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The Canadian government has recently made a change in its speeding ticket regulations. Speeding tickets were usually punished by a slap on the wrist, and consisted of demerit points and fines of a maximum of a few hundred dollars.
But now, if a motorist is found to be driving at 50 kph above the speed limit, he or she would be considered to be indulging in street racing, even if there is no other car on the road.
Street racing is looked upon as a serious offence in Canada, and carries a fine of $10,000, and a jail term of up to six months. The officials have been known to refer to it as "organized crime".
What is worse, the policeman's word is final, if the police say you were speeding 50 kph above the limit, you cannot appeal against it. Your license could be temporarily taken away for a week, and your vehicle confiscated as well.
According to the Safer Roads Act: "There is no appeal from, or right to be heard before, a vehicle detention, driver's license suspension or vehicle impoundment under the street racing subsection", and the government intends to apply this street racing subsection to a car that is speeding at 50 kph over the limit, even if the road is otherwise empty.
There is widespread outrage at this new rule, with unclear signage being cited as the main reason why people could be caught speeding on the highways.
The police regularly use speed traps like radar, laser and pace car speedometers, and speed cameras to determine if vehicles are speeding, but to apply street racing legislation to cars that may not be racing but still over the speed limit seems unfair to many.
Insurance rates usually rise when a driver gets a speeding conviction: there is also a concern that interest rates will take a leap if the new $10,000 street racing ticket becomes the norm, leading to financial ruin for the driver.
But a large majority also backs up the $10,000 speed ticket saying that people should drive carefully and follow speed limits, because this will reduce the number of accidents.
New drives like the use of helicopters with speed monitoring devices and the hiring of 55 new traffic police officers is also being justified by the government as a means to ensure safety.
Many drivers think of this measure as a means for the government to boost its revenue. Whether casualties related to speeding would reduce directly because of this regulation still remains to be seen.