Ahhh… Pride. It galvanizes people’s stubbornness, doesn’t it? Usually on both sides.
I understand what you’re doing on principle. But, if you have any mercy (if this is her first offense), I’d at least split the difference with her.
Also, runner pat… clever!
Innocent until proven guilty up here, mate.
Barbecue!
:: runs to get the A-1 ::
That would be ext-whore-tion.
Are you saying the driver was just pimping her ride?
There was a new expose about red light cameras in Chicago and the CTA buses racking up huge number of tickets as a result. Personally I found it silly because the cameras aren’t calibrated for buses and they probably trigger them more than they should due to their size and shape (and evidence suggests that a huge number are calibrated badly as a rule). Also, the buses need to merge with the flow of traffic after making a stop and frequently have little choice but to let traffic clear the intersection before entering, much like a the typical left-turn on yellow/red. They just shouldn’t be giving tickets for that, in rush hour traffic would never move if people can’t clear the intersection after the light changes.
I didn’t tell the whole story. I misplaced the original infringement notice because we were in the process of moving house when it arrived. A month later they sent a reminder with an increased fine (I think it was around $30 more). I then did the whole stat dec witnessed by a JP thing and sent it in. When Lady M received the reissued infringement notice it was for the original amount. So two extra months to pay with no extra penalty.
What happens here if I recall correctly is that if the vehicle is owned by a business, the fine is higher than for an individual. The business can then either just pay the higher amount or nominate the driver. In the latter case the driver then pays a lower amount but takes the hit on his or her license.
In the case where the business owner was driving, it then comes down to a decision as to whether the extra fine or the points are more valuable.
So let me get this straight…a driver of a vehicle that carriers dozens of minor children ran a red light turning left crossing over at least one lane of oncoming traffic and exposing the bus to a possible broad side collision and potentially endangering the safety of her passengers (assuming there were passengers)… and you didn’t even mention the possible loss of her job…
You’re a nice boss.
The last line of her letter contains my bolierplate "future violations will (my bolding) subject you to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of your employment… "
In a union environment, that’s about as tough as I can get on a first violation that didn’t actually cause an accident.
In Spain they send the ticket to the registered owner assuming it’s also the driver; you can get out of it if the picture is blurry. I imagine that if the picture is clear, and clearly not you, you have to identify the person.
My brother got a fine from one of those cameras once; when a friend told him to fight it, bro said “oh sure, I got a perfect profile pic of someone who looks a helluva lot like me, sitting in my car and talking to my wife, who is face-on. Dude, if that wasn’t me I have to beat someone up!”
I really was expecting this thread to be a lot more exciting.