Does This Surprise... Anyone?

Staties slap drivers, filling Pike’s coffers

Radar-wielding troopers are gunning for Mass. Pike leadfoots at an accelerated pace, slapping them with hundreds more costly tickets this year in what critics say is just another money grab by the budget-bleeding agency.

Speeding citations that start at $100 and climb quickly have been in the high-speed lane for two years straight, according to new statistics obtained by the Herald.

Tickets written in the first three months of this year skyrocketed by 23 percent, or about 2,300, over the same period two years ago.

I dunno. Call me cynical if you will, but I'd just assumed that everyone knew that speeding tickets were about revenue, not safety. Otherwise we'd actually get serious about traffic infractions, impose real fines, and make people start obeying the law. Instead, we fine people trivial amounts, slap them on the wrist, and wait until they cause a spectacular crash resulting in multiple deaths before we even think about getting tough on bad drivers.

What's interesting, buried in the story, is the news that the Pike is still considering a toll hike. This is on top of the sales tax hike and a looming hike in the gas tax as well. And now the news comes down that the staties are ramping up the traffic tickets? As a wise man once opined, "MA. Live Free Or Here". Ain't nothin' free in MA, unless you happen to be an illegal alien getting free tuition or a welfare recipient getting a free car.

The rest of us need to make sure we're driving 55 or we get whacked with a ticket.

That is all.