Ryan Bridge: This country's fines make no sense

This country's fines make no sense. 

you can get$70 for parking a few minutes over in the wrong spot, $150 for driving in a bus lane at the wrong time, which is the same texting while driving, an act that could, in theory, distract you enough to kill somebody on the road.

So what gives? 

You get $30 for going a few Kms over 100 on a main road. 

Anyone who's been to Australia knows things are different. Way harsher. People, generally, follow the rules as a result. 

Burt that doesn't mean nobody's crashing and dying on their roads, does it. 

The problem is revenue gathering. If you actually set the fines based on the potentially damage an action may cause, we'd have a totally different system and set of punishments. 

But you'd also have councils and cops who take the piss and revenue grab - speeding cameras in areas nobody's seen a crash in decades. 

That's basically why we are where we are. 

There is one change they can make that I support - free parking for over 80s. 

Gore already does it. Oamaru is looking at doing it. 

They've got new parking meters installed in December and it's apparently, according to Age Concern, making the elderly anxious. 

They're digital. You get two hours free but then have to enter your details for a third hour.

The fear of getting a $70 ticket is too much for them so they just don't drive into town. That's a massive setback for an older person. 

That's less chatting to people in the mall, shop-owners and cafe owners, less socialising. 

If you've made it to 80, you deserve to head into town. In your own car. Without being scared of half yah pension flying out the window in fines.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This country's fines you've probably noticed this make very little sense.
You can get seventy bucks for parking for a few
minutes over in the wrong spot in a CBD area,
one hundred and fifty dollars for driving in a bus lane,
which is a massive really, that's a big fine by comparison,
and that is the exact same amount you can get
for texting while driving, an act which could, in theory

(00:21):
distract you enough to kill somebody on the road. So
that kind of makes no sense. So what gives you
can get thirty bucks for going a few k's over
one hundred on a main road. Anyone who's been to Australia,
those things are very different. They're way harsher. People generally
follow the rules of the road as a result. You
might have seen that if you're driven over an OZ,

(00:41):
but that doesn't mean that no one's crashing there and
no one's dying on their roads either, does it. The
problem is revenue gathering. As you well know, if you
actually set the fines based on the potential damage that
an action may cause, we'd have a totally different system
and set of punishments. But you would also have councils
and cops who take the mickey and go revenue grab

(01:04):
speeding cameras in areas where no one's seen a crash
in decades. That kind of thing. That's basically why we
are where we are. There is one change, though, that
I think we can make one that I support, wait
for it, free parking for those over the age of eighty,
get rid of the parking charges all together. Therefore get

(01:25):
rid of the fines for them. Gore already does this. Congratulations, Gore,
welcome to the party. Or Amadu is looking at doing
this at the moment. They've got new parking meters installed
in town. You see happen in December, and apparently this is,
according to age concern making the elderly very anxious because
they're digital. So you get two hours free, but then

(01:47):
you have to enter your details of your car for
a third hour. And they're very anxious about doing this
in a digital way, and so they say the fear
of getting a seventy dollars ticket is so much so
great that they just don't go into town. I mean,
isn't that that's seriously said? I think a massive setback
for an older person. You're not going in there chatting

(02:09):
to people in the mall, to the shop owners, to
the cafe owners. It's less socializing, less practical, losing your
independence for fear of a fine. I think it's unfair.
If you've made it to eighty, you deserve to go
to town in your own car without being worried of half
your pension flying out the window and fines. For more

(02:30):
from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live to news Talks.
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