Photo: Woodley Wonderworks
A few weeks ago I posted about the controversial ways European countries are approaching drug reform. Today I’d like to broach a topic that you will probably more closely relate to: speeding tickets.
Once again those Europeans have proven to be creative with their laws – in some countries the price of an excessive speeding ticket is linked to the wealth of the driver. For example, a Swiss millionaire received a $290,000 ticket. He was also a repeat offender, going twice the speed limit, and had a personal wealth over $20 million.
So what do you think? The same concept is also applied to drunk driving. Now what do you think?
Someone more qualified than myself (a Ph.D. in economics from UCLA) doesn’t think it makes sense. If you don’t vary the price of goods (cars, houses, food, etc.) for the wealthy, why would you do it for a speeding ticket? Here’s why: just because you are rich, doesn’t make you above the laws of the land!
If you can afford to pay the penalty, does that mean you have the right to do it? No way Jose! If the only penalty for driving too fast was a $100 fine, Bill Gates could drive as fast as he wants. He could just pay $100 every time he gets caught. The goal of the law is not to make the government money, but rather to keep the roads safe.
The social consequences of breaking the law are often overlooked – if you drive under the influence you are not a contributing member of society. That is the issue of using a financial consequence – people associate the wrong-doing with the amount of money it costs. (Check out the Israel day care center study that everyone has included in their book over the last several years.) Once they can justify the crime in their mind to a dollar amount, assuming they have enough money to piss away, the crime doesn’t sound so bad after all. So if using a financial consequence, although not ideal, we should make sure it is enough to make even Bill Gates squeamish.
Yes, but isn’t justice supposed to be blind? It sure is, but this isn’t justice. There is no justice achieved from catching someone driving drunk or going 30 over the speed limit. There is only deterrence of future misbehavior. This can be achieved in a punishment of time (which everyone has) or money (which varies greatly). If the punishment includes a fine, it should be controlled for the individual’s socioeconomic background so that it will affect everyone equally.
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Another thought:
If the punishment includes a time penalty such as jail time or community service, should it vary according to how much time the person has? Not free time, but time left on earth. Should a 22 year old who gets a DUI be required to do more community service than a 70 year old? My initial thought is no – either way it is a minuscule portion of their remaining time, whereas a DUI ticket can cost more money than you have in the bank.
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