4 ms·

> If you pay a speeding ticket, isn't that like participating in corruption by buying your way out of punishment for endangering people? Is it really morally an

> If you pay a speeding ticket, isn't that like participating in corruption by buying your way out of punishment for endangering people? Is it really morally any different from paying a bribe to the policeman who catches you speeding in a country where that's the common way? In both cases, you pay for speeding and your money ends up going towards the policeman's income. I mean, one goes to the government to help all citizens, one lines the pocket of a corrupt cop and does not benefit society in anyway. So yes, there is a huge gulf of difference between the two. Also an official ticket goes on record so the cop can tell if you've had many and maybe deserve a more severe punishment, the bribe is never recorded so we can't track the bad drives in this instance.

foxglacier 2y ago
> pocket of a corrupt cop and does not benefit society in anyway. It motivates him to stop speeding drivers which is good for society. To your second point, maybe a better system would be the policeman gets paid a commission on the tickets he issues so they're still recorded. But if it's not set up that way, bribery might be more effective than not.
- thrw42A8N 2y ago
  Is it really good for society? Germany has the safest highways in the world. Also the only highways where it's exciting to see a police car while going 250 km/h. Some try to dismiss this by saying that there are areas with lower speeds - yes; they're placed where you need to slow down anyway, it's more like "hey buddy, beware of this sharp curve" rather than "we will milk your wallet if you go 1 km/h over this idiotically low speed". I go to Berlin regularly (500km) and my speed average including the slowdown areas is around 230 km/h and I'm not even close to the fastest one on the road. The best thing about this? The German diesel engine - drinking less fuel at these speeds than an American truck on idle.
  - foxglacier 2y ago
    Of course you can design a road to be safe at high speeds but normal roads aren't and normal people can't judge the safe speed.
    - thrw42A8N 2y ago
      I think that depends on the place. I can imagine that US cities with straight wide streets and roads are very hard to judge. But I can't imagine anyone having trouble with that in any European city... The top speed would be your last problem in any capital - you celebrate when it's not 0.
- ZoomZoomZoom 2y ago
  > It motivates him to stop speeding drivers which is good for society. No, it motivates him to stop any driver that can't be confirmed to not be speeding under the level of 3d-party scrutiny the cop judges he risks to get under the circumstances. And also the ones that are more likely to offer more money.

foxglacier 2y ago

> pocket of a corrupt cop and does not benefit society in anyway. It motivates him to stop speeding drivers which is good for society. To your second point, maybe a better system would be the policeman gets paid a commission on the tickets he issues so they're still recorded. But if it's not set up that way, bribery might be more effective than not.

thrw42A8N 2y ago
Is it really good for society? Germany has the safest highways in the world. Also the only highways where it's exciting to see a police car while going 250 km/h. Some try to dismiss this by saying that there are areas with lower speeds - yes; they're placed where you need to slow down anyway, it's more like "hey buddy, beware of this sharp curve" rather than "we will milk your wallet if you go 1 km/h over this idiotically low speed". I go to Berlin regularly (500km) and my speed average including the slowdown areas is around 230 km/h and I'm not even close to the fastest one on the road. The best thing about this? The German diesel engine - drinking less fuel at these speeds than an American truck on idle.
- foxglacier 2y ago
  Of course you can design a road to be safe at high speeds but normal roads aren't and normal people can't judge the safe speed.
  - thrw42A8N 2y ago
    I think that depends on the place. I can imagine that US cities with straight wide streets and roads are very hard to judge. But I can't imagine anyone having trouble with that in any European city... The top speed would be your last problem in any capital - you celebrate when it's not 0.
ZoomZoomZoom 2y ago
> It motivates him to stop speeding drivers which is good for society. No, it motivates him to stop any driver that can't be confirmed to not be speeding under the level of 3d-party scrutiny the cop judges he risks to get under the circumstances. And also the ones that are more likely to offer more money.