I want to do what I can to make sure it fails, so other states don’t get inspired by the amount of money they’re making. However, I’m not sure how to do that. The government loves money, but people hate it when taxes go up (imagine that!), so there are imaginative new ways to fleece the average citizen of their money every year.

There are often no 100% laymen jury in the courts, no “Barry-Bobs” and “Marry-Sues” that are sure that that *racial slur describing a person* is guilty as h*ll.

So to get the bad people into jail, a film of the event is very useful – therefore cameras are so much loved.

Sit behind the wheel, surrender your civil rights. Any cop is quick to point out that driving is a privilege and not a right in this or any other country.

I am more concerned about revenue generating devices including red light and speed cameras that tend to create far more serious issues than they resolve.

While Down Under and the Empire have different laws, and some whack-ass attitudes about law enforcement (see, 1776, Boston Tea Party, etc) the camera merchants see total market saturation and like any business need new markets.

Here we have a great big financial problem, so the money tail will wag the traffic safety dog.

Please, please please keep this up. We have to fight every scamera attempt at every turn. I for one don’t want to wake up in the world of endless GATSO and “intelligent speed adaptation” (BIG BROTHER is watching)

That’s the money quote.
My guess that they’re mimicking what goes on in many US jurisdictions. Drivers with means, legitimate income, and valuable time are fined/harassed extensively. Chronic offenders with zero funds (and flexible, welfare enabled schedules) are let go with a slap on the wrist.

Dammit I’m getting angry.

You are right about the relative lack of fuss made when things like this happen though. For whatever reason, we do seem to be a nation that take a near total disinterest in such things, myself included. Perhaps we do trust the government too much, time will tell.

Oh, and I’m not sure if this is what you’re implying, but for the benefit of anyone else who thinks the UK has no form of ‘constitution’, give this a read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_Kingdom

Next thing you know, they will apply ridiculous taxation on all high incomes because some of those incomes were made by people who may have been cheating.

Yo! Government Dudes! The bad guys don’t have to stay on schedule. They simply adapt their lives to your silly schemes. Meanwhile, all the honest folk get their lives taxed away by all the crap they have to do to keep up with the bureaucracy.

The bad guys hang out in the pub all week, they don’t go to work. They only need to drive once a week to commit their crime. They don’t have to spend their time ensuring their cars have all the right papers because they can simply steal the papers, or the car itself, when they need it.

However, if I happened to be caught in an operation like this driving while disqualified, or carrying £100 of weed in a bag on the front seat, I wouldn’t be cursing them for invading civil liberties and whatnot, I’d merely see it as bad luck, and a foreseeable consequence of breaking the law.