Food & Drink2 mins ago
Car Drivers To Bailout Cash Strapped Local Councils - Is Yours On The List?
Apparently 85 out of 152 councils have applied for the powers that will allow them to collect fines from drivers for infractions such as entering bus lanes, making illegal U-turns and not following the rules when entering junction-boxes.
There is a junction-box close to where I live; I could count the number of times I have observed vehicles obeying the rules at this box on the fingers of one hand – lots of money to be made there.
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Panorama this week highlighted a council that has no choice but to spend 70% of its total budget on social care. One child is costing over £1m a year.
The quote was over 70% of the budget is spent on a handful of people and the majority of council tax payers don't see or understand where the money goes.
I don't agree with local authorities being able to levy penalties for traffic offences. However.... it is clear that the police lack either the will or the resources to properly police these minor infringments. But they need to be enforced and rather than nobody enforce them, I'd prefer somebody did.
Many motoring infringements have been "decriminalised" for many years. I don't know what is particularly new about this latest developement, but my LA has been enforcing box junctions, no right turns and other similar offences for many years.
Of course there is a simple remedy for those not wanting to contribute to the LAs' coffers - simply obey the driving regulations.
"I also believe that fines should be based on a percentage of the earnings of the person committing the offence."
The penalties are fixed. Only when matters get to the Magsitrates' Court are they income-based. However, the proportionality issue needs examination. The penalty for driving in a bus lane in London is £160. The fixed penalty (levied by the police) for driving at up to 49mph in a 30mph limit or at up to 95mph in a 70mph limit is £100. Comparing the potential harm that could result from each of the two offences, that isn't right.
As there are less and less and less smokers, the govt and councils have got to make up for the loss of tax on tobacco, so the motorist is the obvious option. I've been saying that for years. Also lots more tax could be raised by increasing taxes on alcohol and betting. Those two things cause ten times more problems in this country than the affects of smoking.
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