Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal
Cops now charging for gas used to catch you
The high cost of fueling up is affecting just about everyone at the pump. But it's also costing us at the grocery store, the airport, and, beginning July 1, it could bump up the cost of your speeding tickets, too. When a north Atlanta suburb spent 60% of its police fuel budget in only five months, it was faced with cutting back on patrols, raising taxes for all, or passing the cost on to speeders. The final decision was a no-brainer for the city of 7,700, and beginning in July, all speeders will be slapped with an additional $12 fuel charge. The added charge will raise ticket revenues up to $26,000 or more, and the costs will only be passed on to those who break traffic laws and not every citizen. The Atlanta city council has unanimously passed a similar proposal to include a $10 - $15 fine for ticketed motorists, and many more cities are sure to follow suit in short order. Yet another reason to get a really good radar detector. Thanks for the tip, Brad!
[Source: AOL Money, Photo by Malingering | CC 2.0]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
LMBVette 4:00PM (6/19/2008)
I know an even better way to stop spending that much on fuel......don't go after speeders at all!!! ;-)
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chop 4:01PM (6/19/2008)
eh i think they'd save more money if they simply drove slower. i dont think ive ever seen a cop drive the speed limit on the regular road or on the freeway. on the freeway they're always swerving in and out of lanes around other cars
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Torrent 4:23PM (6/19/2008)
Or if they used more fuel efficient cars....possibly.
Jason 4:27PM (6/19/2008)
On top of that nearly every cop I've seen floors it at every stop light. I guess I would too if other people were paying for my gas.
I live in Atlanta btw. It's not like our speeding tickets are cheap to begin with. It cost me $190 for 83 in a 70 a year or so ago.
MikeW 4:31PM (6/19/2008)
Let the cops drive the prius, not gas guzzlers.
J 4:50PM (6/19/2008)
@mikew
My thoughts exactly, in my area they're starting to use magnum police cars?? give them prius's or electric cars.
Bungle 7:19PM (6/19/2008)
These pigs need to lay off the donuts, too.
Fat gut = Lower MPG
richbum 12:32AM (6/20/2008)
They use magnums as police cars in your place? Never seen any station wagon police cars... I dont think they have a use for it. Only seen the new charger cop cars driving around.
Vintage 4:01PM (6/19/2008)
And here's an idea to save even more gas: GET METER MAIDS OUT OF JEEP WRANGLERS.
Why people who drive around at low speeds in the city all day need an SUV is beyond me.
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The Other Bob 10:11AM (6/20/2008)
The meter maids in my hometown drive around in little three-wheeled propne powered things.
Jason 4:23PM (6/19/2008)
In the city of Atlanta (downtown) most of them ride in Rangers. At least the ones that give me tickets...
AmazingBimmer 4:01PM (6/19/2008)
LOL
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John Johnson 4:01PM (6/19/2008)
Can I charge them for the gas I used to speed?
Sorry, but that's retarded. You can't just ask people to pay for your gas. It's part of doing your job. If you spent all of your budget, that sucks, you should have allotted it better.
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mk 4:28PM (6/19/2008)
Don't you see? they already do ask people to pay for their gas...
It is called TAXES.
Not only that, but our taxes that get allocated to buying gas for municipal vehicles ALSO pays the gas taxes on that gallon of fuel, as well.
So the tax payers get screwed back, forth, and back again.
And this is also immoral, because police policy can become convoluted, and they can go out and create infringements or fudge facts to get people to pay their expenses.
Law enforcement fine revenues should in NO WAY impact the operation of law enforcement, it is a conflict of interest. Law enforcement should not be enticed by money to enforce, or not enforce the law, it leads to corruption.
If breaking the law is punishable by a fine, then that revenue should go to somewhere that is completely isolated from police operations. If Police operations needs more funding, that is a legislative matter, that the representatives of the taxpayers need to handle, with accountability to those taxpayers.
"A fine is a tax for breaking the law. A tax is a fine for obeying the law."- J.H. Goldfuss.
Keat 4:03PM (6/19/2008)
hahaha...wow..
I like the graphic by the way.
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ASEVENSEE4 4:03PM (6/19/2008)
They're charging us to fuel those gas hogs? Since when did gas reach $12 a gallon?! Since when did it take $12 in gas to pull people over? As if the fine for speeding isn't enough, they need to tack on a gas fine too. I HOPE this ridiculous garbage isn't passed onto other county's, but I know it will.
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Disgruntled Goat 4:29PM (6/19/2008)
Ahhh, I remember the good ole days when the police were used for law enforcement instead of revenue collection. What a quaint idea that is these days.
k.w.a 4:04PM (6/19/2008)
maybe the cops shouldn't go 60mph down a residential street when not responding to a call?
last time i checked driving fast on city streets only to stop 100 feet later over and over again really hurt fuel economy
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Allan 4:05PM (6/19/2008)
"Yet another reason to get a really good radar detector."
Or just to not speed... I mean really that's the best solution here anyway. You avoid a fine and save yourself some gas spent by a lead foot. Drive slower, your MPG will thank you.
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ASEVENSEE4 4:07PM (6/19/2008)
They'll have to find another way to tax us, why not just send us the bills in the mail. They rely on speeders, and if people stop speeding they would ultimately choke and have to find another way to make money.