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I was driving my brother's car in and around Dallas, and it was a
stick and I wasn't used to that, so at the intersection of two
trafficless streets, I rolled through a stop sign a little bit so as
not to stall and got caught, in Grand Prairie, Texas, a town not very
big, southwest of Dallas, basically a suburb.
I went straight to the traffic court, a brand new quite fancy
building, just for traffic court. It was 9:15 and there were about 25
people there, some like me given the ticket that very mornign. It's
then I realized the place was a speed/etc. trap. I listened to about
10 cases before mine. The court clerk was also the Spanish
translator.
I pled guilty with an explanation and the fine was iirc 60 dollars,
and 75 dollars if I didn't want them to notify my home state!!!
The judge said this right outloud in court, with a microphone and
speakers so that everyone in the room could hear it. For 15 dollars,
we'll cover up what you did, so you don't get into any trouble back in
your home state, like points maybe. They made a similar offer to
anyone from out of state, although I was only the first or second like
that so far that morning.
Does this seem proper to any of you? Saying they will tell the DMV
in your home state if you don't pay extra.
If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)
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mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com> wrote:
I was driving my brother's car in and around Dallas, and it was a
stick and I wasn't used to that, so at the intersection of two
trafficless streets, I rolled through a stop sign a little bit so
as not to stall and got caught, in Grand Prairie, Texas, a town
not very big, southwest of Dallas, basically a suburb.
The judge said this right outloud in court, with a microphone and
speakers so that everyone in the room could hear it. For 15
dollars, we'll cover up what you did, so you don't get into any
trouble back in your home state, like points maybe. They made a
similar offer to anyone from out of state, although I was only the
first or second like that so far that morning.
Does this seem proper to any of you?
Is that a lot different from saying, go to traffic school and we won't
tell anybody?
Texas is interesting. I remember years ago during the last petroleum
crisis the federal government mandated that maximum speed limits had to
be reduced to 55 mph to save gas. Texas passed (or at least seriously
contemplated) a law allowing motorists to buy a book of speeding ticket
payments, 10 for $50. If someone got caught speeding, he'd just pull a
ticket out of his book and he'd be back on his way.
Stu
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On Sat, 29 Mar 2008 08:44:40 -0400, mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com> wrote:
I went straight to the traffic court, a brand new quite fancy
building, just for traffic court. It was 9:15 and there were about 25
people there, some like me given the ticket that very mornign. It's
then I realized the place was a speed/etc. trap. I listened to about
10 cases before mine. The court clerk was also the Spanish
translator.
I pled guilty with an explanation and the fine was iirc 60 dollars,
and 75 dollars if I didn't want them to notify my home state!!!
The judge said this right outloud in court, with a microphone and
speakers so that everyone in the room could hear it. For 15 dollars,
we'll cover up what you did, so you don't get into any trouble back in
your home state, like points maybe. They made a similar offer to
anyone from out of state, although I was only the first or second like
that so far that morning.
You're lucky. I had a similar decision with a traffic violation in Newark,
New Jersey. The fine was about $75 with three points, but if you paid
$375, they'd change the name of the offense and give you no points.
In other words, they wouldn't report it to your insurance if you paid more.
Does this seem proper to any of you? Saying they will tell the DMV
in your home state if you don't pay extra.
No. It seems like extortion or bribery of some sort. It appears to be
legal, though.
Another implication is that if you're able to pay a bribe, you get a different
punishment. Poor people are going to be unable to pay this up front, and
may lose their insurance whereas someone capable of paying to retain
their clean driving record is treated essentially differently.
At best, this is a sleazy practice that brings disrepute upon the law. At
worst, it has constitutional implications.
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On Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:57:59 -0400, Stuart Bronstein
<spamtrap@lexregia.com> wrote:
mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com> wrote:
Is that a lot different from saying, go to traffic school and we won't
tell anybody?
Yeah, I think it is a lot different. Traffic school is intended to and
some people think it does make people better drivers, which benefits
the driver himself and everyone else, at least everyone they might
drive near, which could be anyone. And certainly could be the people
in the state the driver lives in when he gets back there.
The increase in fine only benefits the treasurey of that town, and I
think part of it goes to the state, and maybe the county gets a cut.
If for some reason the legistlature decided they had to bribe people
to get them to go to traffic school, they seem to be doing it out of
community interest in cutting accidents, not raising revenue.
Texas is interesting. I remember years ago during the last petroleum
crisis the federal government mandated that maximum speed limits had to
be reduced to 55 mph to save gas. Texas passed (or at least seriously
contemplated) a law allowing motorists to buy a book of speeding ticket
payments, 10 for $50. If someone got caught speeding, he'd just pull a
ticket out of his book and he'd be back on his way.
Sounds convenient.
Stu
If you are inclined to email me
for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-)
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mm <NOPSAMmm2005@bigfoot.com> wrote:
I pled guilty with an explanation and the fine was iirc 60 dollars,
and 75 dollars if I didn't want them to notify my home state!!!
The judge said this right outloud in court, with a microphone and
speakers so that everyone in the room could hear it. For 15 dollars,
we'll cover up what you did, so you don't get into any trouble back in
your home state, like points maybe. They made a similar offer to
anyone from out of state, although I was only the first or second like
that so far that morning.
Does this seem proper to any of you? Saying they will tell the DMV
in your home state if you don't pay extra.
I think it was damn nice of him.
Dick
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