IT's scam because everything they do is to maximize revenue, while (mostly) ignoring public safety. Speed limits are too low, are arbitrarily enforced and enforcement is concentrated on interstates but ignored in more dangerous areas, like city streets where pedestrian safety is a concern. How is pleading down a moving violation down to a parking violation so that the town doesn't have to share the fine with the State not a scam? Traffic enforcement is supposed to be about getting unsafe drivers off the road, but you can't identify them if you plead them all down.
Several years ago, due to various circumstances, I had 4 pending speeding tickets. The day before my first court date, the Albany newspaper has a front page article about how a local speed trap town pleads all the speeders down. So now I have to go to court the one day in 10 years that they won't make deals, and I get some bullshit "failure to obey a traffic control device" which is a moving violation. When I go for the second ticket, they give me a parking ticket and I'm exonerated. The judge there actually refused a guilty plea while I was there. The third judge sees the moving violation and he won't plead down. But the last case was the best. I figure it's gonna be "3 strikes and you're out," but the DA walks me up to the judge and offers a parking ticket. The judge asks me if I have a clean driving record and before I can answer the DA tells I have no prior convictions. How is that not breaking the law to maximize town revenue?
mm
chqgov.com
