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Re: Repeal of the National Speed Limit Law



"That is a good point however the cops issue tons of speeding tickets so
it all evens out. You point is flawed.  While what you say is true the
fact is speeding is EAZY to enforce.  Littering is VERY difficult to
inforse so not very many tickets or handed out. The idea that the
goverment has nothing to lose is a misconception.  The goverment has a lot
to lose in revenue."

It doesn't quite even out. Here in California the counties actually owe
the state money for not writing enough tickets for DUI and speed - their
stated two biggest reasons for accidents. So they are already losing
revenue. They could make up for it by increasing fines, but they don't.
Littering is just one example of the more expensive fines. As a matter of
fact, all CVC fines are greater than or equal to speeding tickets. The cut
and paste didn't go too well, but you can tab this out in a word processor
to get the full effect, or drop it into a spreadsheet like I did and chart
the fines as I did and SEE that speeding is the cheepest catagory of fines
you can get in your car. 

CVC code Offense 1st violation 2nd violation in year 3rd violation in year
42000 felony $1000 to 10000 - -
42000.1 100 MPH+ no more than $500 - -
42000.5 speeding semi no more than $100 no more than $300 -
42001 infractions (speeding, etc.) no more than $100 no more than $200 no
more than $250
42001.1 intersections $50 to 100 $100 to 200 $250 to 500
42001.2 exhaust standards $100 to 250 - -
42001.3a driving logs no more than $500 - -
42001.3b driving logs $500 to 1000 - -
42001.5 handicapped parking no less than $250 - -
42001.7 littering $100 to 1000 $500 to 1000 $750 to 1000
42001.8 unregistered vehicle $50 to 250 - -
42001.11 carpool lane $100 to 150 $150 to 200 $250 to 500
42001.12 move right for code-3 vehicle $100 to 250 $150 to 500 $250 to 500
42002 general misdemeanors no more than $1000 - -

If they wanted easy money they could drive around code-3 and fine anyone
who didn't pull over and make more money easier than waiting for speeders.
That happens all the time. Not to mention the fact that they could drag it
out into a felony pursuit for even more bucks. What about fining vehicals
with expired registrations? The tags on the plate are color coded to make
expired tags stick out. That's another easy money maker not taken
advantage of. Not to mention that it would take ten speeding tickets to
make up for one littering ticket if taken for the maxiumum fine (given the
revenue conspiracy theory that is so popular).

"You should see the 20/20 article on how misleading satistics are used 
every day in congress."
followed closely by:
"A 7 year study that the goverment spent 1/2 million dollars on disproved
that very statement."

Let us not forget 20/20's fine and public apology for skewing tests on
it's show and how these two statements tend to be contradictory. Perhaps
you're playing with the "Good Government, Bad Government" scenario that
started with police shows as the "good cop, bad cop" act? But let's go on
and say that these are both true statements.

"...and the Report "Effects of Raising And Lowering Speed Limits" proves
it.  You can read the findings of the report at
http:///www.clark.net/pub/kevina/sl/sl-irrel.html."

Hopefully this article was originally published in a scientific journal
before being published on the net. The scientific community has recently
announced that they will not pre-publish articles on the net due to it's
overall lack of credibility in the articles available therin. before being
published in a journal and article undergoes reviews by members of the
scientific community to check for errors and avoid the type of
uncredibility that the net tends to have. (ever see "Make Money FAST!" ?)

"You broke a law but you did't necessary do wrong."

You knew the law and broke it. That is wrong.

Same argument is used by everybody who gets caught doing something against
the rules. Rules are the glue that hold us together as a nation and keeps
us from the anarchy some are working twords. If there are rules you don't
agree with, you can get them changed by getting them on the ballot and
stating your points in an open forum. This is exactly what the government
is doing now. Even if it all passes at the federal level, it will still be
up to the states to set the speed limits. Even if they change the speed
limits to 100 MPH there will be a minority of people who complain that
they are too restrictive and will go over them. It is human nature. It's
not the speed limit per se, its speeding in general.

"The slogen "speed kills" is a big misconception that almost every one
belives but the NMA and the few intelligent non-NMA members out there."

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The only ones who find speed to
be a non-contributing factor are those who have their own agendas like
selling books or creating lobbying groups and are not held accountable for
anything. They are arguing by throwing studies and political posturing in
the face of basic physics. Increasing speed directly increases stopping
distance and shortens reaction times. That is the bottom line.


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