Road Reality » fine

Oops! Baltimore, MD Sends out Erroneous Red-light Tickets

John Suit — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 17:00:54 +0000

Red light and speed cameras are almost universally hated by drivers in our country, and some fight their tickets in court. If you live in Baltimore, MD and have gotten a red light camera ticket lately, you may have a good shot of beating it in court.

Many motorists see the cameras as revenue generators for whatever city they are installed in. City officials like to say that the cameras cut down on accidents and speeding. The rules behind the tickets include having a city police officer review each picture and sign the citation.

While that’s all well and good, almost 2,000 citations have been mailed out with a deceased officer’s name signed to them. City officials say that their internal copies have the signature of the actual officer who reviewed the cases, but that drivers accidentally got the wrong signature on theirs.

I don’t believe what the officials are saying, and it sounds like the citations are simply being approved without review. The Baltimore City courts will have to sort it all out.

by John Suit

Source: WBAL

UPDATE: Swedish speeder fined $1,014,585

John Suit — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:45:57 +0000

In an update to a story I wrote about earlier this week, the Swedish government has handed down “300 days of fines”, or £2,166 daily, for a total of £650,000. Translated into USD, that amounts to $1,014,585. And remember, this is based on his speed and income! Also featured in the update: the model of the Mercedes the 37-year old driver was piloting; the brand new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, pictured above, which I wrote about before.

by John Suit

Source: The Guardian, thanks for the tip JJ!

Swedish Speeder could face $962,000 fine

John Suit — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 23:00:17 +0000

A 37-year old Swedish driver, who has remained unnamed, was caught speeding in his “black Mercedes-Benz”, which cost $240,000, at 180 mph. This points me in the direction of the new SL65 AMG, which retails at around $200,000 USD. According to officials, that could be a record for the country, and the driver faces a fine of up to $1 million Swiss francs, or $962,000 USD, based on the Swedish government’s formula which fines speeders based on their speed and income level.

While older speeding cameras in Sweden only work up to 125 mph; anything faster than that doesn’t record a violation, the speeder drove past one of the newer cameras, which work in excess of 125 mph. After the flash, the driver apparently needed over a half mile of roadway before he could come to a stop, although he claims that the speedometer was faulty.

by John Suit

Source: MSNBC Europe

NHTSA and DOT fining Toyota $16 million

John Suit — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:00:52 +0000

Remember that possible $16.4-million dollar fine that Toyota might possibly have to pay? The NHTSA and DOT are reporting that they’re going to fine Toyota the full amount, for knowing about the danger posed to millions of drivers for months before telling federal investigators and announcing the recall. The NHTSA says its still investigating Toyota to determine if more fines will be levied or not. According to AutoBlog, Toyota has 2 weeks to accept the fine and pay up, or contest it. This is the largest fine ever given to an automaker.

DOT Bans texting for Commercial drivers

John Suit — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:08:55 +0000

A lot of states have begun banning texting for drivers, and some go as far as fining drivers who aren’t using a hands-free device, such as Bluetooth, to make and receive their calls. A study by Virginia Tech Researchers found that drivers who are distracted by cell phones and other devices are 23 times more likely to crash than those who pay attention to the road.

This ban also affects interstate bus drivers and anyone else operating a commercial vehicle with more than 8 passengers, not just truck drivers. So what’s the deterrent? How about a fine of up to $2,750? That’s quite a bit more than the $250 or $500 fine imposed by some states on drivers, and given the number of independent truck drivers, that gives drivers quite the financial incentive to comply with the ban.

While I think it’s a good rule to have, there is a glaring problem with it concerning truck drivers: the cabs of their trucks are so high off the road that it would be difficult for law enforcement officials to enforce the ban. They could pull the phone records for the driver after an accident, but by then it’s too late, and damage to people or property has already been done.

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by John Suit

Source: Department of Transportation via AutoBlog