Canada introduces $10,000 speeding ticket

Ontario, Canada Premier Dalton McGuinty today announced that being caught driving 50km/h (31 MPH) over the speed limit will automatically trigger "street racing" penalties — even if the accused motorist is driving alone on an otherwise empty road. The change in definition will, in effect, turn ordinary speeding into an offense that can carry a $10,000 (US $9305) fine and up to six months in jail, making it one of the most expensive traffic tickets in North America.

"If you choose to break the law, we consider you a threat to our public safety and you're going to face stiff penalties," McGuinty said in a statement.

In June, McGuinty cited the importance of combating the "organized crime" of street racing as he urged passage of the Safer Roads for a Safer Ontario Act which created the $10,000 penalty. The change in definition also means that the word of a police officer is all that it takes to confiscate a car and driver's license for at least seven days.

"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," the Safer Roads Act states.

McGuinty also announced a proposal to hire 55 new traffic police officers and purchase a high-tech surveillance airplane in an attempt to rack up several of the expensive new fines. Thenewspaper.com

[Editor's Note: This lunacy does nothing to dispel the notion that most police departments are nothing more than revenue generators to help pay for their existence and the police officers can be coined "revenuers."]