An Aspen lawmaker wants people to slow down when driving on stretches of road where wildlife are frequent by creating wildlife crossing zones—and then wants to double the fine for those who speed in these zones to encourage them to slow down. Some lawmakers pushed back against what they said is government overreach by seeking new revenue in the name of safety. But despite any arguments to the contrary, the bill passed the Senate today with modest bipartisan support.
The "wildlife zones" can be no more than 100 miles long, as if this is reasonable and will limit the zones so they don't blanket the state. One zone will basically end on one side of a town and start up on the other side, there are almost no stretches of more than 100 miles before encountering a town or city in Colorado. This is just a way to double the speeding fines across the state without generating quite as much negative publicity as a straight up increase in the fines would generate.
Appealing to the lowest common denominator. Put a pair of dear eyes or the face of a baby seal on the front of your pamphlet and, in America, you've already won half the battle.
Posted by: Charles | May 11, 2010 at 11:21 PM