Scott Henderson of Grits for Breakfast, a Texas political blog, wrote on Thursday October 14th, about a legislation being passed in Corpus Christi that targets uninsured drivers. As a political blogger, Scott Henderson has a great deal of credibility. He has worked for several major magazines and has been involved in numerous political activities in and around Austin. For this posting, Henderson seems to have a very broad audience, it does not seem as if he is trying to appeal to anyone specific.
The original article states,
"The council approved $180,000 from the city's general fund to help increase enforcement. Police Chief Troy Riggs said the department's plans call for hiring two more impound control officers, buying a new wrecker and doubling the number of auto auctions to 12 a year. Adding six auctions is expected to generate $510,000 a year, he said.
Police also will start giving offenders the maximum penalty: a citation with a fine between $175 and $350 for the first offense, plus an average cost of $280 to get the vehicle out of impound.
If violators don't pay up, their cars can be sold in as few as 30 days, officials said."
Henderson believes that these new laws are unfair and seem "Soviet-era cliche". He argues that they are solely a revenue gaining scheme, due to how rapidly they are auctioning cars off and the maximizing of fines. Also, Henderson suggests that because law enforcements intends on putting up checkpoints on designated nights, that it may be a way to get around the ban on having DWI checkpoints. Some of Henderson's doubt that this legislation will bring about any good comes from a similar legislation passed in Dallas, which, in the end, did nothing to reduce the number of uninsured drivers.
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