Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely, Even On The City Level
Posted by Michelle Moquin on March 9th, 2009
Ah…we all get a little lazy when we drive. I’ve rolled through a few stop signs in my time…in a rush of course…what do they call that? Oh yeah, ‘The California Stop’. Thankfully…knock on wood…I have not had a moving violation in years. In fact, this year I was lucky enough to renew my driver’s license by mail.
Then I saw the below article and the story made me want to just be a little bit more careful when driving. These days, moving violations are a heavy ticket. Talk about how power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, on the city level. Check this out. I know exactly where this took place, as I drive this street every so often.
Like a lot of California drivers, Dave Soss just got a $490 lesson on how the state budget really works.
It all began when Soss, who lives in the East Bay, was ticketed Feb. 1 for rolling through a red light while making a right turn in Emeryville – and was hit with what he called a “mind-blowing” penalty.
For starters, there was the $100 base fine. Most of that goes to Emeryville, and the leftovers go to Alameda County.
Then comes the real hit:
– A $100 state penalty – $70 of which is divvied up among a dozen programs, including crime-victim restitution, witness protection, a Department of Fish and Game preservation fund and even a fund for victims of traumatic brain injuries. The other $30 goes to the county’s general fund.
– A $70 county penalty that goes for automated fingerprint identification, court and jail construction and other programs.
– A $20 penalty for a state DNA crime evidence collection program.
– A $55 fee for more court construction.
– A $20 assessment for the county’s emergency medical system.
– A $20 court security fee to pay for all those deputies and screening devices at the county’s courthouses.
– And a $20 surcharge that goes straight into the state’s general fund.
But wait – there’s more, including:
– A brand new, $35 assessment that the Legislature approved last fall to help cover $5 billion in revenue bonds for even more courthouse construction – a program pushed by then-state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata.
– A $1 night court fee.
– And finally, a $49 fee for the privilege of signing up for traffic school. (More than half that fee was just added – again, to pay for Perata’s pet courthouse renovations.)
Add it all up, and our red-light runner – whose infraction was caught on camera – is out $490.
Sticker-shocked Soss pondered community service to help pay it off. But he was told that would make him ineligible for traffic school – a course costing him another $15 online – which he needs to keep his record clean and his auto insurance from going up.
Of course, with ever-increasing numbers caught in the ticketing squeeze, courts now have an option to collect from errant motorists on the installment plan. Or allow them to defer payment.
With a $30 penalty fee, of course.
Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross SF Chronicle, Monday, March 2, 2009
So, did I save you $490 bucks? Let me tell you, there are plenty of things I would rather spend money on than a stupid mistake from being a lazy driver. Roll a red, fork over the green. The last thing I want to do is fork over green…especially that much green and to the city no less. No thanks.
This story also reminds me of a time that I had my car stolen about 15 years ago. I called the police department to report it and of course they went looking for it. When they found it, (it just so happens that the car was found about two blocks away) they towed it to the nearest station. And guess what? I had to pay for the towing and storage which was over $250.00. Couldn’t they have just called me and let me know where it was? I could’ve walked to it and drove it off myself. No, they had it towed and I had to go through the hassle of taking a cab to the station and forking over the green. I was pissed. Once again…’absolute power…’
The funny thing is, I had the same car stolen again a few years later. And instead of calling the police I decided to look for it myself first, and avoid the hassle, as well as the added green expense. I remember thinking, ‘The last time this car got stolen, it was around the corner. Maybe this time it will be around the corner too.’ To my delighted surprise, it was. And, perfect timing, it was parked in front of two driveways and the owner of one of them was just about to call to have it towed. I apologized, jumped in my car and left.
And since were on the subject of ‘absolute power on the city level’, maybe I can save you 50 bucks too. Let me warn you that city meters are not timed correctly either. I tested it more than once to see if my ‘watch minutes’ were the same as the ‘meter minutes’. Ha! They weren’t. The ‘meter minutes’ ran fast and depending how much time you put on the meter, could be the difference between you getting back to your car before the time runs out and you getting a ticket. The city is ripping us off. Test it yourself in your area. Forwarned is forearmed. My suggestion? Put the power and the green back into your own pocket. ALWAYS add on more time than you need. $0.25 cents for 5 more minutes could save you 50 bucks!
Happy Monday everyone – It is a beauty today.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: Your Bad Ass Bitch Editor
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March 9th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Oakland’s city government is just getting rave reviews these days, eh?. Did you hear the one about the two councilwomen fighting over the free parking spot in front of city hall. No it’s not a joke, unfortunately. The attorney’s ofice had to get involved for legal opinion resolving nothing at who knows what cost. What an embarassment these knuckleheads make of themselves.
March 9th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Hi Mischa, just read yesterdays entry and LOL, I really need to come out of my shell, don’t I? And using my real name to boot, hahaha, listen I may start logging in as ‘Jessica’ if I want to give a rebuttal something Zen Lill says, it’s my favorite name. Or maybe I’ll use: Elke Beemer, my porn star name (pet’s name and car)…hahaha…good one.
I’ve only had one moving violations ticket and when I got pulled over for going 110 I said, I thought I was going with the flow of traffic officer, he looked at me laughed and said, ‘you left the traffic behind long ago’ but he only write me up for 85 so I wouldn’t get the steeper fine. Nice cop who was unconcerned about revenue for Santa Rosa…
Sent you an e-mail just a few minutes ago re: letters, going to work on iTunes CD now, all that talk about love-making music last week got me going compiling a list. I’ll send you a copy ; )
Ciao, Luv, Zen Lill
March 9th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Michelle
You are so right about these municipalities. They use their power to fleece their citizens. The law is just a legal club to mug you with.
Tucker
March 10th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Well, BABE.. If I were to pick a pseudonym for someone I admire, it could easily be “Michelle” because I do admire you and I have told you emphatically how impressed I am with your blog. I haven’t taken the time to read it in at least a week, probably more, actually; I shouldn’t admit that, but read your post of today and about the shy and intimidating commenting on your blog. I appreciated that one!! (Will that give me away?) Anyway, my pseudonym is one I have used on the Internet already and I kind of like it. As for those traffic tickets, I just spent time myself at traffic school. It is quite a system they have going. My $389 speeding ticket included a $59 charge for traffic school which took place on an evening at the courthouse with probably 10 courtrooms filled with violators, all having paid ridiculous fees for the privilege of sitting like herd listened to someone trying to be funny to ease the experience of an EST type atmosphere. I imagine all of these fees will continue to go up, as our beautiful state and cities look for ways to increase their revenue. And let’s not talk about police response or assistance. I would be ticked off too if I had to pay $250 after my car was stolen. My house was burglarized, oh 5 years ago and it took the police 2 days to come out and finger print and investigate. Two days that I had to leave the mess untouched so the police could get a clean crime scene!!! And, did anything come of it??? NOPE…
~meleea D