Traffic laws

[Amnesiac]

My mom got a ticket for running a badly placed stop sign today, and that got me thinking about traffic laws and how strictly they're enforced. It seems increasingly obvious that the increased enforcement of traffic laws is more about the money collected from tickets rather than safety in general. For example: every year, Houston installs more and more red light cameras across the city, and the income from traffic tickets spikes.

I mean, I understand the point of traffic laws is to keep the roads safe, but should one really get a ticket for running a slightly out-of-view stop sign in an area with no traffic?

Do the big cities just want more money from us, or are they really trying to keep roads safe?

[Commander Thor]

A camera doesn't make an intersection any safer.
In fact, I've seen more accidents because of the cameras installed here.
People slamming on their brakes because they're afraid of getting a ticket, then they're rear-ended because the guy behind them wasn't expecting the sudden stop.

It's purely for money.

If the stop sign is hard to see, you shouldn't get a ticket from it, especially if the cop knows it's hard to see.
There's a stop sign around here that's all but blocked from view by overgrown trees, and there's ALWAYS a cop sitting there, waiting for someone who doesn't know there's supposed to be a stop sign there.

The cities want money. Easiest way to get money for a city is to ticket the population. Because there's no way the citizens would vote for any sort of tax increase.

[Amnesiac]

A camera doesn't make an intersection any safer.
In fact, I've seen more accidents because of the cameras installed here.
People slamming on their brakes because they're afraid of getting a ticket, then they're rear-ended because the guy behind them wasn't expecting the sudden stop.

It's purely for money.

If the stop sign is hard to see, you shouldn't get a ticket from it, especially if the cop knows it's hard to see.
There's a stop sign around here that's all but blocked from view by overgrown trees, and there's ALWAYS a cop sitting there, waiting for someone who doesn't know there's supposed to be a stop sign there.

The cities want money. Easiest way to get money for a city is to ticket the population. Because there's no way the citizens would vote for any sort of tax increase.

Yeah, there's been plenty of debate for the past year here in Houston over whether the red light cameras actually do anything to make the intersections they're installed at safer. Apparently, the city has made $24 million off of traffic fines (http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/101438904.html?storySection=story) through the cameras.

I saw the stop sign, it was put in at an angle where it didn't reflect light when driving up to the intersection.

I don't like what the cities are doing with traffic laws, it should be stopped. This isn't promoting safety, it's just greediness.

[mrmcdonaldduck]

HA, In Australia, there are cameras EVERYWHERE. They dont do anything to stop people speeding, and as far as im concerned, end up being more trouble then they are worth. If you want to stop people speeding, set up traffic lights that turn red once people reach a certain speed, and if they go through those red lights, then fine them

[Zephyr]

Traffic laws are there for your safety, not just for money. Money penalties are a great way of keeping people in line, gives them more incentive for following traffic laws. Some ticket prices are outrageous, but there are base fines set for different types of violations. In my experience, if you have a good reason as to why you disobeyed a certain law, you won't get ticketed. Likewise, I've been unlawfully ticketed before just because the cop wanted to put somebody at fault, I contested the charge, got my money back and record cleared.