Draconian Penalties

[RandyWebb]

I think this deserves its own thread. People should write a letter or call if they want to stop this. Most important is to have people in southern and eastern Oregon call their reprs. as this really hurts people on lonely highways in rural parts of the state.

In Eugene and Portland, I think your best bet is to say that it has a better chance of passage if it has a limitation that the police officer state that the speeding was done in moderate or heavy traffic. It'll be hard to say "yes we should be able to speed withh only minimal penalties..."

And don't think this is only for Oregon -- other states will do copy cat type laws....

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Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, has proposed legislation that would impose a 30-day suspension and a $1,000 fine on drivers caught going 30 mph over the speed limit or exceeding 100 mph. Would a month's suspension really be severe enough to slow down such drivers, though? A three-month suspension might get their attention. Any stepped-up penalties won't work, however, without stepped-up enforcement.

[sithot]

Well, he is a Democrat. They are always trying to save us from ourselves and extra taxation is always a good thing.

If you bust "the ton" perhaps you should hone your skills and not look back. Around here you're going to jail. An obvious solution is to keep the speeding to the race track or accept the consequences of your actions.

Over 80mph is the break point for reckless driving on the Interstates in Virginia. 20mph over anywhere else is reckless and I heartily endorse heavy enforcement and fines because most of these idiots are doing 3 things at once; Either applying makeup, talking on the cell phone, or trying to quiet the rug rats in the back seat. I cannot tell you the number of close calls I've had on my motorcycles with Soccer Moms.
Do a ride-along with a police officer who is repsonsible for traffic enforcement. You would not believe some of the crap I've seen or heard about while doing so. 70 in a 25, 75 in a 35 or 135 in a 45. That's just plain stupid.

As long as there is the slightest possibility of making money by citing enforcement you can be guaranteed that the liberals of the world will attempt to levy "the tax" against us. How about the European fines based on income? At least countries (NOT FINLAND) have put a maximum on these. Did you ever see what the Nokia chief got levied against him for speeding.

Tom

[RandyWebb]

What you are seeing is Prozanski the (former) prosecutor. Also, some teen kid was caught going 142 or so recently...

I'm a liberal - more or less. But my point in this thread is not to start a political discussion, it is to get people to write their state Senators and Representatives.

BTW, be nice! and be reasonable. My second paragraph was about the dangers of big trucks on our rural scenic roads...

[pwd72s]

Hey, he's YOUR State Senator, not mine. But I'm sure that "my" Senator, Frank (Republican In Name Only) Morse will go for it in a heartbeat. Randy, it's a done deal...fighting this will do zero good. Keep voting for those who know what's best for us all....

[sithot]

I thought I was being nice. Too much government, too few deep thinkers and way too many people who know what's best for me. I got news. They can all KMA. The line forms at the rear.

Tom

[pwd72s]

Tom, Oregon is indeed a "peoples republic" politically. The power base is Portland and Eugene, where Randy lives. Those bases aren't "sort of" liberal, they are radical left wing krazy! Because of Portland's population, the city liberals run the show in Oregon, and they couldn't care less about the well being of the rural areas. I don't bother to vote anymore...it's a fruitless & useless exercise. The legislature consistently increases the hassle of car ownership, many of them thinking "mass transit" is the answer. Thus, they increase fines, and pass laws such as the one Randy is complaining about. Another bill being considered is a 15 cent per gallon gas tax hike, which would move Oregon into #1 in the nation in state gas tax. It becomes less fun to play with the Porsche here after every legislative session...they just keep piling it on.

[RickS]

In the best interests of the board, I believe it would be prudent to keep one's political leanings to oneself. This is about cars and not about bashing political parties. If you need to bash the political group of your choice, go find a like minded bb and have at it. That goes for religion, abortion, gays, etc. IMHO, this is not the place.

[RandyWebb]

I agree with Rick and am not going to post a reply to Paul's post, as much as I disagree with his characterization....

Except to say that people who don't engage in the political process are apt to get what they don't want. In the original post on this thread, I stated how to write an effective letter. I think people should do so. You can get the address, Email and phone for your repr. from the state's web site, and Google will search that site up fast for you...