Speeding tickets are meant to financially penalize the offender. So, as the Associated Press reports, some European countries are raising ticket fines in proportion to the incomes of their wealthiest speeders. After all, a mere $100 fine is hardly worth slowing down for. A Swiss court recently fined a well known multimillionaire “traffic thug” $290,000 for speeding. [%comments]
A Speeding Ticket to Avoid
TAGS: incentives
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Great idea! We should implement it for offenses punishable by a fine. Show up with your tax return and checkbook, penalties should hurt regardless of how rich you are. As the parable of the poor widow illustrates, charity and fines are easy as long as they don’t affect your lifestyle.
Making the fine proportional to wealth might be reasonable for repeat offender “traffic thugs” who think their wealth gives them a privilege to bad behavior, but on a first offense it’s nothing more than a wealth redistribution scheme by the overlords.
This story reminded me of a bit Chris Rock did a while ago. He said that we need “bullet control,” not gun control. That every bullet should cost $5,000 and it would reduce the number of innocent bystanders shot. Funny idea. Not a bad one either.
Good idea. Why bother with niceties like the equal protection clause of the constitution.
That’s a nice read, but it’ll never happen in the U.S.A. thanks to the Constitution which protects its citizens against excessive fines. If I remember correctly it’s in the 8th amendment as well as stated elsewhere.
Why not have a punishment that is the same across the board and hurts equally to everyone. Something not monetary. Driving school…or something like that.
> equal protection clause
… I’m no lawyer, but it sounds MORE equal to make the fine proportional to wealth or lack thereof.
Wouldn’t this be a subsidy for low-income law breakers? Might create a situation where a person can barely afford to drive but can easily afford the traffic ticket.