Ok we have all said it before or at the very least we have heard someone say it…. “TRAFFIC FINES ARE SIMPLY REVENUE RAISING”

I was visiting my in-laws over the Easter Weekend and my father in-law had been hit with a fine for going through a red light. According to my father in-law he might have gone through on amber and it may have been red before he got through the intersection, but he felt that it was near on impossible for him to stop, hence he went through and the camera got him.

Knowing my father in-law as l do….. he is no”Rev Head” nor is he a hoon or any other name for a irresponsible driver. He has driven for all of his life and has a very clean driving record (Apart from a couple traffic infringements)

The actual penalty was $361 and there are 2 x points l wish to make.

The first being the mere fact that $361 is close to 2 x days pay for the average Joe…. So to think that being a fraction of a second late in crossing the intersection could result in you doing 2 x days work in order to pay the fine for being a micro second late in crossing the intersection. It does seem quite unjust. Ok l can understand a huge fine if you were deliberately driving through a very red light and may have put other road users safety at risk, but being a micro second behind the lights going from amber to red is hardly as serious as the offense listed in my second point.

Considering that one could Fail to obey one-way or no entry sign and expect to get a fine in the order of $289 or even Fail to obey no overtaking or passing or no overtaking on bridge sign and cop a fine of $289, it does seem like the slightly less serious offense of driving through a red light is being dealt much harder… or could it be that the infringement itself was “MEANT TO TARGET DELIBERATE & INTENTIONAL DRIVING THROUGH RED LIGHTS” ???
It is ludicrous that we live in a society that penalises people for the most minor of errors or over sites. To think that my father in-law has to pay $361 for getting through an intersection “SAFELY” but not before being snapped by a red light camera.

The government is supposed to govern for the people, BUT ARE THEY ? We all understand that we do need road laws to help keep us safe and penalties to help ensure people do follow the rules and regulations, but when the fine is equivalent to almost 2 x days pay it does seem that our governments are not really governing for the people, instead they are just cooking up ways of hitting those who can least afford it for more and more money.

For those who an not afford to pay the fines…….. Our wonderful government seems to think that sending the sheriff around is the way to go……. No wonder so many people are battling and seem disillusioned by our governments these days.