‘John Law’ and Revenue Reaching

It’s a time when many of us, business owners, families and government agencies included are penny pinching. Recent revenue reaching practices here in California have me watching my odometer and driving very, very carefully. It seems that certain state agencies are looking for every opportunity to raise revenue.

Three revenue reaching anecdotes:

• After pulling over to the side of the road, and turning off the engine to make a phone call, a woman received a ticket for using a cell phone while ‘in control of her vehicle’. The judge wouldn’t dismiss the fine because the key was in the ignition. To avoid this, when you pull over to make a call, put your keys on the seat next to you.
• While washing his car in his driveway and enjoying a beer, a man was given a DUI ticket because he pulled out of the driveway to turn his car around. Now, if the beer was in the car while he did it, I can almost see the judge’s case, but the car was immediately parked back in the driveway and that’s when the citation was given. A revenue reaching DUI ticket has terrible consequences for your wallet and for your insurance, so be very careful to keep any open alcoholic beverages away from your car, whether in the driveway or on the road.
• Another driver was going to parallel-park on a busy downtown street and was waiting to pull in. He was surprised by the red flashing light behind him and was given a ticket for double parking. Now there may be an argument if traffic was held up for an extended period of time but in this case it was brief.  So, if you’re leaving a parking place while someone is waiting, do so expediently. If you’re waiting for the parking place, make sure to pull in quickly or let a passenger out to save the space and circle the block again.

While state and county budget crises may be leading to creative enforcement, take care to be as aware as possible or you may be involuntarily contributing to one very successful business, traffic schools. Don’t let revenue reaching trap you!