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Posted by: kwflatbed

By Casey Ross
Boston Herald Reporter
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - Updated: 06:15 AM EST

A baby-faced Saugus teen who ran afoul of stringent new state driving laws has been ordered to take a road-rage class and will lose her license for 90 days, all for driving 12 mph over the speed limit.
Jessica Fulchino, 17, was pulled over for driving 42 mph in a 30 mph zone in Saugus, an infraction the junior driver thought would probably mean a hefty fine and higher insurance bills.
But then she received a note from the state explaining the real fallout: a 90-day license suspension, a $500 reinstatement fee and mandatory classes on road rage and attitudinal training.
On top of all that, her 12 mph infraction means she must pay fees to retake the written driving exam and a road test.

“I don’t think it’s fair. This is the first thing on my driving record,” Fulchino said yesterday. “To take all these classes to get it back makes no sense. It’s ridiculous.”

Full story; http://news.bostonherald.com/localRe...icleid=1002693

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Posted by: Nightstalker

SLOW DOWN!!!!

So the kids get busted doing 12 over.... The fact of the matter is.... If you got caught doing 12 over by a marked cruiser.... you probably drive faster than that when you dont think a cruiser is around.

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Posted by: MM1799

I do feel for her in some aspect. When I was a teen I was pulled over for 10mph+ over a couple of times aswell. As an adult I can look back and say, "wow, I was an idiot" but as a kid I was invincible. That is one hefty fine and a lot of work to get her license back, but the law is the law. If she really wants to blame someone (other than herself) she can look at her fellow classmates who drag race and subsequentely kill themselves on the roads, those are the ones who brought about tougher bill.

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Posted by: Nightstalker

Quote:

Originally Posted by MM1799 If she really wants to blame someone (other than herself) she can look at her fellow classmates who drag race and subsequentely kill themselves on the roads, those are the ones who brought about tougher bill.

MM - Outstanding point.

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Posted by: KJack815

I agree the law is pretty harsh for the kids, but maybe she will be an example to instill a little fear in the "invincible" kids. I don't want to see them all paying $500+ tributes to the state to drive again, but we've all heard of too many kids dying in crashes due to speeding. The laws are in place for their own safety....and apparently a little state revenue hah

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Posted by: OCKS

This law is typical of the legislators, make a real tough law that on paper looks good, but has serious consequences. One of these is that we are going to maybe give a warning when the kid deserves a ticket, but not a 700 dollar kick in the pants. I imagine that more kids will appeal the tickets and the courts will let them off and we look like the bad guys.

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Posted by: Wolfman

WAY too much $$ for a speeding ticket. Suspend the little brats, but no sense in levying fines that most adults would find hard to pay.

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Posted by: Tango

A ticket in this case, knowing what it will take for this girl to get her DL back seems a bit exessive, but I wasnt there and wont pass judgement on the officer.

It will take some time to figure out, but I wonder if the accident/injury rate will decrease with this law in effect? Like someone else pointed out, I agree warnings and other "discretionary" measures will be on the rise. I know I will use a bit more discretion with these kids

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Posted by: OutOfManyOne

All these heavy fines for minor BS meanwhile you can walk on OUIs. Go figure.

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Posted by: mpr4601

When my job let us know this was going into effect, they basically said to use "a lot more" discretion when giving a V to a junior operator. That article says how citations are way down for junior operators, but I doubt it's cause kids know about the new penalties.

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Posted by: USMCTrooper

42 in a 30 doesn't sound excessive, but that same 12 mph difference translates to 77 in a 65. That equates to just shy of 113 fps. I can't say I'd be too understanding for some new kid driver in that situation.

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Posted by: 209

I bet all the kids in her class are thinking twice about speeding...certianly sends the message. ( Although I agree a lot more discretion will be used before issuing a V to a JO )

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Posted by: badogg88

I honestly don't think it's too harsh. I'm 23 years old and when I was 16 1/2 and had just got my license, I was petrified to go 30, nevermind 42 in a 30. It does seem excessive, but just revoking the license for 90 days doesn't mean ANYTHING. A $500 fine, and having to retake the test, as well as taking all the classes probably hits them a little bit harder then simply taking away their license. Nevermind the fact that now they have to ask mommy or daddy for a ride to the class because they don't have a license or any money for gas anymore.

Sure she was only going 12MPH over the speed limit, but if they impose a new law that states anyone going 12MPH over the limit or less doesn't get the fine, then where does it end? Someone going 13 is going to complain, then 14, 15, 16...it'll never end. Tough love never hurt anyone.

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Posted by: 209

So hopefully if JOL's worry so much about getting a speeding ticket then they will be even less likely to get an OUI and pay closer attention to the road

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Posted by: mikemac64

Could have been a hardon cop. Could have been a bad attitude by the driver. Could have been a bunch of prior verbals and it was her last chance.

I give the juniors a break if I can, but sometimes circumstances don't allow it.

She paid the fine so there is no appeal. I don't imagine the PD will be speaking publicly. That should end it.

On a side note, her father certainly presented himself as a ding dong by his performance (at least by what I saw on the news anyhow).

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Posted by: lofu

Another unintended consequence in my opinion is that these kids are going to start running when they see the blue lights. While we all know most times they don't get away these kids might figure its worth a try.

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Posted by: Wolfman

Unfortunately, JOL's, like most youth, generally do not consider the ramifications of their actions until after those actions have been performed. In that sense, it should be paramount that the punishment is appropriate for the offense. If a 30-day suspension isn't a deterrant, adding a $500 reinstatement fee isn't going to do much more and may well backfire, as police may be disinclined to spank a kid that hard - and thus resort to a warning which has no teeth whatsoever.

Compared to an adult speeding, the suspension and retests that a junior operator faces for the same offense hits the kids hard and should deliver a strong message. Odds are though, given the limited resources of most junior operators, the $500 "reinstatement fee" is going to hit the parents hard or deplete what little savings the kids have from their low-paying jobs - and all it does is fatten the bank accounts of the RMV - not like it goes back into any programs for youth driving. Maybe if the reinstatement fee got directed to financial assistance for driving schools or driver ed programs in the public schools it would be an easier sell but the way it is now it's an exorbitantly excessive fee that is just plain skimming.

Keep the fines the same as everyone else and throw in the suspension
- that's a spank that will be effective to the junior operator - but these over the top fees are just plain horseshit.

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Posted by: kwflatbed

What ever happened to give the parents a call,and a trip out behind the
woodshed was the punishment.

The old ways worked well when parents were parents and respect ruled.

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Posted by: Mongo

Well said.

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Posted by: SOT

What happened? Most parents will blame the cop, coddle their kids, and some how end up with a judgment against the town or department for making their kid suffer the embarrassment of actually, maybe, just slightly having to come to grips with their responsibility as a driver.

Short version: The state becomes the parent in the libby screeching moonbat world because there is no personal responsibility for ones action.

My neighbors all have kids of driving age and they are all scared to death of the law...they all know all the fines and shit and it has really turned one or two of the little punk ass kids up the street around. The two kids that used to speed up and down and around, now drive pretty fucking sedately after that law went into effect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwflatbed What ever happened to give the parents a call,and a trip out behind the woodshed was the punishment. The old ways worked well when parents were parents and respect ruled.

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