OK OK I sit my fat butt on the leather seat of an old guy black A6 Avant and comfortably drive 80-85 mph back and forth to work every day. I get to watch the police stop kids in their little kiddie cars with fancy wheels as they weave in and out of traffic and get frustrated with left lane hangers in their SUVs that don't even do the speed limit. So yes the problem is idiots -- Where I drive (Massachusetts) we call them Massholes and they are everywhere.


As for the fines being more for the rich. -- Bull $hit!! How much someone makes has nothing to do with driving like a jerk or speeding. Focus on the actions. If we take the idea that the rich should pay more to extreems a homeless person should get paid for speeding.


Since I own an A6 I'm better than an A4 driver by 2 LOL!!

 

Wow, it's so plainly obvious to me. I'll give one more example then leave it alone. Not really into having e-fights....

The world is full of all types of people. There are super $40K/year drivers and there are $40K/year drivers who think our public roads are their playgrounds. Same goes for CEOs. So, who gets to continue to make the roads their playground if they keep racking up $200 tickets? Only one. BUT, I wonder what would go thru the CEO's mind after he got a relatively equivalent ticket ($500K/year * .5% fine) of $2500 dollars? Might not run so fast on the streets. Maybe? Maybe not. Depends on how much of a douchebag he is. We should all have to pay to play. The CEO who gets a $200 fine is going to swat it like a fly in front of his face (no biggie, minor annoyance for a mere second.). The CEO who gets a $2500 fine would be treating a bee sting (it's going to hurt...at least for a little).

BTW, I'm a born and raised "Masshole". Been gone for 16 years now. And, I know there's plentiy of idiots on the streets of MA. Just like there's plenty of them here too.

 

cbock -- I should have guessed that you learned your politics in "make the rich pay Taxachusetts." LOL

 

You can make it in Massachusetts.

 

^ I'm sure that just dated myself.

 

I understand ratios and know that 200/20,000 = 1% > 200/2,000,000 = .01%. But a rich person should not be able to collect a large amount of tickets without accumulating points on their driving record. Tickets carry more than just fines. I would be careful before introducing inequality into the law based upon income. If a cop sees two cars breaking the law and one is a Mercedes AMG and the other is a Ford Taurus, I'm wondering which car he will pull over. The law creates incentive to go after rich drivers. Like NH USA said, speeding has nothing to do with income. If the price of everything was based on income than there wouldnt be such things as rich people. You obviously are not advocating this view but it is something worth considering.

I hope this doesnt sound like an e-fight. What is obvious to you is not so simple to me. But it is interesting.

 

OK then. I'm glad you don't think it's an e-fight. I certainly don't like having them. But, it'd be great to continue the discussion if you find it's interesting. I do too.

I understand that there is more than just the amount of the fine associated with a ticket. But, insurance premiums will raise in both situations. And, like our friend's (the ALW and the CEO) salaries, I'm sure their ins. premiums are different based on the fact the ALW is driving the Taurus and the CEO is in his AMG. So, they'll both feel the sting there regardless of the traffic ticket fine structure. So, I don't think we need to argue that one. But, how about this, what are the odds that the CEO has a lawyer at his beck and call? What are the odds that the ALW has one? Regardless of the fines, I bet the CEO wriggles his way out of some of his tickets.

And, again, as I've tried to point out in my above posts, what I'm suggesting CREATES equality. I'm not "introducing inequality" into the law.

In fact, I shouldn't bring this up because we could go down a whole different road because it's messed up too. But, we already distinguish between incomes with income tax. Granted, I think that our system is a bit messed up. BUT, I certainly wouldn't advocate that if you're working, you should pay $1,000 a year in income no matter who you are. Does that make sense?

 

Although I will not let myself get sucked into a "social" argument (similar with the Arab in the plane thread in the off-topic section ; Since I brought first about "progressive fines" and your contribution in the A6 forum is very limited, you're not hunting everywhere my incidental words that may pertain to societal issues, are you AutoUFan?), I would like to add that the progressive ticket fines in Germany didn't create any incentive to target only drivers behind the wheel of an expensive car.
Everything is done VIA PHOTO. Nobody pulls you over. The fine comes in the mail and you have to go to pay it.
However, maybe the dubious morality of some of the American cops may lead to discrimination. There are plenty examples in this country...

 

Good point, chefro.

Although I was upset by our last conversation and still dont understand what you were arguing for and why I spent hours arguing your point for you, I am over it now.

The funny thing about the speed cameras in Japan is that they must have a picture of your face and your license plate, plus there are signs indicating the locations of upcoming cameras. JC on Top Gear drove the Nissan GT-R through Japan and had a mask handy to place in front of his face.

 

No problem. I am glad you didn't take it to heart for too long, even though you still don't understand what I was arguing for (air companies policies, remember?)
I too don't relate to e-fights, and when I argue about an issue I don't do it from a weird or convoluted Pavlovian perspective that makes potential e-fighters salivate for an attack.

As far as the speed cameras, in Germany they ARE MANNED. Although they aim to have both, the license plate and the driver's face in the photo, the license plate is suffice(nt) to make the owner pay the ticket, and stands as a valid proof in courts.