We're in a recession...so slow down on the road.

In my defense, I was driving a car that was not my own -- I had never driven before. I was also traveling down the steepest incline EAST of the Mississippi River (there are at least 5 or 6 runaway truck ramps!) AND I had just looked at my spedometer and I REALLY WASN'T GOING the speed I am convicted of -- WHY WHY WHY didn't I ask to see her radar? Yes HER. Had it been a HE maybe I would have had a CHANCE to get out of it.

I got a freaking ticket. I'm so irritated. I was being good -- mainly because my daughter and sister's mother in law were in the back. But ALSO I was driving sister's MIL's new car! For the love!

Anyway, I'm just trying to research how I can get out of it before I write my check and I discover this:



Study Shows North Carolina Traffic Tickets are for Revenue Not Safety
A study of North Carolina traffic tickets concludes that speeding tickets issued by local jurisdictions are more about revenue than safety. The study, authored by Thomas Garrett of the Federal Reserve Banf and Gary Wagner of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, concludes that local governments often use traffic tickets as a means to enhance revenues during difficult economic times. These revenue enhancements are rarely rolled back, however, upon a change in economic fortune, the study found.



"There is anecdotal evidence that local governments use traffic tickets to generate revenue. Using panel data for North Carolina counties, we examine whether changes in local government revenue influence the number of traffic tickets issued. We find strong evidence of an asymmetric response by local governments. Specifically, positive changes in revenue have no effect on traffic tickets, but negative revenue changes increase the number of traffic tickets issued."


For a complete text of the article Traffic Ticket Study





So much for the gov't trying to stimulate the economy. I guess gas prices have cut into ticket sales for the Highway patrols. GAG. We passed a ton of HP cars/motorcycles this weekend.