Why Didn't I Just Do That Right Away? Oh, Right - Because I'm An Idiot

So yeah, this'll be me whining about something everyone's heard at least once before. Everyone has heard the pissing and moaning: "Arrgh!!! Stupid cops! What the hell do I pay taxes for? For the cops to drive around in the middle of the night and find harmless traffic offenses so they can hand out tickets without confrontation!? Frickin' cowards..." Yeah, that's actually about right, once it happens to you. A $95 citation for having tabs that are 3 days beyond expiration.


Seriously? My car's been registered in the state for almost 7 years, and I go 3 days without it and suddenly that's grounds for taking more than an entire day's wages. The scale of the cost is really what doesn't make any sense to me. That's almost the cost of: Any illegal traffic signal movement (eg. running a red light); speeding on bridges; illegal passing (tunnels/underpasses/intersections/no passing zones); going the wrong way on one-way street; driving in the bicycle lane; tailgating too closely; using divided highway crossovers; not signaling a turn or lane change; disobeying stop/yield signs; stopping/standing/parking on highway; obstructing view of driver (4 or more people in front seat), and many other petty misdemeanor traffic violations. Mind you, most of those listed above are $125; I guess running a red light or passing while going around a curve is only 132% as bad as having your harmlessly parked car in the same place it is every night with the wrong color stickers on the license plates.


It's pretty phenomenal that we consider these violations to be almost equal in terms of the penalty involved, considering the potential threat of each of them. It's also too bad that someone who earns 10 times my salary would have to pay the exact same amount of money, especially when it's a violation that could only be prevented by (guess what?) shelling out a hundred and some dollars in the first place. What would have been wrong with just giving me a warning? What if I was the single parent with 2 kids and 2 full time jobs who was waiting for their paycheck this Friday to pick up their tabs at the DMV? So much for the tabs - now I have to pay the frickin' fine.


Speaking of which, I'm genuinely curious here: What determines whether an officer is going to give a warning or an actual citation with a fine? Honestly, if the piece of paper on my windshield this morning would have said, "Hey, get some new tabs," I'd have been like, "Oh, dang - okay. Forgot about that," which would be true (it's hard for me to keep seemingly empty money-sinks a priority - I already paid for the car's sales tax, etc... What's the registration tax for, anyway? Whatever.). But he decided not to give the guy with ZERO violations on record the benefit of the doubt. Is it to the discretion of the officer whether it's a warning or ticket? If that's correct (I suspect it is), it's another example of injustice in the system; not that that even comes close to measuring up to police brutality and the like, so I really can't complain there.


In any case, I learned my lesson: You won't get a penalty for paying your utility bill late (once or twice). You won't get a penalty for paying your mortgage late one time; or your credit card bill. Instead, make sure you get the shiny stickers for your car! Alternatively, place your priority for Christmas shopping for your family a couple of notches lower.
~A