Driverless Cars Could Cripple Law Enforcement Budgets 626
colinneagle writes "Google's driverless cars have now combined to drive more than 700,000 miles on public roads without receiving one citation, The Atlantic reported this week. While this raises a lot of questions about who is responsible to pay for a ticket issued to a speeding autonomous car – current California law would have the person in the driver's seat responsible, while Google has said the company that designed the car should pay the fine – it also hints at a future where local and state governments will have to operate without a substantial source of revenue.
Approximately 41 million people receive speeding tickets in the U.S. every year, paying out more than $6.2 billion per year, according to statistics from the U.S. Highway Patrol published at StatisticBrain.com. That translates to an estimated $300,000 in speeding ticket revenue per U.S. police officer every year. State and local governments often lean on this source of income when they hit financial trouble. A study released in 2009 examined data over a 13-year period in North Carolina, finding a 'statistically significant correlation between a drop in local government revenue one year, and more traffic tickets the next year,' Popular Science reported. So, just as drug cops in Colorado and Washington are cutting budgets after losing revenue from asset and property seizures from marijuana arrests, state and local governments will need to account for a drastic reduction in fines from traffic violations as autonomous cars stick to the speed limit."
Approximately 41 million people receive speeding tickets in the U.S. every year, paying out more than $6.2 billion per year, according to statistics from the U.S. Highway Patrol published at StatisticBrain.com. That translates to an estimated $300,000 in speeding ticket revenue per U.S. police officer every year. State and local governments often lean on this source of income when they hit financial trouble. A study released in 2009 examined data over a 13-year period in North Carolina, finding a 'statistically significant correlation between a drop in local government revenue one year, and more traffic tickets the next year,' Popular Science reported. So, just as drug cops in Colorado and Washington are cutting budgets after losing revenue from asset and property seizures from marijuana arrests, state and local governments will need to account for a drastic reduction in fines from traffic violations as autonomous cars stick to the speed limit."
My Opinion... (Score:4, Funny)
Good /GrumpyCat
If vendor pays, mod your car (Score:5, Funny)
700,000 miles without a citation? (Score:5, Funny)
... but have they tested it with a black dude in the driver's seat [youtube.com]?
Re:If vendor pays, mod your car (Score:5, Funny)
Is this wise? They know where you live. Plus, your car can tow away itself.
Coming soon to a street near you (Score:5, Funny)
Driverless car pulled over by driverless cop car and given a ticket.
Re:Next target, please (Score:4, Funny)
Get out of my head!
My Powerball power fantasy includes me roaming the country with high-speed vehicles, with my team of enormous bodyguards, tossing lit cigarettes back in people's cars.
"Hey, you must have dropped this."