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;void(0)) It's a beautiful, crisp autumn morning. It is a little after 7 AM and you are driving along and listening to your favorite morning drive-time radio program. Your thoughts are on the presentation you will be giving this afternoon and you reach over to your black leather briefcase. You reach inside just to make sure you did not forget to bring the folder with the graphs and notes you worked on over the weekend. You smile to yourself and pat the briefcase. You glance to your right and notice the line of signs on the block near Joe's Plumbing Supplies: “Welcome to Blithersburg Population 465”; “No Parking Between 7AM and 7PM”; “SPEED LIMIT 40”; “Customer Parking in the Rear”; “Newark 30 miles”. You see the same signs every morning. You glance on the dashboard to check the time and just as you do so you notice that the speedometer reads 47mph. Just as you tap the break to slow down you see the flashing lights behind you. You hope that they are after someone else. Maybe that guy on the souped up motorcycle that seemed to be doing over 100 a few miles back. Your heart sinks as the lights are now blinding you in the rear view mirror. The squad car is right on your. “Pull over!” An authoritative voice from a loud speaker commands. He had you clocked at 51 miles per hour. You insist that you were doing 45. He tells you that you can challenge it in court if you want to. Everyday in America at least 125,000 American motorists receive speeding citations. 90% of us do not challenge these citations which average about $170 per ticket. There are many inconsistencies that go into the tabulation of these fines but for the average law abiding motorist does not take the time to scrutinize the details. The cost of the ticket may only be the tip of the iceberg for many. Once the auto insurer finds out about the infraction they will raise the insurance premium. If the motorist has more than one infraction within a specified period of time the premium could go up significantly. Many have had their insurance dropped. Driving over the speed limit is clearly hazardous and there must be safeguards put in place to guarantee the safety of pedestrians and other drivers. With the gradual expansion of work hours and domestic responsibilities Americans are driving more and becoming notorious “multi-taskers” while driving. Talking on cell phones, eating and other seemingly harmless distractions have been known to be major catalysts that can turn brief lapses of attention into fatal catastrophies. There is a definite need for us to be more mindful of our driving habits, however, there is some indication that the penalties imposed in some of these cases may be excessive and sometimes arbitrary. There are several cases where there have been disparities shown between the police reported miles per hour over the speed limit and the actual speed. The radar gun has been known to be wrong. We are all aware of the so-called “speed trap” town where fluctuating speed limits within short distances, coupled with overzealous officers lying in wait, have caused quite a few drivers to “take the long route”, rather than risk being ticketed. Perhaps the most disturbing example of the long term effects of speeding tickets on motorists was noted in the infamous 2000 Presidential Election debacle down in Florida. One of the tactics that was alleged to be used by Republican sympathizers was practiced in a rural area just outside of Tallahassee, the state capital. On election day the officers were alleged to have manned check-points close to the voting locations. They were said to be placed there to intimidate the African American town folk – some of whom had so many speeding tickets that their licenses were suspended and were known to be driving illegally – so that they would not go to vote. Some said that they were actually told that if they had their license suspended they were deemed “felons” and were not allowed to vote. Most of the blacks in the town voted Democrat. Many failed to vote out of fear of jail time. There is also some indication that there may be some class distinctions as to how speeding is discouraged. In many affluent areas there are “speed boxes” placed at the side of the road, next to a sign. These devices show how fast a car is going and they serve as a precaution to those that may be unaware of their speed. Another method that has been observed in certain areas is the squad car with flashing lights sitting at the side of the road. This can be observed by motorists from a distance and also serves as a deterrent. What is disturbing is the cameras attached to stop lights and officers hiding behind trees with radar guns. It all smacks too much of the Big Brother syndrome and leads one to wonder if all of that money and energy would be better placed elsewhere. With the Holiday Season approaching it is very important for us all to drive safely and to keep in mind the fact that research is discovering that many accidents occur as a result of lack of rest. We are working longer hours and trying to get too much done in our domestic lives. Traffic tickets and problems related to it have grown into an industry, consisting of everything from radar detectors, and books on how to beat tickets, to videos on driving safety. The question is, are these devices the answer, or are traffic problems part of a social problem that we have been ignoring for too long? Was President Bush correct when he said the Americans are “Addicted to gasoline”. Are we “driving” ourselves to distraction? We'll look into this further in the conclusion of “A Ticket To Ride." Oh yeah, don't forget your autographed copy of “The Ackee Chronicles”. Tony VanSluytman - the Author  Newsletter Directory The Aton Project - Home Page Tony VanSluytman info Tony VanSluytman - the Author | Return Home | The BOOK DOCTOR | The BANYON NETWORK | The Banyon Buzz Newsletters | The Aton Project Newsletters | Contact Us | |
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