Law enforcement isn't just about the protecting and serving the public anymore, it's a revenue maker for the city or whatever jurisdiction they are in. That's not a big secret these days. Don't cloud that capitalistic fact with common sense that the city decides to enforce. Of course you are better off having a seat belt (or a helmet on when driving motorcycle) when you happen to get in an accident. I'm not putting a seat belt on to avoid a ticket, I'm putting it on to avoid flying through the windshield if I get in an accident.
I get what you're saying but people who don't wear seatbelts will only put it on if they see a cop near and as soon as that cop is not on the same road with them they will take it back off again.
Why do people NOT wear seatbelts? This is mindboggling to me. What, a gesture of defiance? Sticking it to The Man and the System? It's like choosing to eat donkey excrement for breakfast.
I don't get the point of having to wear seatbelts in the back seat. I don't think cops wear seatbelts.
Tell you what...fight the man and wear your seat belt. You do that and their plot to fleece you of your money unravels. That'll show 'em. That...and you may live longer.
If its just a money grab, why spend millions of dollars on the Click-It-Or-Ticket campaign? All it does is cost money and reduce their revenue base if people actually start wearing seatbelts. If they truly want to make money, they should stop advertising and just ticket more people.
Of course they do!! I see them using their seatbelts while they surf the net doing 80mph in their squad car all the time!! Sheesh!! Safety first you know!
Justification, of course. You can't keep on doing something like this without the support of the public. Image such a campaign in the 60's 80's. There'd be mass outrage. I'm not against forcing seat belts, but there's a point when you know it's an obvious money grab. I mean, 25 dollars to 125 dollars when cities are hurting for money? I was talking to a cop of a small town along a long stretch of highway. He told me that their court house was built off ticket citations alone. If they stop issuing ticket's, they'd have to shut down half their police force. When there's a momentary incentive to issue ticket's, it's a conflict of interest and the crime no longer fits the punishment. It's just not ethically right.
You have to make it hurt before people take it seriously. A $25 fine is nothing. The event of being pulled over for a traffic offense is more scarring than the fine itself in addition to the loss of time. A $125 fine, on the other hand, is enough to make it hurt and have the driver want to prevent further violations.
Why do they need justification? They don't run campaigns about speeding or making illegal left turns or using cell phones in school zones, and they still manage to give tickets for all those things. If they are generating a lot of money from it, that means the fine wasn't enough to shift behavior - so maybe it was needing to go up to be effective? I'd be curious to see the stats on how many people get ticketed for this by year to see if there's any correlation to the amount of the fine and how many people aren't wearing seat belts. Why? Unless they are making up tickets and fining people who aren't guilty, I don't an ethical dilemma. It seems that the monetary need aligns the incentives of the officers with that of the department, and simply encourages the officers to actually do their jobs and ticket people who are violating the law. If there was no monetary connection, cops would have no incentive to actually enforce the laws.
Billy Bob said it, justification. That and maybe stopping an avoidable fatality. Resources are spent on those also. I should correct myself in saying that law enforcement is a revenue maker in addition to protecting and serving. Some of them still try to do their job, but these days some try to pad the bill in the name of self preservation. It's a vicious cycle, if the city isn't making enough money, then they will cut back on budget. If that cutting back reaches the police force, then there will be less cops. Less cops, more crime. More crime, more outraged citizens asking why the city isn't doing anything.
That sounds good in theory, but I incline to think, in the case of seat belts, 25 dollars is just the right balance of personal freedom and public awareness. Anything over that is just a money grab. If they wanted to make a real effort, the cities could force violators to take a day long course paid by the millions they're spending on advertisements. That would be MUCH more of a deterrent. BTW. Right now, using a phone is only a 20 dollar violation. Look for it to shoot up to over a hundred soon.
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This is strange to me. Maybe I'm a little idealistic, but if I were to be forced a law because of a monetary need, it wouldn't be an incentive to me. Think of it this way, if I were a cop and I was told to give a ticket to everyone going 1 miles over the speed limit, I would know it's just a money grab and not be happy about it.
This is what boggles my mind. How the hell does wearing a seat belt in the back seat supposed to protect you in an accident? there's a huge ass seat in front of you that you will collide with in case of a head on collision, so the seat belt is utterly useless. You're not going to lunch through the windshield, you will be protected by the seat in front of you. It's nothing more than a revenue booster. Just like red light cameras and various other unnecessary laws that are enforced strictly to turn a profit. Truly saddening and disgusting.
I guess my biggest problem with this, is that tickets are factored in as a necessity in city's budgets. I don't blame cops as they have a minimum role in policy making. I blame the system. We are essentially overpaying past the point of what is a deterrent and what solely fund raising. That's just ethically wrong IMHO. Until the system changes, and cities no longer need tickets, then we'll know the exact price that's needed to deter seat and other types of violators. Idealistic, I know.
Note: it may not even be a monetary value. I'm thinking people value, like community service or classes.
