May 31, 2011
Thank you, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Thank you, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. And, you’re welcome.
Sunday, a state trooper stopped me for a chat along Interstate 81. Mr. Trooper congratulated me on sparing the driver just ahead of me from getting a ticket.
After checking my license and registration in his car, he returned to say that apparently I am a good driver (thank you, for once, Big Brother), so he was going to give me a break: instead of writing a ticket for speeding, he was charging me with “failed to obey the instructions of an applicable official traffic-control device.” This would mean a fine of half the fine for speeding, and a points-free license and preservation of my safe-driver insurance discount.
An hour later I looked at the citation. I owe Magisterial District No. 21-3-04 either a return visit to plead not guilty, or a check for $110.50. Here’s the breakdown:
$25 fine
$10 Emergency Medical Services Act
$30 Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Fund
$35.50 Costs
$10 Judicial Computer Project/Access to Justice
It’s been many years since my last roadside chat with a trooper. That one was a lot simpler and cheaper.
So, my haste to get back to Baltimore apparently will benefit Pennsylvania’s health care and judicial systems. Considering how many other drivers were pulled over, the commonwealth should easily balance its budget.
Don’t speed (the actual term for your euphemism “haste to get back to Baltimore”) and you and your fellow scofflaws will be be able to bring the Pennsylvania health care and judicial systems to a screeching halt. Why are speeders such self-important whiners?
The speeder’s reply: Yes, I was speeding. That merits shame, not pride. I cooperated with the trooper, and have admitted my guilt in writing and paid my fine.
The point I apparently failed to make clear while mocking myself was that fees were assessed that far surpassed the fine. I had no idea that states were assessing such fees.
A matter of accuracy: If I were a scofflaw, I would have been fined more heavily, according to the trooper.
This is just another pathetic excuse to generate revenue. Unfortunately, it only demonstrates the oppression forced upon society. Adding to Wayne’s story; my son was moving from Pennsylvania to Maryland a few days ago. Bags and boxes packed in the back seat he was driving down Pottsville Pike and was stopped by an officer; let’s call him deputy dog because as usual the signature is illegible; badge #25; magisterial district number 15-3-01. The citation issued was for an expired inspection, I guess this is a cardinal sin in Pennsylvania; in Maryland we are issued a warning to comply within thirty days. He too received the exact same fine as Wayne has listed.
By the way, if you plead not guilty you still have to submit a “collateral payment” equal to the total amount due on the citation plus seven dollars before you go to trial (guilty before proven innocent).
$25 fine- okay if there is a fine this is most certainly a justified amount.
$10 Emergency Medical Services Act- here we go; the EMS systems get paid by the government, the insurance companies are billed for the medical calls and an additional ten dollars is now included on everyone’s citations…for the cause.
$30 Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Fund- This is supposedly supplementing the cost of medical malpractice…really!…what is the correlation between this and traffic violations!
$35.50 Costs- WOW I am speechless, I cannot even fathom what this is paying for, and furthermore, it is more than the fine!
$10 Judicial Computer Project/Access to Justice- This is the cost for someone to push a few buttons on the keyboard to access the computers data base; let’s see, that means we are paying $10.00 for less than five minutes of work, god I love America.
No Mr. Pushkin, it is not about whiners it is about the decay of our governmental systems. There is absolutely no justification for imposing these fines except in the eyes of the politicians that wrote them; this is what makes society and teenagers have the distasteful view toward authority that they have. Here we have a young boy with no motor vehicle record at all, fully insured, registered and has a valid driver’s license. The only reason why he did not re-inspect the vehicle was because he has to go through the whole process again here in Maryland and could not afford to do both (who would want to), which he explained to deputy dog when he was stopped. Perhaps it is instances like these which cause people to have a momentary lapse of reason and flee from the law or should I say Gestapo.
Apparently, its not just speeding anymore, PA is making quite a haul on the backs of travelers through their state. We got a ticket for failure to obey a sign. There was a road closed sign posted with no detour signs and being out of town we did not have any idea where to go. We went past the sign thinking there might be a side road thru the development to get around the road work. It was about 7pm so no one was around there working. A cop was hiding on the side road and followed us around the block then pulled us over. You think that since he noticed we were from NJ he would offer us help because we were lost. NO! Gave a that same $25.00 fine with all the extras attached. It’s unbelievable!! He pulled over three other out-of-state cars doing the same thing while we were on the side of the road.
My daughter just got a speeding ticket, was she speeding yes…So Pushkin you can shut you PIG (opps police) mouth. WTH is all this padding. The fine for speeding is $70.50 then padded on this ticket is the JCP/ATJ, MCARE, EMS, Fees. Is PA such a scum state that they need to satisfy their govenrment financial mis-management on the backs of the unfotunate travelers? Obviously so. I HATE PA, it’s a depressed dump that refuses to police their PUPPY MILLS who sell seriously ill dogs, but attack speeders. SAD REAL SAD and PATHETIC. Thanks Brian for the intelligent explainations. I called the state trooper barracks that issued this ticket and the answer I received was “I don’t know” AGAIN SAD AND PATHETIC…