home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Cause and Effect
-
- Comm 101
-
- April 22, 1995
-
- The popular movie "Top Gun" coined a phrase that reads "I feel the need, the need
- for speed." Many drivers today would agree with that phrase. Speeding is one of the
- most common ways that people break the law. When people break the law there are
- unpleasant consequences. A speeding ticket is an effective form of discipline: paying
- for a ticket, traffic school, and higher insurance rates.
-
- Paying for a speeding ticket is an unpleasant experience. A ticket can be
- outrageously expensive depending on how fast you were speeding. Some states
- charge ten to twenty dollars per mile an hour over the speed limit. The officer assigns
- you a day to appear in court, if you choose to fight the ticket rather than pay the fine.
- Waiting in the courtroom to see the judge can be very close to a death sentence. The
- wait is long, and the company can be frightening. Once you plead your case, you
- generally end up paying the fine. This only leads to another line, and another wait. This
- has to be the most unpleasant part of a speeding ticket.
-
- In addition, paying for traffic school is also a disagreeable experience. If you waited to
- see the judge, you may be on your way after paying the fine. If the judge is kind, and
- offers a traffic school option, the unpleasantness continues. Usually the traffic school
- is no where near to the courthouse, which causes you to search to find the it. The
- great experience of paying is close at hand after locating the school. You must endure
- the nine hour course after paying for the privilege of attending. This is a class most
- people would have never taken if given the chance. The unpleasantness associated
- with a speeding ticket is almost finished when you have completed the course.
-
- A reoccurring reminder of a previous mistake is evident in higher insurance rates.
- Most insurance companies feel that speeding tickets make someone a higher risk.
- So, to offset the risk they raise the premium. Which means it is more expensive to
- obtain insurance. If the insurance company decides to raise your rates by only ten
- dollars it can have a lasting effect. When the ticket falls off your driving the record,
- usually in three to five years, you have spent more than one thousand dollars more
- than if you had not been speeding. The insurance company raises your rates with
- each ticket, until they cancel the policy. This alone makes it worthwhile to obey the
- law.
-
- A speeding ticket is an effective form of discipline, with court, with traffic school, and
- with higher insurance rates. The deterrents for speeding are not all outwardly
- noticeable until you has been through the process. Once you have a speeding ticket
- experience, you may be more careful to obey the law.