It's a sunny afternoon, and you're cruising down the avenue. The top's down, you're soaking in the sunlight, and you don't care how fast your convertible is zooming down the street. You're too enraptured by whatever CD you've got in your sound system to notice a small sign as you're passing by. Suddenly, your Cobra Electronics device you just installed starts flashing and verbally warns you of a speed/redlight camera at the upcoming intersection. You look at the spedometer, and tone it down to a legal speed. You come to a full and complete stop at the red light. It turns green, and you accelerate once more as you drive on to your significant other's pad for some lovin'. All's well that ends well - no ticket for you, and no life-threatening crashes or injuries all around. What could be wrong with this picture?
Alderman Burke wants that device banned.
Because he'd rather have you endangering your safety and the safety of others than risk missing out on an opportunity to ticket you $90.
There's no doubt about it - Burke claims that the cameras used to ticket redlight-runners and speed-demons are just a way for the city to profit. "That is why all these cameras are being installed. ... The reality is that people blow through these intersections and they are going to be caught and they are going to be fined. It has become a big revenue source, absolutely," said Burke. In fact, he went on to say that these tickets are "budgeted in our annual appropriation ordinance" - that the government is DEPENDING on people to disobey the law.
"I don't think the [city's] goal is to allow the motorist to subvert the system that we are spending so much money on," Burke said. I don't know how much it takes to install the cameras or the costs to keep them monitoring and cranking out the tickets, but last year the cameras profited the city $19.8 million in total. At $90 a ticket, that's 220,000 tickets for the year, which is an average of 603 each day (or 25 per hour). Every hour, those cameras are netting $2,250 for the city - and they're complaining about how much they're SPENDING on the cameras?
As for "subverting the system" - is Burke suggesting that a system being utilized to alert drivers of an upcoming camera and possible ticket is the crime? That people being warned of getting caught for reckless driving is what's bringing down the cashflow system of the red-light cameras??
Hey Alderman Douchebag! Every single ticketing camera has a SIGN to WARN drivers!
The only difference between the current system and the Cobra Electronics device is that one is a small sign that many fail to notice before it's too late (if at all), and one is a few more bells and whistles going off to further alert the driver to slow down and play it safe or the camera will be issuing a ticket. Both do the exact same thing - warn the driver to slow down and obey the rules, because a camera is watching and will automatically ticket you. The only difference is the degree.
And if banning a product because it does a BETTER job than the GOVERNMENT of keeping drivers SAFE makes any sense to you - apparently you could be a douchebag alderman for the Chicago City Council like Burke.
VOTE AARON SAMUELS FOR ALDERMAN IN 2011! A VOTE FOR SANITY!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Why is it okay to speed illegally and endanger people but NOT to work and support your family????
Make sense, man.
Get more lovin and grow some.
Okay??
Did you even read the fucking article?
I said that it's NOT okay to speed illegally and endanger people. That's why I'm all in favor of a radar that adds to the number of people slowing down and obeying the traffic laws. That's why I'm against the city official who wants to ban a perfectly legal device that's helping to save lives.
Lives that can be saved, so those people can survive the commute to work and back home to their family.
Don't try to turn a post about corrupt city officials and traffic laws into something about illegal immigration, which again doesn't even enter into this issue.
Especially don't try to turn a post into something it's not without even reading the fucking post in the first place.
Burke is corrupt, a liar, and a thief. He is senile. He has Pete Andrews run around and shake people down for money and if they don't pay, Burke shits all over them. He comes around to our gas station in his ward and regularly shakes us down. His corruption is legendary and it never makes any sense to me why people don't boot him out or why the feds don't lock him up.
Post a Comment