Re: [DMCForum] Ryan's idea about vehicle damage...

["Ryan Wright" <ryanpwright@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 10/29/06, timnagin <timnagin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>  So, some inconsiderate piece of shit person did a hit and run on me.  If it
>  had been my De Lorean in the parking lot I would be furious.  I started
>  carrying a digital camera with me long ago, as well as one on my phone, and
>  any time I see someone do shit like this I snap a picture.  I guess we all
>  have to look out for each other though I am sure most people won't want to
>  get involved.  Hell, the police won't do anything but write up an accident
>  report.  Yea, that will help me.

Yup. Police don't care. They'd rather sit on the side of the road and
eat doughnuts, busting people for "speeding" when they're really just
keeping up with the flow of traffic. Personally, I'd rather they spend
that time doing forensics on your bumper and pulling security camera
footage from local businesses to try to catch whomever did this. This
is a much worse crime than driving a few mph over the limit, but then,
there's no money in it for them. Sad that our system has become what
it has.

Here's an idea: Instead of generating revenue by extorting money from
motorists, why not generate it by extorting money from people who
commit real crimes? Take your bumper for example. Say the police force
spends $15,000 in man-hours tracking this guy down. His fine should be
double their cost to investigate, plus proper reimbursement to you. If
he doesn't have the $30k to pay, sieze his vehicle, lien any real
estate he owns and garnish his wages. Now the police have all sorts of
incentive to tackle minor crimes and the guy who hits your bumper will
go, "Hmmm, $300 for a bumper or risk tens of thousands of dollars in
reimbursement to the investigating police agency. I think I'll leave a
note."

This isn't a matter of intentionally making the punishment not fit the
crime. Just a matter of fairness. If you, through your actions, cause
the police department to expend thousands of dollars in resources
tracking you down because you were involved in a hit-and-run, you
should pay it back and then some. No need to make the taxpayers foot
the bill for your screw-up.

>  Ryan, I think what you mentioned on the DML is a damned good idea.  Maybe
>  they person who got thanked will tell other people and in turn maybe they
>  will say something if they ever do it.  I could be dreaming, too. :-)

Unfortunately, this is more of a "keeping honest people honest" thing
than anything else. You're not going to turn someone who otherwise
doesn't give a shit by offering them some token appreciation. I mean,
if my deductible is $500 and I'm a generally shifty sort of person,
I'm not trading $500 for some token treasure and warm fuzzy feelings.

However, if I'm a generally honest person who is thinking, "Boy, look
what I got myself into. You know, I could have just driven away..." --
don't kid yourself, even the most honest person will entertain the
thought -- getting a healthy amount of appreciation from the car's
owner is going to make me feel good about making the right decision.
Then the next time I hit someone in a parking lot I think I'd be more
likely to do the right thing again.

Yes, I am so presumptuous as to think what works on me would work on
someone else. ;-)

-Ryan


 
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