Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
I've never understood this, if they take away a persons license, aren't they just going to keep driving without one? You can't possibly bum rides from people reliably enough to keep a job.
In Texas we already have lots of people driving without licenses (DUI offenders, illegals, and others). The best part for them is that when they inevitably hit you they suffer almost no consequences. They won't have insurance, of course, either. My ex-wife and brother were both hit by drivers who had no licenses nor insurance.
As far as speeding tickets go, of course its a moneymaker! If you're lucky, your city allows you to ask for deferred adjudication on your own. If you have a clean record you pay the fine (which, in Texas is expensive), stay clean for 90 days, and it's done. If the city doesn't offer that "convenience" you pay a few bucks to a lawyer that can do it for you. I have Hyatt Legal Services through my employer so the lawyer part doesn't cost any additional fees. Both times I used it I was legitimately speeding - on a highway on which I am often one of the slowest drivers. It's the luck of the draw in arbitrary enforcement that does SQUAT for improving safety. The law's the law and I guess, if we don't like it we have to vote to change it. It's always been interesting to me that the same roads that once had 55 MPH speed limits now have 75 MPH limits, more traffic, and yet don't seem to be any more dangerous based upon accident statistics. In this state, if you are a small town along a busy intrastate commuter route speeding fines can be a huge windfall. You'll notice very expensive police vehicles in otherwise podunk towns.
I've never understood this, if they take away a persons license, aren't they just going to keep driving without one? You can't possibly bum rides from people reliably enough to keep a job.
In Texas we already have lots of people driving without licenses (DUI offenders, illegals, and others). The best part for them is that when they inevitably hit you they suffer almost no consequences. They won't have insurance, of course, either. My ex-wife and brother were both hit by drivers who had no licenses nor insurance.
As far as speeding tickets go, of course its a moneymaker! If you're lucky, your city allows you to ask for deferred adjudication on your own. If you have a clean record you pay the fine (which, in Texas is expensive), stay clean for 90 days, and it's done. If the city doesn't offer that "convenience" you pay a few bucks to a lawyer that can do it for you. I have Hyatt Legal Services through my employer so the lawyer part doesn't cost any additional fees. Both times I used it I was legitimately speeding - on a highway on which I am often one of the slowest drivers. It's the luck of the draw in arbitrary enforcement that does SQUAT for improving safety. The law's the law and I guess, if we don't like it we have to vote to change it. It's always been interesting to me that the same roads that once had 55 MPH speed limits now have 75 MPH limits, more traffic, and yet don't seem to be any more dangerous based upon accident statistics. In this state, if you are a small town along a busy intrastate commuter route speeding fines can be a huge windfall. You'll notice very expensive police vehicles in otherwise podunk towns.
