dylanmc
05-11-2006, 08:35 AM
I agree that cyclists need to obey the laws of the road. Issuing tickets is the only hammer the police have. Let's give them a more flexible hammer:
Why not have traffic citation amounts be varied proportional to the GVW (gross vehicle weight) of the vehicle in question.
Coming from a cyclist, this may sound like a weasely way of reducing penalties...however I'm also a motorist. And it makes sense: the fine is proportional to the amount of damage you could cause by violating the law.
Even better might be to make it proportional to the kinetic energy of the vehicle in question - mass times velocity squared. An SUV going eighty is going to do a lot more damage than a bike going 25. The penalties should be different.
Why not have traffic citation amounts be varied proportional to the GVW (gross vehicle weight) of the vehicle in question.
Coming from a cyclist, this may sound like a weasely way of reducing penalties...however I'm also a motorist. And it makes sense: the fine is proportional to the amount of damage you could cause by violating the law.
Even better might be to make it proportional to the kinetic energy of the vehicle in question - mass times velocity squared. An SUV going eighty is going to do a lot more damage than a bike going 25. The penalties should be different.