01.11.07

Guess who got a $200 speeding ticket via a photo radar trap? Yep. Well, me and three other people; so Beaverton's making $800 at least. A bit of a shock, as I've not had a moving violation in about 20 years.

There are several things that chap my hide about this. The trap is on a four-lane road in the middle of a commercial district. The trap is after an abrupt drop in the speed limit, on a road designed to handle higher speeds.

Here's another thing; $200 is about a third of my monthly take-home pay. Do you think some cell-phone-talking, SUV-driving, six-figure-job having, SOB is going to be charged a third of their monthly salary? Nope.

If the fines are meant to be punitive rather than cash cows, I think that traffic fines should be tied to the offenders' salaries. However, I strongly suspect that the photo radar traps are a boon to local revenues despite all the smoke blown up our asses about public safety.

Colour me grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

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