IT IS FINE WITH ME!

I do not speed. I always wear my seat belt. I do not, or never had, a suspended driver’s license. So I am glad that the fines for those traffic violations have been jacked up about 60%. That means more money for the state and municipalities, so maybe they won’t have to raise the taxes on Diet Coke or cigarettes.

It has been 17 years since the fines for speeding, not wearing a seat belt or driving on a suspended or revoked license have been raised, but starting September 15, because of an Illinois Supreme Court ruling, a new higher fee schedule takes effect. The fee increases only pertain to violations where the offending driver does not have to show up for traffic court. I think every driver who violates the rules of the road should have to show up in court, so people should be happy I am not the one making decisions because I would make appearance mandatory. I think if people had to actually show up in court and waste a day of their life it would be more of a deterrent than raising the financial price of punishment.

I was mystified by a quote in a Sun-Times story by a woman upset about the higher fines because one does not have to pay the fine unless they break the law. Since the new increased fines only impact the lawless, then law abiding citizens should be happy that the price of traffic violations went up because it is more money for the state budget that did not come out of their own pocket! For example, Barbara Oladunni, 40, an unemployed South Sider, said of the increases,”That's terrible because a lot of people have lost their jobs." What does losing your job have to do with speeding? If you don’t have a job then you don’t have to worry about making it to the office on time, so you don’t have an excuse to be driving too fast!

The amount for posting bonds has gone up at least 50% also, but I am astounded by how low they still are. Since one only has to post 10% of the bond amount, almost about anybody could make bond just by pawning a piece of jewelry. Some examples are:

625 ILCS 5/11–204 Fleeing or Attempting to
Elude Police Officer $2,000 (was $1,000)

625 ILCS 5/11–401(a) Leaving Scene of Accident
Death or Injury $2,000 (was $1,000)

625 ILCS 5/11–501 Misdemeanor Driving Under
Influence of Alcohol or Drugs or with 0.08 or more blood- or Breath-Alcohol Concentration $3,000 (was $1,000 + a valid DL for bond)

In conclusion, my point is that the level of the fine does not matter as long as one obeys the law. Make the fine for driving without a seat belt $1 million, then everyone would buckle up for sure! I checked out the new traffic violations and fines that took effect this year in the Arab Emirate of Qatar and most of them, including using a cellular phone while driving, include prison time. Trust me, the extra $45 fine in Illinois for speeding is now looking very fair when one sees the options in other countries!