Income based fines for traffic camera tickets in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why should a family be plunged into the red over a traffic ticket?

Here is a simple solution.don’t speed. If you get a ticket learn your lesson and don’t do it again. The law should be blind.

Agree 100%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why?

Because they currently place more of these cameras in lower-income areas with low speeds of 25 mph on what's basically a highway. They create the low speeds not to keep people safe--but to collect fines.

If you want to have 25 mph near a school or whatever, fine. But on a highway? That's nuts.

Those "highways" go through areas with a lot of people. Slow down.

It’s a highway still. And people need to treat the road accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If someone can't pay ticket, do community service in weekends.

When they’re working their paying jobs?

[Anonymous]

“In 2010, a Swedish man caught driving his Mercedes 170 kilometers per hour over the speed limit in Switzerland was fined 1,080,000 Swiss Francs (around $1,091,340). The Swiss, like many European countries, use a day fine system to punish offenders. The fine is calculated by dividing the offender's daily income in half, then multiplying that amount by the number of days the offender must pay. The number of days needed to pay varies by the severity of the offense, so for a speeding ticket, the faster someone travels the longer they have to pay their day fine.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If someone can't pay ticket, do community service in weekends.

When they’re working their paying jobs?

Make them do community service in a timely manner if they can't pay the fine. 7 hours in a month should be an easy way to "pay" the fine!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do we all agree the main purpose of fines is to deter people from reoffending? If that’s the case, if you have a HHI of say $300,000 or more, as many people who post here do, would a $50 fine deter you? Do you think it might deter people on a HHI of $50,000? Do you see that a fine set at the right level to deter a low income earner would be ineffective for a high income earner?

I don't understand your logic. I follow the posted speed limit. Have I made a mistake in the past and received a camera speeding ticket? Yes - once in 30 plus years of living in DC (Received the ticket in front of the Russian Embassy on Wisconsin Ave.heading South down the hill). I was doing 33 mph in a 25 mph zone. I am not deterred by the amount of the fine I may receive from speeding. I'm deterred from speeding by trying to be a good citizen and not endangering others (and the fact that I don't want to give DC any more money than I do already)!

What are you suggesting? Those with a HHI of $300,000 or above (your example) should receive a $3,000 fine for speeding and those with a HHI of $50,000 should receive a $500 fine for the same exact offense? SMH

Off subject but still makes me angry: Those that live in Maryland and Virginia don't have to pay DC for traffic violations. I also happen to live in a DC neighborhood where daily parking is challenging. Our streets are full of parked cars from out of state who violate the two hour parking rule. They do receive tickets (not often) but they throw them on the ground because they don't have to pay and DC has no recourse to pursue those violations.

You are clearly the exception if you have spent the last 30 years driving at the speed limit. Yes, in principle what you says above is exactly how it should work. I have observed there is very little enforcement of road laws. People drive with dogs in their laps or on devices ALL THE TIME. I see parents pulling into schools to pick up their kids with one hand on the wheel while they turn the corner and the other holding their phones to their mouths. When there are few consequences, people don’t do the right thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's already income based because poor people don't pay the tickets right now.

BTW, for all the super slow drivers out there, you don't get a ticket unless you're going more than 10 over. It's not written into law (like Maryland's tolerance of 12 over is), but DC is on record as saying this is the threshold. I always go 8-9 over on 16th street, where the speed limit is artificially low at 30.

The speed limit is the speed limit. If you speed (and 38-39 in a 30 is speeding by a lot), you're breaking the law. Are there any other laws you routinely break, and does the exemption from obeying laws only apply to you, or does it apply to others, too?

Be careful -- you might fall off your high horse. Do you ever talk on the phone or text while driving? I don't, and I can tell you that my drives down 16th street are filled with people who can't stay in their lanes while going 25 mph, and when I pass them, they're buried in their cell phones. It's too bad the laws about cell phone use while driving are not enforced because, in my experience, the people who can't put down their phones are the far greater menace on the roads.

+1

Everyone is so sanctimonious on this thread. Everyone breaks the law. Ever cross the street not at a cross walk? Cross when the light is green? Drive through a yellow light? You broke the law. You’ve probably also gone over the speed limit. It’s ridiculous to lecture people on slowing down. And I agree, get off your phones. The slowest drivers are ALWAYS staring at their phone.

[Anonymous]

Maybe we need these. Nasty $1100 fine for using cell phones to discourage this terrible habit plus nice revenue for DC.

https://amp.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/watch-out-high-tech-traffic-cameras-net-100-million-in-just-eight-months-20220811-p5b8zd.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe we need these. Nasty $1100 fine for using cell phones to discourage this terrible habit plus nice revenue for DC.

https://amp.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/watch-out-high-tech-traffic-cameras-net-100-million-in-just-eight-months-20220811-p5b8zd.html

YES! Such a better idea than speed cameras.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do we all agree the main purpose of fines is to deter people from reoffending? If that’s the case, if you have a HHI of say $300,000 or more, as many people who post here do, would a $50 fine deter you? Do you think it might deter people on a HHI of $50,000? Do you see that a fine set at the right level to deter a low income earner would be ineffective for a high income earner?

I make way more than that and the $50 fine does deter me because I’m not a moron.

Thanks for laugh!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's already income based because poor people don't pay the tickets right now.

BTW, for all the super slow drivers out there, you don't get a ticket unless you're going more than 10 over. It's not written into law (like Maryland's tolerance of 12 over is), but DC is on record as saying this is the threshold. I always go 8-9 over on 16th street, where the speed limit is artificially low at 30.

The speed limit is the speed limit. If you speed (and 38-39 in a 30 is speeding by a lot), you're breaking the law. Are there any other laws you routinely break, and does the exemption from obeying laws only apply to you, or does it apply to others, too?

Be careful -- you might fall off your high horse. Do you ever talk on the phone or text while driving? I don't, and I can tell you that my drives down 16th street are filled with people who can't stay in their lanes while going 25 mph, and when I pass them, they're buried in their cell phones. It's too bad the laws about cell phone use while driving are not enforced because, in my experience, the people who can't put down their phones are the far greater menace on the roads.

+1

Everyone is so sanctimonious on this thread. Everyone breaks the law. Ever cross the street not at a cross walk? Cross when the light is green? Drive through a yellow light? You broke the law. You’ve probably also gone over the speed limit. It’s ridiculous to lecture people on slowing down. And I agree, get off your phones. The slowest drivers are ALWAYS staring at their phone.

Speeding in residential areas is not just illegal, it’s incredibly selfish. The chances of seriously injuring or killing a pedestrian or cyclist increase quadratically with speed. Hit a pedestrian at 30mph in a modern SUV and there’s a good chance that they don’t survive. At 20 mph, they’ll be hurting but not dead. Speed limits are not set for the convenience of your driving, but to protect the lives of others. Those who flagrantly disobey them deserve not only fines, but to have their licenses taken off them. You can call me sanctimonious all you want; I can get you the names of plenty of dead pedestrians and cyclists whose lives I wish had been treated with more sanctity. Slow the hell down!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe we need these. Nasty $1100 fine for using cell phones to discourage this terrible habit plus nice revenue for DC.

https://amp.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/watch-out-high-tech-traffic-cameras-net-100-million-in-just-eight-months-20220811-p5b8zd.html

Too bad we live in a third world country and can only dream that our governments might have access to such technology . . .

[Anonymous]

I live in DC and am 100% opposed to increased cameras and this ridiculous income based penalty idea. These cameras are not safety devices, but government money making schemes. I was fine with cameras in locations where speed or people blowing through red lights were actual problems. I completely support that, but it has turned into a money scheme and now on the backs of hard working DC residents a proposal to be income based fines for the exact same crime! This sounds like a Constitutional equal rights/protection issue. I am just learning in this thread that MD and VA car owners don’t pay the fines because there is no recourse, unbelievable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's already income based because poor people don't pay the tickets right now.

BTW, for all the super slow drivers out there, you don't get a ticket unless you're going more than 10 over. It's not written into law (like Maryland's tolerance of 12 over is), but DC is on record as saying this is the threshold. I always go 8-9 over on 16th street, where the speed limit is artificially low at 30.

The speed limit is the speed limit. If you speed (and 38-39 in a 30 is speeding by a lot), you're breaking the law. Are there any other laws you routinely break, and does the exemption from obeying laws only apply to you, or does it apply to others, too?

Be careful -- you might fall off your high horse. Do you ever talk on the phone or text while driving? I don't, and I can tell you that my drives down 16th street are filled with people who can't stay in their lanes while going 25 mph, and when I pass them, they're buried in their cell phones. It's too bad the laws about cell phone use while driving are not enforced because, in my experience, the people who can't put down their phones are the far greater menace on the roads.

+1

Everyone is so sanctimonious on this thread. Everyone breaks the law. Ever cross the street not at a cross walk? Cross when the light is green? Drive through a yellow light? You broke the law. You’ve probably also gone over the speed limit. It’s ridiculous to lecture people on slowing down. And I agree, get off your phones. The slowest drivers are ALWAYS staring at their phone.

There are crosswalks at every intersection, with or without white paint, and also it's legal to cross the street not at a crosswalk.

No, I never talk on the phone or text while driving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in DC and am 100% opposed to increased cameras and this ridiculous income based penalty idea. These cameras are not safety devices, but government money making schemes. I was fine with cameras in locations where speed or people blowing through red lights were actual problems. I completely support that, but it has turned into a money scheme and now on the backs of hard working DC residents a proposal to be income based fines for the exact same crime! This sounds like a Constitutional equal rights/protection issue. I am just learning in this thread that MD and VA car owners don’t pay the fines because there is no recourse, unbelievable.

Lesson: Get a lower paying job if you want to speed and break driving laws.