What would be the alternative though? Jail would be a bit harsh for a parking violation, and all other punishments I can think of would also be unfair to some people.
Community work discriminates against the single parent, favoring the childless unemployed.
Losing the drivers license for a month discriminates against the rural population while city folks can use the bus to get to work. Or even a cab if they’re rich enough.
Even in jail you would be better off if you are rich, as you can bribe the guards or buy some level of comfort.
Until we get rid of the rich, any punishment will be somewhat biased. But not punishing misdemeanors at all would not really be an option either.
Not even progressively larger fines, up to jail time and having your driving licence and car forefeited are proportionate - this still disproportionately affects those less well-off.
Perhaps civil asset and “rights” forefeiture for the rich could be a better solution. With rights I don’t mean human rights, but stuff like being allowed to ride in a car at all (since being rich enough you can hire a chauffeur, even losing your licence isn’t a big deal and you can always rent a car or buy a new one multiplr times over). How this would be implemented (enforced) I don’t know, but it should work. If course it should only be applied to people blatantly disregarding basic civility in traffic and those who don’'t need the car
Multiple time offenders should see harsher penalties regardless of what their income is.
Take away their license. If they drive without a license, then they should go to jail.
Being a parent or being disabled is no excuse for multiple parking violations. If you don’t know the law or aren’t patient enough to follow them, then don’t drive. Driving is a privileged, not a right.
Losing the drivers license for a month discriminates against the rural population while city folks can use the bus to get to work. Or even a cab if they’re rich enough.
Rural people got around fine before the automobile. They walked or rode a horse. Nobody needs a car.
You don’t need to live 50km away from where you work. People from before cars would never dream of such an outrageous lifestyle.
That kind of decadence, traveling 50km twice every day, was enabled by unsustainable technology which is killing the biosphere. We need to stop this kind of wasteful excess, or climate collapse will stop it for us. We can have people living 50km away from work, but that 50km needs to be 50km of railway line. It can’t be an asphalt road, that’s too expensive to the world. The debt is coming due.
My municipality made a study where they looked at the carbon footprint of residents in three different areas. Those with the highest carbon emissions lived right in the city center, next to where they work. The ones in suburbs were right in the middle with respect to carbon dioxide generated by their lifestyle. Lowest were those living 30 km or more away from the city center.
I drive to get to work, nothing else. I don’t drive to the store, I don’t buy clothes, I don’t fly to holiday destinations. I don’t need or want to, since I have everything I love right outside my door. Those who live in cities are statistically those who need to make the largest changes to their lifestyle if we are to save the planet.
Even though city-dwellers may not see a starry night for a long time, rural residents still emit more carbon emissions than their slick city counterparts.
The BBC article agrees. When carbon emissions are compared between residents of rural and urban areas, the former appear to have a higher carbon footprint.
Homes in large towns or apartments in cities tend to be smaller and denser, thus easier to heat. People in cities drive short distances to work or may even commute to work, but residents in rural areas tend to drive long distances for work or leisure.
What would be the alternative though? Jail would be a bit harsh for a parking violation, and all other punishments I can think of would also be unfair to some people.
Until we get rid of the rich, any punishment will be somewhat biased. But not punishing misdemeanors at all would not really be an option either.
Not even progressively larger fines, up to jail time and having your driving licence and car forefeited are proportionate - this still disproportionately affects those less well-off.
Perhaps civil asset and “rights” forefeiture for the rich could be a better solution. With rights I don’t mean human rights, but stuff like being allowed to ride in a car at all (since being rich enough you can hire a chauffeur, even losing your licence isn’t a big deal and you can always rent a car or buy a new one multiplr times over). How this would be implemented (enforced) I don’t know, but it should work. If course it should only be applied to people blatantly disregarding basic civility in traffic and those who don’'t need the car
Multiple time offenders should see harsher penalties regardless of what their income is.
Take away their license. If they drive without a license, then they should go to jail.
Being a parent or being disabled is no excuse for multiple parking violations. If you don’t know the law or aren’t patient enough to follow them, then don’t drive. Driving is a privileged, not a right.
Rural people got around fine before the automobile. They walked or rode a horse. Nobody needs a car.
I’ve got a horse but there’s no stables outside my workplace. Walking 50 km to work would take the whole day.
You don’t need to live 50km away from where you work. People from before cars would never dream of such an outrageous lifestyle.
That kind of decadence, traveling 50km twice every day, was enabled by unsustainable technology which is killing the biosphere. We need to stop this kind of wasteful excess, or climate collapse will stop it for us. We can have people living 50km away from work, but that 50km needs to be 50km of railway line. It can’t be an asphalt road, that’s too expensive to the world. The debt is coming due.
“We” feels like cheating. Have you considered saying “others and drag”?
Groups containing individuals have different pronouns than the people inside.
My municipality made a study where they looked at the carbon footprint of residents in three different areas. Those with the highest carbon emissions lived right in the city center, next to where they work. The ones in suburbs were right in the middle with respect to carbon dioxide generated by their lifestyle. Lowest were those living 30 km or more away from the city center.
I drive to get to work, nothing else. I don’t drive to the store, I don’t buy clothes, I don’t fly to holiday destinations. I don’t need or want to, since I have everything I love right outside my door. Those who live in cities are statistically those who need to make the largest changes to their lifestyle if we are to save the planet.
https://climateadaptationplatform.com/who-has-the-bigger-carbon-footprint-rural-or-urban-dwellers/