i'm not from a small town, so maybe i don't understand...but, how does stopping someone for a broken taillight, giving them a ticket, and then sending them on their way affect safety?
It is discourage jack wagons from driving around for years on end with broken equipment, creating a hazard to everyone on the road.
We have hundreds of miles of roads with no lights of any kind except what cars have on them. Count the lights on your car. Most of them are not for you to see, but to make you more visible to others. Just as other drivers have a reasonable expectation that you will stay in your lane and stop at red lights, they have a reasonable expectation that your vehicle will have proper running, marker, brake, and turn lights properly illuminated while being operated on public roads. A light can be seen many times farther away than one can use that light to see. Tail lights can be seen much farther away than even the best headlights will illuminate.
I don't understand why anyone would put his fellow, innocent beings at such risk as to operate a 2,000 pound motor vehicle upwards of 80 mph on public roads and not have that car in proper working order. Some folks choose to drive drunk. Some are careless about how they handle and store their guns. Some just don't care about keeping lights working.
are they not back in the same situation as they were previously, except they have a hefty fine to pay in the next couple weeks?
In Utah, if you demonstrate you've fixed the issue in a reasonable amount of time (a couple of weeks), then the ticket is voided. Of course, if it takes a hefty fine to convince some to keep their cars in proper operating condition to share a road wit civilized society....so be it.
i once drove 2 years with only 1 taillight (only 1 brake light too, and no turn signal on that side), and was never pulled over.
Kind of like the guy who drives home from the bar drunk for months or years on end never hurting anyone....until he does?
the only fear i had was having to pay a stupid fine because i couldn't afford the money it would cost to replace the LED taillight on my vehicle.
Those who "can't afford" to keep basic safety equipment on a car like lights, brakes, tires, steering, windshield wipers, in proper operation, "can't afford" to be driving. We've got a young man in the ground here because someone couldn't be bothered to secure a mattress into their truck properly. Guess what happens when a motorcyclist finds a mattress in his lane at night, at freeway speeds? The kind of attitude that doesn't bother to fix a busted light is the same attitude that figures "one drink too many" is still safe to drive home or that a mattress doesn't really need to be properly secured.
A tail light bulb costs a couple of bucks. Red repair tape to fix a busted lens is a couple of bucks. For $10, an entire aftermarket fixture that can be bolted to a bumper or fender and wired in can be had.
A guy who can afford gas and insurance can afford to fix a busted tail light--one way or another--if he wants to. Some just don't care it seems.
I'd prefer such selfish individuals not be on the public roads with my loved ones and me.
Charles