Posted on 05/21/2009 7:12:24 AM PDT by TornadoAlley3
Association lists states most likely and least likely to use motorists as a source of revenue.
The National Motorists Association (NMA) yesterday rated all fifty states based on their friendliness toward the motoring public. By analyzing laws and speed trap patterns, the group measured each state's dependence on the motoring public as a source of state and local revenue.
"It is not exactly a well kept secret that many traffic laws, enforcement practices and traffic courts are more about generating revenue and political posturing than they are about traffic safety," NMA President Jim Baxter said in a statement. "During holidays, like the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, we're bombarded with messages about intensified enforcement, 'click it or ticket,' and horrendous fines when in fact most vacation-related traffic accidents are caused my inattention, distraction and fatigue. However, these are accident causes that don't generate much in the way of government revenue, so instead our highways are overrun with unmarked police cars and ticket cameras."
The following were the top-ten worst states from the motorist's perspective: New Jersey Ohio Maryland Louisiana New York Illinois Delaware Virginia Washington Massachusetts New Jersey was singled out for being the first to create a "driver responsibility" speeding ticket tax that generated more than $1 billion in profit since 1994. In 2007, a New Jersey judge imprisoned a motorist for a full month over traffic infractions the man did not commit. A New Jersey appellate court convicted a man who was asleep in a legally parked truck of "driving" under the influence of alcohol (DUI). State lawmakers even considered legislation that would have made it a crime to give the finger to another motorist.
"With its toll roads, roadblocks, and speed traps, New Jersey has left almost no stone unturned when it comes to extracting cash from motorists," NMA explained. "The state has also recently pushed through a red-light camera pilot project at a time when many states are banning the ticket cameras because they've proven to have a negative effect on traffic safety."
The group's calculation also weighed the number of of speed traps listed on the Speed Trap Exchange website on a per capita basis. Judicial fairness was factored in by considering the availability of jury trials and trials by declaration for traffic offenses or whether mayor's courts were allowed. The list then considered whether each state had enacted punitive "feel-good" statutes such as primary seatbelt laws, helmet laws, move-over laws and cell-phone bans.
"The long-term solution to aligning legitimate public interests with government policies is to remove the money from traffic regulation, enforcement and adjudication," Baxter said. "Until that happens, the focus on revenue generation will continue to trump effective traffic regulation and ethical enforcement practices."
The five states where motorists will find the most fair treatment are Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska and Kentucky. View the full list on the NMA website.
These state rankings were calculated using seventeen criteria related to specific traffic laws, enforcement practices, and the treatment of traffic ticket defendants. The rankings are designed to provide guidance to travelers who do not want their vacation ruined by speed traps, arcane laws or “kangaroo” traffic courts.
Full List Of State Rankings From Worst To Best
1) New Jersey 2) Ohio 3) Maryland 4) Louisiana 5) New York 6) Illinois 7) Delaware 8) Virginia 9) Washington 10) Massachusetts 11) Colorado 12) Oregon 13) Tennessee 14) California 15) Michigan 16) Vermont 17) Maine 18) Florida 19) Pennsylvania 20) North Carolina 21) Alabama 22) Rhode Island 23) West Virginia 24) New Hampshire 25) Arizona 26) New Mexico 27) Missouri 28) Texas 29) Oklahoma 30) Nevada 31) Georgia 32) Connecticut 33) South Carolina 34) Iowa 35) Hawaii 36) Arkansas 37) Alaska 38) Kansas 39) Mississippi 40) Wisconsin 41) Utah 42) South Dakota 43) Indiana 44) Minnesota 45) North Dakota 46) Kentucky 47) Nebraska 48) Montana 49) Idaho 50) Wyoming
List of Criteria Used To Generate Rankings (no particular order)
1) Speed Traps Per Capita (# of speed traps listed on www.speedtrap.org indexed to population) 2) Does the state have "driver responsibility" fees? 3) Does the state have mayor's courts? 4) Does the state authorize the use of roadblocks? 5) What are the freeway speed limits? 6) Does the state have red-light cameras? 7) Does the state have speed cameras? 8) Are there toll roads in the state? 9) Is a jury trial available for traffic violations? 10) Is trial by declaration (asserting a defense in writing without appearing in court) available? 11) Is the state a member of the Non-Resident Violator Compact? 12) Is the state a member of the Driver's License Compact? 13) Are radar detectors banned in the state? 14) Does the state have a primary seat belt law? 15) Are there adult helmet laws in the state? 16) Are there move-over laws in the state? 17) Is cell phone use banned?
And I just came from a thread defending the right of Cops to beat the crap out of unconscious perps... This is why I oppose government power. Unchecked the government is a malignant cancer. Police officers are the tools used to carry out the political will of the politicians.
NJ, absolutely, the worst. I could tell you the worst county too, but fear they’ll read this and hunt me down.
for later
Ohio at #2, no shock here. Darn Nazis!
So, what political will were the four Oakland cops who were murdered carrying out?
I see a new license plate logo
Ohio: Almost as bad as New Jersey
I thought that we would drop to third just by disincorporating New Rome.
Actually it was just the jackboot lickers who defended the cops’ privilege to beat people that upset them. Some of us disagreed with that position.
No problem. I have no intention of ever visiting any State east of the Mississippi anyhow.
The problem with trying to make it a crime for giving the finger is that the USSC has ruled that it constitutes free speech.
We have a town in Louisiana called Sorrento - yes I'll name it and flee the country! Sorrento’s population at the 2000 census was 1227. Everyone in Louisiana knows that you had better be very alert going through Sorrento because speed traps seem to be their only source of revenue. The place is notorious for it's speeding tickets - a fact they must be very proud of.
Seriously. If you drive through a small town in Ohio, particularly in the south and particularly if you have out-of-state plates, you drive the speed limit or below if you don’t want to put the sheriff’s kids through college.
No Southern states on the list.
I was born and have lived in NJ my entire life. This state ranks #1 in everything that sucks. They even tax you when you move out of NJ. (See NJ Exit Tax/Real Estate Transfer Tax.) My next home purchase will NOT be within the borders of this cess pool.
um, the list is 50 states long. every state is on it.
About 20 years ago, I was driving through Ohio on Highway 80. It was particularly boring because of the flatness of the land and a long line of cars all in the right hand lane driving exactly 65 MPH (the posted limit).
I had never seen anything like this before - a completely static situation. Then, I got pulled over by a state patrolman and was ticketed for driving 68 in a 65 zone. I have never driven through Ohio again.
Um,
your post while pithy is a little hard to respond to. I take a position that the government should be small, underfunded and frustrated. Police are armed government employees. You can find a thousand examples of good cops, bad cops. Good government, bad government. The problem with unlimited or unfettered government power is that it can be used for good or bad. I am more afraid of bad government than I am enamored with good government. So I choose small underfunded and frustrated government. Not really complicated. It’s a shame that anyone anywhere gets killed violently. I don’t know the story you are referring to but it doesn’t change my principled position that government should be small, underfunded and frustrated.
Northfield Village, Ohio. Between Cleveland an Akron. Avoid it!
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