Georgia City Rakes In $1,136 In Traffic Ticket Fines Per Resident
October 9th, 2007 Posted in Speed Limits, Traffic Tickets
According to the Athens Banner-Herald, the city of Pendergrass, Georgia took in about $558,020 in fines in 2006 – enough to pay the police department’s $312,636 budget in 2006 and then some. That’s quite a profit for any town, but it’s even more amazing when you consider that Pendergrass only has 491 residents. If you do the math that’s a bill of $1,136 per resident! That figure is by far the biggest in the state.
Either people spontaneously become much more dangerous drivers on Pendergrass’s one-mile stretch of highway or the city is trying to pad its budget by ticketing as many drivers as possible. The city can claim that it’s all about safety, but the numbers just don’t add up. Pendergrass takes in nearly five-times the revenue per resident collected by the town with the next highest police-revenue-per-resident numbers.
So why don’t the residents revolt? The answer is simple. They’re not the people getting the tickets. Because they live in the town and know the areas where the police carry out their strict enforcement, they’re largely immune to the fines being given out and receive the benefit of an increased town budget at no cost to them.
Unfortunately, out-of-state drivers and people unfamiliar with the area don’t have that luxury and find themselves paying for additional Pendergrass police resources. More police resources means more tickets. And more tickets means more revenue for the city. It’s a vicious cycle that can only be stopped through speed trap legislation.
If you’re a Georgia resident, contact your legislators and let them know that it’s not right to value revenue over safety.
Other Related Articles
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- 8 Questions About Traffic Tickets That Politicians Never Answer
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i was pulled over for what is call a move over law..even though i was not speeding there where vechiles in front besid and in back of me and the police officer was 1 car further back i even dropped my speed to 45 in a 55.
in addition i dont believe i deserved the ticket and i did not ask for professional courtesy being an ICU RN.
This just makes my case against GA law enforcement. These are truly traffic prostitutes who are whoring for the city/county. The locals know the deal. I can guarantee you that no one in the city council or the mayor will ever get a ticket. Nor will a fellow cop or fireman (unless you have voiced concerns over this legalized extortion.) Got to love the law enforcement. They stand on their soap box saying it ‘for the children’ while ruining innocent peoples lives. I am never amazed when a bad cop FINALLY gets what he deserves, whether in CA or the latest perversion in IL with the serial killer that fellow cops ‘looked the other way’ when his third wife turned up dead. Protect your own….that is the only oath they uphold.
As a Military & Civilian,Officer,Investigator & Police Chief for 45yrs, it never ceases to amaze me that some people always CRY OUT about officers who get into trouble. They are just people, no more, no less. You rarely hear about an officer who puts their life on the line each time he/she stops a vehicle for any violation. You might say,”thats what they are paid to do.” Yes,& they are paid to write tickets also. I don’t know of any agency that set Quotas, however standards are required & set& should be met meet. You don’t ride in 8hrs each day & not see serious traffic violations, which could cause death /serious injuries. No CRY OUT when they save you or your child’s life. I know lots of Police, Fireman, City, County & State Officials who get tickets. Also RN & DRs.
Chief:
Law enforcement has gotten itself into a terrible mess of its own making. No citizen ever told you to begin speed traps where you could prey on motorists under the color of law; you just discovered how much could be made from stops when the NMSL went into effect in 1974 and you’ve kept it up since then. Not satisfied to merely collect money for traffic violations, you began looking for drugs or contraband (even planting it sometimes) and abusing civil liberties under the banner of security and safety. I am in much greater danger from an overzealous cop than I am some yahoo running 50 pounds of weed down I-40.
When confronted with the undeniable truth that there is no connection between speed limits or enforcement and key measures of public safety, you hide behind the tired old mantra that you only enforce the law. That is no longer acceptable. If you cannot prove the connection between your actions and key measurements of public safety (such as an improvement in the fatality rate directly attributable to your actions) then you have no business conducting your efforts on behalf of the public. The burden of proof is yours and it is very difficult, as it should be.
There are thousands of reports of enforcement malfeasance every year, from the hypocritical “professional courtesy” to the felonious cover up of murder. The sad fact is that citizens do not need your “protection:” they just need to be left alone.
Mr. Young, Perhaps we should do away with Law Enforcement all together… Then lets see how long YOU would last on the streets. I don’t think you would want that. There are places in this world that even you are not safe, even with the police around.
I am not trying to defend so call Quotas, I’m sure that some unprofessional individuals might use them. I am not defending “Speed Traps”. I know there are some small jurisdictions that might use them to support their towns. Most people would agree that this is wrong. I would just say to you and others, there are ways to get rid of these obstacles to good government. Vote for someone who agrees that Speed Traps & Quotas are wrong. Run for Office yourself. Drive a different route, avoid the jurisdictions that allows them and don’t spend your money there.
I don’t know if you are aware that most Law Enforcement agencies begin their fiscal year
with a certain budget. They generally must live with that amount of funds for the rest of the year, no matter if they write one citation or thousands. Law Enforcement agencies do not set fines, the Courts & Judges set the fines & they are normally given guideline for fines that is set by State law.
Could you tell me why it is no longer acceptable for Officers to enforce the laws of this country. There are millions upon millions who do not agree with you on this point.
(WAR STORY) When I was a Chief of Police our Department was able to reduce traffic accident, injuries and deaths by over 25% with a strong combination of citations, written & verbal warnings& roadside safety checks. This was in a period of less than two years. By the way this is what insurance companies look at when they set rates for locations.
I can not speak to the number Malfeasance in Office cases by police officers. I would like to know your source for the “thousands of reports” of this.
By the way, “Good Luck” if you decide to load up with 22.72 kilos of “weed” and speed down I-40. Having been a Police Captain in NM for a period of time, I know the NMSP will not appreciate that very much. If you do get stopped, remember you do not have to respect the Officer himself, but if you respect his/her uniform & badge, you just might get a BIG BREAK…
Ken Arthur writes:
“Mr. Young, Perhaps we should do away with Law Enforcement all together… Then lets see how long YOU would last on the streets.”
I don’t rely on the police to protect me. In the one instance where I could have used some help – during the Rodney King riots in LA – LAPD told us they were too busy to respond to a bomb threat, that is until they learned late the next day that we had some CBS execs in house and they were Johnny-on-the-spot.
“I know there are some small jurisdictions that might use them to support their towns. Most people would agree that this is wrong. I would just say to you and others, there are ways to get rid of these obstacles to good government. Vote for someone who agrees that Speed Traps & Quotas are wrong.”
There has never been a campaign conducted where a candidate opposed quotas or speed traps as a major plank in his campaign. There are thousands of little villages which run speed enforcement as their major source of revenue, particularly in very poor areas such as US 69 through Oklahoma.
Getting rid of bad legislators is much easier suggested than done because special interests who benefit from stringent enforcement of too-low limits provide millions in re-election campaign contributions. When you’re protecting a $100 billion industry, a few million is peanuts.
“Drive a different route, avoid the jurisdictions that allows them and don’t spend your money there.”
Are you kidding? They’re everywhere. Even more to the point, why should reasonable citizens have to modify their behavior to avoid malfeasance for profit?
“I don’t know if you are aware that most Law Enforcement agencies begin their fiscal year
with a certain budget.”
Yes, I’ve written more than a few budgets, even some for eleemosynary institutions. Inherent in those budgets is the assumption that they will collect $XX in traffic fines. The Stringtown, OK budget – typewritten on a single sheet of paper – indicated that they would collect about $200,000 in traffic fines, about 80% of their total budget. They have no tax base and the median income is less than $20,000 a year.
“Law Enforcement agencies do not set fines, the Courts & Judges set the fines & they are normally given guideline for fines that is set by State law.”
Does it really matter who sets the fines? Of greater concern is the question: “Does the behavior of this political entity have a positive or negative effect on key safety measures?” Are they doing it for the money, such as Stringtown?
“Could you tell me why it is no longer acceptable for Officers to enforce the laws of this country.”
Because the laws are no long legitimate since they have been perverted for use to abuse ordinary citizens without regard to civil liberties. When the law has no legitimacy, the people have no obligation to follow it.
“There are millions upon millions who do not agree with you on this point.”
Of this, there is no doubt. There are even more millions who do agree with me as evidenced by those drivers who ignore the speed limits for billions of miles every day.
“(WAR STORY) When I was a Chief of Police our Department was able to reduce traffic accident, injuries and deaths by over 25% with a strong combination of citations, written & verbal warnings& roadside safety checks. This was in a period of less than two years. By the way this is what insurance companies look at when they set rates for locations.”
OK, I’ll bite. Where and when was this and what specific statistical data was compared in the before and after portion of your action? Are you using raw numbers of crashes, injuries and fatalities or are you using indices of exposure such as miles driven or even population? And what proof do you offer that any decrease was not due to statistical anomaly such as occurred in Connecticut in the 1950s?
“I can not speak to the number Malfeasance in Office cases by police officers. I would like to know your source for the “thousands of reports” of this.”
CNN, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, any number of legal reform websites such as CopWatch, The Innocence Project. I could go on and on because it’s in the news every day.
To Ken Arthur, Ret.. Police Chief
Your 100% right dont worry about james young he’s just a stats jocky and doesnt look at reality. Things on paper isnt whats on the street. He only looks at what the police dont do and not what they do every day. Its easy to critique a profession that you know nothing about. I could critique a CEO of a corporation easy but it wouldnt be valid b/c i dont know how to run a company.
Josh, stats are reality represented in mathematical terms, but you already knew that.
What gets me is the all or nothing attitude I see from the LEOs who post here. If anyone brings up an incidence of overzealous law enforcement, or questions the viability of a law, the response is always something like “you want anarchy with criminals running free.”
Of course not. What we want is balance; reasonable laws fairly enforced. I’m going to guess that what we are really arguing about is what’s reasonable and what’s fair.
Obviously the police have minimal say in what the laws are, (and here’s a news flash: so do us citizens) but you are in complete control of how those laws are enforced.
We tend too much to equate legality and illegality with right and wrong. There are many things that are legal, but harmful, and by the same token many things that harm no one, but are illegal. I think this is the source of much of the excesses of law enforcement; cops tend to see themselves as soldiers on the front lines of our national morality.
The other factor is completely the fault of the citizenry. We as a society have come to expect a law enforcement solution to every problem. Can’t discipline your kids? Call the police. Too lazy to walk next door and ask your neighbor to turn down his stereo? Call the police. Traffic problems? Drugs? Don’t do the work and spend the money to find a real solution, just call the police.
We have to learn (again) that we cannot simply legislate our problems away.
Josh & Hubcap, I don’t worry about Mr. Young or anyone or anything. Retired 3 times, drawing the BIG BUCKS, having a great life.
I had a friend who got killed on a traffic stop, trying to protect people like the Mr. Youngs of this world and sometimes I get touchy w/their lack of real life things… You Guys, “Be Careful Out There”
“I had a friend who got killed on a traffic stop, trying to protect people like the Mr. Youngs of this world and sometimes I get touchy w/their lack of real life things. . .” – Ken Arthur
Making a traffic stop does not protect me. Don’t bother to blow smoke up my pants to tell me that you’re doing it for my own good. You cannot protect me. I don’t ask that you protect me. I can protect myself through thoughtful, responsible action except from those that claim to protect me.
Just how arrogant is it to take tens of billions from drivers every year, all the while whispering in their ear how it’s for their own good.
Mr.Young, I have met and had to deal with people who act and think about the same way you for over half a century. Normally, I feel Sorry for them and just move on. Thats what I’m going to do with you. As the well trained Officer often says: “You have a nice day,Sir.”
PS: GET A REAL LIFE!
I do not seek your pity and I, too, have had to deal with arrogant, intransigent and ill-informed LEOs for over 50 years.
I have one advantage over cops: I’m not protecting any institution so my freedom of thought is unimpeded. I only wish those who enforce the laws could enjoy that same freedom.
Very well done James. Looks as if Mr. Government pawn has given up the debate.
No wonder, when in order to be a police officer your IQ must be around 105.
Don’t take my word for it. Read this story..
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_56314.html
Mark,
There is no point in debating the issue here b/c you’ll never change my mind and ill never change yours especially when it comes to left handed james young. Thats why this is an infinite debate
Personal story on Stringtown OK Police; the problem with this particular one is the “cops” they hire aren’t enough bright enough to keep track of the vehicles they’re clocking. I drive this stretch from Dallas to Tulsa many times during the year with an ailing mother in Tulsa so I’m well aware of their tactics. I slow down below speed limit to no avail. Another vehicle passed me unaware of the trap ahead, and then suddenly hit their brakes. It was pitch dark since no town really exits (only a lone c-store) and I never saw where the cop was. Suffice to say he wasn’t smart enough to keep up with the actual car he clocked so pulled me over instead of the other car and I get to pay the $120 toll through this “leach” town. Such a disgusting way to pay one’s way through life stealling money from the motoring public. They’re no better than the burglars who break into homes and steal people’s hard earned items.
The cops in Stringtown are not POST-certified. There is doubt about at least one of them even graduating from HS. Stringtown has been a leach since about 1973.
Once, when I was researching a potential article for the Los Angeles Times, I tried to interview the mayor and some officers but they want publicity even less than they want poison ivy.
Gregg,
Did you slow down when you saw the police vehicle or before you saw the police vehicle?
I just want to say I hate the city of morrow ga
http://www.freewebs.com/barneyfife1/
ALL ticket writers are CROOKS
True law enforcement officers protect and serve not write traffic tickets
Gregg, if your driving Hwy 75 between Tulsa and Dallas, I don’t have to tell you that’s speed trap alley, not just Stringtown. See the NMA speed trap site. Caney may be the worst as it received the honorary worst speed trap in Oklahoma award in a survey done by the NMA. Caney is believed to operative almost totally off traffic tickets and it’s the only reason it is in existence. I know a gentlement who lives near there. All these little towns hijack the driving public. Those of us who know this need to be contacting our legislators to do something about it! I have a letter in the works now. The Oklahoma legislative session starts in about two weeks.
My wife is a Texan and has a cousin living near Dallas. We drive clear out of our way, Tulsa, OKC, to Dallas via I-35 to avoid radar alley. I hope your mother is better.
After driving for 40 years + and reading James Youngs’ posts I’m having a hard time finding fault with them. Many city budgets have traffic fine money as part of their budget. Smaller towns tend to have more budgeted for traffic fines. Quota’s ARE legal in Oklahoma and I assure you they are used. I’d like to see quota’s illegal in this state but where is the support for such. Drivers would rather continue the rape that goes on then write a few sentences to their elected legislative officials. In many respects I guess we pretty much get what we ask for…more of the same. I don’t know where all the NMA members in this state are? If you can’t get those people involved who can you get?
And James Young is exactly right when he exclaims “There has never been a campaign conducted where a candidate opposed quotas or speed traps as a major plank in his campaign.” I’ve noted there hasn’t even been a candidate whose MINOR plank in a campaign was such so it’s easy for LEO’s to echo this familiar remark in defense of their acts. If you don’t like the law, get it changed….ya right!
In OK people can’t even get considered to run as a candidate unless they fall all over themselves promising supporting law enforcement. Every candidate has to be “tough on crime”. Each has to exclaim how much tougher they can be then their opponent. So how this translates from what most citizens consider crime meaning rapists, burglars, murders,….. over into misdemeanor traffic control violations perplexes me. And the lobbying by LEO organizations and municipal organizations don’t just stop at election day. I’ve seen few legislators reject any kind of traffic control legislation because LEO’s and the Municipal League lobbies your elected officials to be tough on criminals because that’s what the promised during the election campaign. I guess we want to lump misdemeanor traffic infractions right in with the aforementioned…..NOT!
Come on LEO’s, lets just admit that most traffic control is about money. You can easily to prove if all of us are wrong. Give all the money from traffic control activities to charities or the school system, both of which would be greatly appreciative. Even the drivers might feel better knowing his/her money was going for a good purpose instead of supporting a corrupt system for more of the same. It’ll be a cold day in Hell before we see that scenario play out!
If there were any incremental safety benefit to traffic fines, that quickly gets lost when most of us feel like it’s simply a money game, the cost of getting there.
Officer Josh – I slowed down as I approached the sign indicating lower speed limits. It was pitch black so I never saw the police car until he was behind me with lights flashing. Bottom line is I was traveling at the speed limit because I know this trap is here. There is no town on the highway-just a single c-store. Therefore, no street lights are illuminating the highway or roadsides. The cop couldn’t keep up with the vehicle he clocked because it was so dark and the “speeding” vehicle passed me after I was already in the slower speed zone. It’s too dark for the cop to tell which car is which so why is he writing tickets. If it were a legitimate court I could fight the ticket. But since this is about revenue for the Stringtown leaches, I’m sure the court is a joke. Not worth my taking day off work and traveling 225 miles roundtrip–easier to pay their $120 ransom.
Gregg, as you’ so found out, treading lightly while traversing Hwy 75 is not always a guarantee you won’t get hit with a traffic citation. It’s a undeniable fact that these little towns leach off the driving public. Last year when Caney and Stringtown were under prohibition for a breif time, BEFORE the speed trap law was cunningly vaporized by their infamous state representative, Caney nearly went bankrupt and Stringtown cut back dramatically and lade off most of it’s officers and some of the town city hall staff. I know, I have several articles that were scanned into a file for me from the local paper. If there ever was a case for a strong speed trap law, they are it. Caney even won the NMAs’ award for the worst speed trap in OK.
Last year ‘07 their state representative, who is a retired OHP, stealthily got the speed trap law rescinded right from under the noses of all the other state legislators. After the law was signed, panic set in because this was not the intent of the bill. The legislature hurriedly set about reviving the law just before the legislative session ended for the year last year but it has never been the same. It now takes a public official to submit a request for a audit of a municipality. Formerly any citizen could request to the Attorney General for an audit. Additionally, since this was a rush job, they forgot to add an emergency clause to the bill so it took six months for it to go into effect. Conversely, the deletion of the law by this cunning state rep. had a emergency clause in it so it took effect as soon as the governor signed it. That meant they had 6 mo.s to write tickets BEFORE the law again took effect. Then they would have a year to exceed their quota of fifty percent before they could again be chastised by the law. Time will tell if they get prohibited again. During the time the legislature was not in session this same legislator was going to go around to these little towns and apparently explain ways to get around or avoid the law.
The thing that really blew me away was after the law was reenacted by the legislature, this particular legislator had the audacity to stand up and proclaim that he didn’t think elected officials should be setting law enforcement policy. It’s OK for everybody else to be effected by the laws of the land…..except the police. The point that this legislator seems to forget (or mention) is that the speed trap law never prevented traffic law enforcement, just the amount of revenue they can collect. As if we didn’t need further proof, the fact that this is even an issue with this legislator and the municipalities he represents is a clear indication of the importance of revenue. If revenue wasn’t the main reason for traffic stops then this law should have no affect on traffic control enforcement what-so-ever.
The City of Duluth, Ga. fined my son $1,351.00 because he had 2 wheels over the blue line in a handicaapped space. Georgia law says $100 – $500 not $1,351.00. This is a clear vilolation of the constittutional amendment 8. I suspect they have a history of excessive fines. I am establishing a website http://www.unfairtickets.info to bring people together and make a group effortt to bring this human rigghts abuse to a stop. Not only in Duluth, but across the country.
The City Of Duluth, seems to be on a mission to trap every Duluth Citizen with oppressive, revenue generating, traffic stops. On June 13th my wife was coming home from and arduous business trip after having 3 flight delays and late arrival, is stopped for ” violation 40-8-31. This is a code that requires drivers to dim hi beams in approaching on comming traffic. At 2:00 AM there is no traffic at all much less in residential and poorly illuminated streets. This citation is petty, pathetic and wreaks of QUOTAS!
I just want to say dont speed through the city of morrow. The blue Morrow Police Heat cars or always pulling someone over. They have gave me 2 tickets already. I learned my lesson and drive under the speed limit in Morrow.
I live in Germany. I found this article quite surprising and would call such practice corruption indeed.
Not that we don’t have speed traps in Germany, but politicians and local administration know quite well how to keep speed trapping acceptable.
It would be a big topic at the next election if methods were as harsh and fines as high as described in the article and discussed in this forum.
Sometimes our secretary of traffic talks about rising the fines, but this is usually about fines for capital offences, extreme speeding, drunken drivers, and the like.
A number of speed traps we have here are fixed automatic installations. Offenders may require to see the photo.
These speed traps are commonly known, but people keep getting trapped by them … now, that’s their own fault.
If police officers operate speed trap equipment they have to be trained to do so in order to avoid false measurements and possible subsequent court action.
The speed trap devices have to be exact and checked regularly. Despite this, 3 kilometers/hour (~2 m.p.h) are subtracted from any result – the authorities here want to avoid every doubt about it from the start.
Police cars following speeding offenders have to follow them for serveral hundred meters at least, the police car’s speedometer has to be an approved one and two officers have to report the offender. Despite this, 20 percent of the speed taken have to be subtracted (probably with the exception of video cars).
And usually, they don’t issue fines if the speed limit has not been exceeded clearly, i.e by 5 m.p.h. or so.
It’s pretty usual on our roads that our speedometers show “60″ while the limit is indeed 50 kilometers/hour (31 mph) inside towns and cities.
We know the speedometer to be a bit optimistic about the true speed and the police ignoring a minimal excess.
Drive, say, 65 (~40 mph) in a speed trap and be sure to have your ticket – and that’s alright.
The lowest speed limits we got are 30 km/h (19 mph). Just be a bit more careful there.
Altogether, if a driver gets a ticket for speeding in Germany, he *definitely* was too fast.
Cases where device were working inexactly or police officers did not operate them as intended are rare and are usually overturned in court (we had a laugh here a number of years back with unexact devices tracking trucks at 250 m.p.h or so …:=)
Of course, local politicians always count a certain amount of fines to add to the budget every year. But they still know that they must keep police action acceptable and not overtighten the nut.
At last, it’s also better for the police’s reputation to keep speed trapping reasonable.
Now, our police’s reputation is good…
Greetings from Germany
“elwood”
Chief:
Why is it that law enforsment can run up and down the road as fast as they like and no one can do anything about it?
I have seen a Sheriff car run 90mph down the interstate. I know this becaus I paced him all the way to the office. He was in plain cloths and took his time getting out of the car. Now some would say the he may have been on duty at the time . If this is true then why did he have to go so fast to get home. You see he past me on my way home and he lives about two miles from my house. He was home before I was and he was home all evening.
Don’t get me worng I know that things are hard on our men and women in uniform. They don’t get the the respect they should. But that does not give them the right to put my life and others in harms way just so they can get home or where ever they maybe going.
If it is an emergency turn on your light so we will know.
Interesting post from Germany, here in US It’s absolute 0 tolerance traffic laws. 1 mph over and your a criminal. No regard to possible speedometer error, instrument calibration deviations, or human error. Come on what do police terrorizing citizens really want from us? can’t be for safety, that’s paying attention to the road and just may range in or out of speed limit or have your head down checking and maintaining a speed limit and that’s not safe driving. I love those 25 mph limits in town 2 lane roads that are as wide as the autobahn, speed trap ville an pure harassment of law abiding citizens.
I do not believe this
Uggh
Its true! In Europe the government is way more law-abiding, less crime everywhere. The police there are not really the enemy, just civil servants and countrymen like everyone else.
Those “LEO” had a great suggestion- Abolish the Police. I vote yea 10x over.
See, they’re not so dumb after all…
I went through stringtown, ok last year and theres a casino there on right where the officer was…needless to say i was pulled over, i had three beers that i drank in the car and my child with me. idiot i know. but what gave him the right to pull me over? and why did put in the report that he saw me swerve across the center line and he had to make a uturn? anyway, the officer said that i smelled of beer, i offered to take a breath test, he told me it was broken? anyone ever hear of that, he told me i had to take a blood test which i refused to the first time because of my fear of needles. then told him i would, he then said to late, brought the drug dogs, cuffed and stuffed me. and i was put in the tank for 15 hours…sometime in the middle of night he came in and wanted me to sign something. now i know it was videotaped, but my lawyer advised to plead deferred judgement and pay the 3000 plus in fines. if i had the resources i know that i could have won the case and the officer would surely of been suspended. so when your going through stringtown going back to dallas, be careful for this awfully corrupt system…by the way the judge i had appeared to have some mental dementia because during the trial he couldnt remember my name, case, things like that. so good luck everyone if you ever go through atoka co!
I just got sacked with a $322.00 traffic ticket for speeding in a construction zone. I’m fed up. Is there any organization fighting this outrage?
I received a citation in the City of Morrow for a late car tag. (13 days after my birthday) $192. I will think twice before entering that city to shop again.
An entity that has a police department and only 491 residents would need a revenue source to pay the budget of the police department. I am assuming that the citations issued for violations of law were only to drivers who actually violated the respective section of law. The reason that the residents don’t revolt is because it is non residents who are being issue citations. The non residents who feel that they don’t need to obey the traffic regulations of some back woods little town with a population of only 491. Since the fines are collected from non residents the residents are happy because thier land taxes and sales taxes didn’t need to increase to cover the cost of the police departments budget.
I am surprised at this author’s assertions that traffic law violations and citations only lead to more traffic enforcement to build more revenue and that this is a cycle that can only be broken by anti-speed trap legislation. First off the $558,020 in fines is revenue from all traffic violations not just speeding. Secondly there is a much simpler way to combat the “speed trap” mentality. All a motorist needs to do is comply with the speed laws and other traffic laws in this town and viola revenue stream disappears and if the authors assertion that ticket revenue is the only support for the police department was correct the police department will disappear also. I somehow think that the police department will be funded whether that $558,020 in fines exists or not. I really can’t believe so many seemingly intelligent people buy into this classic example of NMA propaganda.
This is clearly a blatent attempt by the NMA to propose anti- speed trap legislation that it has drafted but can’t get support for. As I pointed out if a driver is as attentive as he should be while driving he will be aware of speed limit drops and if he is worried about being cited he will reduce his speed. I have no sympathy for a driver who passes a 30mph, 40mph, 50mph, 55mph sign and continues to proceed through the town at 70mph simply because he has been brain-washed by the NMA and feels entitled to be able to travel at that speed through town. Get a clue if it says 40mph then slow down to 40mph, I doubt you’ll get a citation for exceeding 40mph limit if you are doing 40mph.
Why do we need special legislation when all that is really needed is compliance to the law?