The $490 ticket

I found this over at NRO's Web briefing. It struck a nerve for me because here in Ardmore-OK, no matter where I go I have to be cautious of the monetarily deadly combination of a light-hearted lead foot and an unusual number of speed traps throughout the town. The story cited above, from the SF Chronicle, involves a $490 running-a-red-light ticket. 

The issue for me is twofold: first, in a time of economic distress, why do towns, cities and our other microgovernments continue to punish people with absurdly high fees for driving infractions. While I get the issue of public safety, I can't help but think that 'public safety' has become a trapdoor for local revenue in the same manner that Greenunism has become a trapdoor for socialism. The first speeding ticket I got - one that was on a city street for the exact same speed over the exact same limit (1991 in Ardmore, 2007 in Enid) cost me three times as much ($60, $180). Yet, by definition speed traps are just that - traps. Red-light cameras, well, don't get me started. Just see where your money is going is the point...

The story hysterically documents where all that money goes. In part:

-- A $100 state penalty - $70 of which is divvied up among a dozen programs, including crime-victim restitution, witness protection, a Department of Fish and Game preservation fund and even a fund for victims of traumatic brain injuries. The other $30 goes to the county's general fund.

-- A $70 county penalty that goes for automated fingerprint identification, court and jail construction and other programs.

-- A $20 penalty for a state DNA crime evidence collection program.

-- A $55 fee for more court construction.