America's speeding ticket scam: “Reckless” driving for anyone exceeding any speed limit by more than 20 MPH
credit: ratedradardetector
Story first appeared in ericpetersauto:
Virginia- In my state you can be cited for “reckless” driving for exceeding any speed limit by more than 20 MPH. It sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t – because so many speed limits are preposterously low to begin with. I’ll give you an example: I-581 near Roanoke is (as the “I” plainly concedes) an Interstate highway. It is three lanes each direction and limited access (i.e., no traffic lights – just on and off ramps). Yet it is posted an absolutely ridiculous 55 MPH. Which means, driving a mere 76 MPH is sufficient to draw a “reckless” charge.
Meanwhile, 70 is perfectly legal on adjacent I-81 (which, incidentally, is only two lanes each direction). The same 76 MPH on that road would be – at most – a minor ticket.
However, Virginia has another nasty surprise in store for the unwary: Anything more than 80 on any road, anywhere in the commonwealth is also statutory “reckless” driving.
79 MPH – just a ticket.
81 – “reckless.”
This is no ordinary mail-in-the-fine-and-be-done-with-it ticket, either.
The cop can, at his discretion, arrest you on the spot and cart you off to the clink (and have your vehicle towed to an impound lot at your expense).
Usually, that does not happen – probably because the cops themselves know these “reckless” tickets are grotesque perversions of language. However, what will happen is you’ll be issued a piece of paper ordering you to appear at court (not optional) on such-and-such a date, where – if convicted – you’ll be slapped with six DMV demerit points (vs. the usual speeding ticket’s three or four) a huge fine (several hundred bucks, at least) a likely suspension of your “privilege” to drive – and the absolute certainty that your government-mandated insurance premiums will double for the next several years at least. Obviously, hiring a lawyer to game the system is essential.
But either way, you will pay.
Best case, you’ll avoid the conviction – but there’s no avoiding the lawyer’s fee. $700-$1,000 or so is the going rate. Worst case, you’ll be convicted. Which means in addition to the lawyer’s fee – which you’ll pay regardless - you’ll also pay the fines levied by the court, as well as the jacked-up insurance rates for years to come.
The total cost if convicted of “reckless” driving can easily amount to thousands of dollars.
Traffic tickets are a multi-billion industry. They have virtually nothing to do with highway safety, but they have everything to do with money.
No one knows how many traffic tickets are actually issued. Many local units of government deliberately hide this information so they don’t have to split their traffic ticket revenue with the state. Not including parking tickets, we can estimate that somewhere between 25 and 50 million traffic tickets are issued each year. Assuming an average ticket cost of $150.00, the total up front profit from tickets ranges from 3.75 to 7.5 billion dollars.
If just half of these tickets result in insurance surcharges (typically at least $300 over a period of three years), you can add another 3.75 to 7.5 billion dollars in profit for insurance companies.
The last sentence should read "... which means adding somewhere around 15 billion dollars in profit for insurance companies." since, obviously, 50 million tickets multiplied by $300 per ticket insurance company surcharges equals 15 billion.
This is why insurance companies “care” so much traffic “safety” programs and are willing to donate millions of dollars worth of radar and laser guns to the police. For them, it’s simple: more tickets equal more money!
The total "take" by local governments and insurance companies is at least 22.5 billion annually.
Independent research into this subject indicates that the "take" is considerably larger since court processing fees were not taken into account, since the majority of drivers who are ticketed are younger drivers in the 18 to 30 age group, and since base insurance premiums are significantly higher for these younger drivers. My calculations conservatively estimate that speeding tickets generate 35 billion in revenue for municipalities and insurance companies every single year.
http://ericpetersautos.com/2013/07/14/theyre-making-it-worth-running/
http://blog.motorists.org/traffic-tickets-are-big-business/
9 companies that profit when you get a ticket:
http://www.fatwallet.com/blog/9-companies-that-profit-when-you-get-a-ticket/
Afraid of refunds, Washington, DC and Salisbury, Maryland conceal evidence that could reveal speed camera inaccuracies
The firms operating red light cameras and speed cameras in the District of Columbia and Maryland are working to suppress evidence that could be used to prove the innocence of a photo enforcement ticket recipient. In Washington, the Arizona-based vendor American Traffic Solutions has repositioned cameras and cropped photos so that it is impossible to determine whether another object or vehicle happens to be within the radar unit's field of view.
The change is important since DC hearing adjudicators have been throwing out citations whenever another vehicle was visible, creating the possibility of a spurious radar reading (view ruling). The cropping also makes it extremely difficult to use pavement lines to perform a secondary check of the speed estimate provided by the radar. Lines painted on the road for this purpose are visible in one photo, but not the other (view first photo, view second photo). No video is provided to the vehicle owner.
The District has also recently been installing next-generation speed cameras that use infrared light instead of a visible flash when photographing vehicles. This means drivers will have no way of knowing whether they will receive a ticket until weeks after the alleged violation.
In Salisbury, Maryland, the city and its private speed camera contractor Brekford are working together to prevent the Maryland Drivers Alliance from confirming whether the photo enforcement program is in compliance with state law. There is good reason to believe it is not, as other towns that allow Brekford to issue tickets, including Greenbelt and Hagerstown, have been forced to refund illegally issued citations.
At issue is whether Brekford's cameras were properly certified under Maryland Code Section 21-809, which requires testing on an annual basis by an independent lab. The law states that the results of such testing "shall be kept on file" along with a daily setup log. The Maryland-based motoring rights group simply asked for a copy of the file. The city and camera company now insist that the group must pay $535 to the speed camera contractor for the calibration certificates and logs that the municipality is required to keep on file. These are documents that the State Highway Administration makes freely available on its website.
"In regards to this request, it is anticipated to take six total hours to gather and assemble the requested documents," Brekford wrote in a July 16 letter to the Salisbury police chief. "The first two hours will be provided without charge, however the addition four hours shall be charged at the rate of $75.00 per hour. An additional $235.00 will be charged for the copying and mailing services rendered in providing the requested information. Additionally, Brekford does not release or provide technical specifications on any of our camera systems."
The city also delayed responding to the request for thirty days, which the motorist group says is one of many violations of the state's public records laws. The refusal to provide basic specifications regarding the camera's operation is also raising eyebrows.
"Basically they are saying the public is just supposed to 'trust us' when Brekford says their equipment is reliable, since they are withholding all documents which describe the technology," said Ron Ely, the Maryland Drivers Alliance chairman.
http://thenewspaper.com/news/41/4167.asp
Source: Response to Mayland Public Information Request
