VVextreme
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Waymer, I've heard those statistics before, and believe they are accurate overall when factoring in every driver (good and bad ones.) But you are making the mistake that only "fast" drivers will receive these extreme penalties, and that all of the speed limits are fair. And yes, my examples were over the top. That was intentional. These fines are over the top. Hence the point... Glad you picked up on that.
There are numerous areas that drastically reduce the speed limits out of nowhere and are designed speed traps. Therefore if you are going the speed limit of 60 mph, and they drop the speed limit to 30 in an obvious design to give you tickets, then guess what? You got a huge fine.
My grandma was also rushing to the hospital from new orleans to alexandria to come see my mother when I was born, and during that time, she received a ticket. Under this law, she would have to pay thousands of dollars. But 99.999% of the time, she'd be the ideal driver by your standards.
My mother is a very slow and careful driver, but I remember a time that she was driving my car and was unused to the feel of the car. She was going over 90 and didn't realize it. She would never go that fast on purpose, but people make mistakes.
And I'd be willing to bet that 99% of the people on this board have at one time in their life forgotten to change lanes without using a signal, or gone faster than 15 over the speed limit, or some other action on here that would qualify for these unrational penalties. Don't you see? All it takes is one mistake, and you are screwed.
Furthermore, the government is getting closer and closer to monitoring and controlling our lives. Traffic light cameras, speeding cameras? As technology advances, we will be under more and more constant surveilance by the government. Our privacy will be a thing of the past. They are even using your smart passes for tolls to track how fast you are traveling between tolls and are issuing tickets as a result. They are taking pictures of our license plates, and they can track our movements. They are also accumulating data from your very own car about your driving habits that can potentially be used against you. These are just things that are ALREADY happening. What about tomorrow as technology advances? Every one of your little mistakes will become known. And as governments need for money increases, they will design more and more traps in order to gain more and more money.
And I see them increasing penalties and ways to catch mistakes for breaking the traffic laws, but do they increase the speed limits to keep up with the increasing technological advances? No, of course not. According to a show I saw on tv, studies have shown that we could increase the speed limits without additional accidents, and it might even prevent accidents as the disparity of speeds between drivers is decreased. (That same disparity that you mentioned in your article.) However the government hasn't budged on the speed limits. The government doesn't try to protect us, they try to exploit us to gain more money. They even admitted that this bill was not about safety, it was about money. AKA We are going to trap you into making mistakes, and take your money cause we are too chicken to tax you or cut programs that are wasteful.
Finally, I haven't had a ticket in 12 years. I got only one, and it was right when I first started driving at 15 years old. It happens. I'm a good driver, but all it takes is one mistake.
MLU, every second I spend in a car is a second I'm not at work, spending time with my family, working out, or on vacation, or whatever else I feel like doing. And if you are going cross country on vacations, adding 20 MPH to your speed over a trip accross the country can really add up. It's obvious that technology has advanced to the point where we can safely drive 80 MPH or more on empty interstates. (We have 80 and 85 MPH speed limits in certain sections of this country, and in Germany, drivers go well over 100 MPH on a routine basis.) And these disparities in our own country show the hypocrisy of the speed limits throughout the country. The laws are not focused on traffic safety as they should be. And I'm protesting that. Why is no one else on the Saint's board backing me up? I don't know, perhaps cause it doesn't really apply to them and they aren't worried about it. However Virginia residents are HIGHLY upset about it here, because it applies to them. I think the petition had about 150,000 signatures on it, but the radio talk shows, etc are flooded with POed people. So it's not like I'm the only one. I didn't even create the petition, I just signed it.
You said "perhaps the virginia drivers are just that bad?" Again, it's not about traffic safety, it's about raising revenue for roads. They even admitted this. And just because you have a perfect "driving record" doesn't mean you are a perfect driver. All it means is that you just haven't been caught yet. And even if you don't get caught? What about when your kids are learning to drive, but they make that mistake of forgetting to use their turn signal? Teenagers can't afford to pay these penalties, and teenagers will forget to use their turn signals every once in awhile. They are just learning!
Guys, try to look beyond the easy targets of "bad drivers that are threatening everyone's life" and see that this could easily affect you or someone in your family just for an honest mistake. All it takes is one time. And unless you are perfect, you should be against these extreme penalties for small mistakes that aren't hurting anyone.
There are numerous areas that drastically reduce the speed limits out of nowhere and are designed speed traps. Therefore if you are going the speed limit of 60 mph, and they drop the speed limit to 30 in an obvious design to give you tickets, then guess what? You got a huge fine.
My grandma was also rushing to the hospital from new orleans to alexandria to come see my mother when I was born, and during that time, she received a ticket. Under this law, she would have to pay thousands of dollars. But 99.999% of the time, she'd be the ideal driver by your standards.
My mother is a very slow and careful driver, but I remember a time that she was driving my car and was unused to the feel of the car. She was going over 90 and didn't realize it. She would never go that fast on purpose, but people make mistakes.
And I'd be willing to bet that 99% of the people on this board have at one time in their life forgotten to change lanes without using a signal, or gone faster than 15 over the speed limit, or some other action on here that would qualify for these unrational penalties. Don't you see? All it takes is one mistake, and you are screwed.
Furthermore, the government is getting closer and closer to monitoring and controlling our lives. Traffic light cameras, speeding cameras? As technology advances, we will be under more and more constant surveilance by the government. Our privacy will be a thing of the past. They are even using your smart passes for tolls to track how fast you are traveling between tolls and are issuing tickets as a result. They are taking pictures of our license plates, and they can track our movements. They are also accumulating data from your very own car about your driving habits that can potentially be used against you. These are just things that are ALREADY happening. What about tomorrow as technology advances? Every one of your little mistakes will become known. And as governments need for money increases, they will design more and more traps in order to gain more and more money.
And I see them increasing penalties and ways to catch mistakes for breaking the traffic laws, but do they increase the speed limits to keep up with the increasing technological advances? No, of course not. According to a show I saw on tv, studies have shown that we could increase the speed limits without additional accidents, and it might even prevent accidents as the disparity of speeds between drivers is decreased. (That same disparity that you mentioned in your article.) However the government hasn't budged on the speed limits. The government doesn't try to protect us, they try to exploit us to gain more money. They even admitted that this bill was not about safety, it was about money. AKA We are going to trap you into making mistakes, and take your money cause we are too chicken to tax you or cut programs that are wasteful.
Finally, I haven't had a ticket in 12 years. I got only one, and it was right when I first started driving at 15 years old. It happens. I'm a good driver, but all it takes is one mistake.
MLU, every second I spend in a car is a second I'm not at work, spending time with my family, working out, or on vacation, or whatever else I feel like doing. And if you are going cross country on vacations, adding 20 MPH to your speed over a trip accross the country can really add up. It's obvious that technology has advanced to the point where we can safely drive 80 MPH or more on empty interstates. (We have 80 and 85 MPH speed limits in certain sections of this country, and in Germany, drivers go well over 100 MPH on a routine basis.) And these disparities in our own country show the hypocrisy of the speed limits throughout the country. The laws are not focused on traffic safety as they should be. And I'm protesting that. Why is no one else on the Saint's board backing me up? I don't know, perhaps cause it doesn't really apply to them and they aren't worried about it. However Virginia residents are HIGHLY upset about it here, because it applies to them. I think the petition had about 150,000 signatures on it, but the radio talk shows, etc are flooded with POed people. So it's not like I'm the only one. I didn't even create the petition, I just signed it.
You said "perhaps the virginia drivers are just that bad?" Again, it's not about traffic safety, it's about raising revenue for roads. They even admitted this. And just because you have a perfect "driving record" doesn't mean you are a perfect driver. All it means is that you just haven't been caught yet. And even if you don't get caught? What about when your kids are learning to drive, but they make that mistake of forgetting to use their turn signal? Teenagers can't afford to pay these penalties, and teenagers will forget to use their turn signals every once in awhile. They are just learning!
Guys, try to look beyond the easy targets of "bad drivers that are threatening everyone's life" and see that this could easily affect you or someone in your family just for an honest mistake. All it takes is one time. And unless you are perfect, you should be against these extreme penalties for small mistakes that aren't hurting anyone.
