those individual measures have been, but certainly see a lot less crazy driving on British roads than 20 or 30 years so.

Finland has such a system. A few years back, a rich guy got fined about $130,000 dollars for doing like 51----19 mph over the limit. It is said to be the most strict speeding law in the world.

[Tendrin]

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/10char

[CaptainEurope]

I kind of think if someone gets caught speeding, the fine on their ticket should be a percentage of their yearly income rather than just the near flat fee it is now. I think it would make the road a much safer place. What are your thoughts on this, guys?

In some country... I think Austria? They just changed the law so that you lose your car if you speed a certain amount over the speed limit. It gets auctioned off. As rich people have more expensive cars, that would be little bit like that.

[achilles]

I sort of wish they would do something like all of that here. Every early morning, around 1-3 AM, there's some sort of street racing off in the distance here, and I hate it. Of course that's an entirely different sort of thing that needs to be stopped, but it does need to be stopped. People get killed, mostly innocent bystanders. And it is so very loud you can hear them miles away. Maybe if they lose their cars and their liberty this would stop. Which means the police need to be there at the right time, and the prosecutors need to hit them hard in court.

[DrNewGod]

I sort of wish they would do something like all of that here. Every early morning, around 1-3 AM, there's some sort of street racing off in the distance here, and I hate it. Of course that's an entirely different sort of thing that needs to be stopped, but it does need to be stopped. People get killed, mostly innocent bystanders. And it is so very loud you can hear them miles away. Maybe if they lose their cars and their liberty this would stop. Which means the police need to be there at the right time, and the prosecutors need to hit them hard in court.

'Merica! If we allowed stuff like that, it would have implications for firearms liability, and the Second Amendment Taliban ain't sitting still for that

[Tuck]

'Merica! If we allowed stuff like that, it would have implications for firearms liability, and the Fourth Amendment Taliban ain't sitting still for that

What???

Please tell me that's a mistake.

[numberthirty]

I honestly rarely worry about the speeders.

Now, folks talking on a cell phone/texting on a cell phone?

They practically strike fear into my heart.

[achilles]

I honestly rarely worry about the speeders.

Now, folks talking on a cell phone/texting on a cell phone?

They practically strike fear into my heart.

Wimp! I've seen a woman doing her eye make-up while driving in traffic at speed on the 10 freeway through downtown LA.

[DanMad1977]

In the US you can only drive so fast. As a German I fall asleep at the wheel when driving the highway in the US, because its so slow. In the Netherlands you can only drive a 100 km/h on the highway, that's really hard to do. My pal almost fell asleep while driving that slow all the way. With a higher speed he would have been more concentrated.

While I travel at faster speed in my country (around 90-100 mp/h) I can understand the need for safety if you are not used to it. But I do think that driving 55 Miles per hour on a highway for a lengthy period of time is at least as dangerous as driving 80-90 mph.

If you drive faster than you are allowed to, you pay the fine, there is no arguing about it. I am fine with a flat pay rate, because I am most likely drive a bit too fast here and there.

[DanMad1977]

The more likely cure will be insurance companies buying data from car companies or Google, and increasing rates on unsafe driving

That is not good. That is total control in the disguise of saftey measures.