Oh Dear: £15 extra on car fines to help victims of domestic violence and sex attacks

[milanbenes]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6973689.ece


'Drivers who are found guilty of minor motoring offences face a £15 surcharge to help victims of domestic violence and other violent crime.

Details of the new tax were slipped out before Christmas in a Parliamentary answer. The “victims’ surcharge” will be added to fixed penalty tickets given out by police.

Anyone who breaks parking regulations, contravenes a stop sign or speeds will be forced to pay the penalty. It could also be levied when a vehicle has dirty windows. Ministers say that they want to extend the payment to all types of fixed penalties.
'


have a read of the Reader's comments to that article, excellent.

Milan.

[Diver]

Seems fair to me

[Board Game Geek]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6973689.ece
It could also be levied when a vehicle has dirty windows. .

Ah, the good old Window Tax returns.

Time to brick up my rear passenger windows then.

[Gonzo]

It's not going to happen. The government have run out of time.

[Paddy]

Domestic violence is rarely prosecuted and when it is the fine is much less than motoring offences. It the government picking on easy targets again.

[Board Game Geek]

I was just saying to my wife Jemima, as we sat eating our organic muesli and drinking fairtrade decaf with soya milk over breakfast, that this article in the Guardian did rather poke our consciences somewhat.

Jemima summed it up perfectly.

She said :

"Giles, you must remember that driving is not a victimless crime. By exceeding the time limit the other day when you went to Oxfam to get the Winterval Presents, you deprived a battered woman (or man) the chance to park. That will now result in them getting a beating from their partner for your thoughtless actions."

I was beside myself with guilt, and wanted to rush out to the police station to hand myself in immediately.

Jemima said that I was being silly, since the law had not been passed yet, but she said perhaps I could donate £15 to the Donkey Sanctuary on page 5, as that would be a fair recompense for my mindless middle class behaviour.

So we sat together with tears running down our eyes, as we sponsored "Sam", the donkey. Even the kids were crying and young Justin ran to his bedroom to strip his bed of blankets, and they are having great fun making a "Donkey Care Parcel" with their toys.

Afterwards, we sung the Red Flag together and cleaned the family 2CV.

It's good to be holier than the rest of the street. Not in a religious way obviously like the dreaded you know whos, apart from the other one that wear the body tent things (as Justin calls them..tsk..tsk) which is ok of course.

[Moscow Mule]

It's not going to happen. The government have run out of time.

It's already happened...

[Bagpuss]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6973689.ece


It could also be levied when a vehicle has dirty windows.

Milan.

Journalism at it's best! It's been an offence to drive without being able to see where you are going for as long as I can remember.

[Gonzo]

It's already happened...

I read it that currently people who get a conviction get hit with the extra charge but that to extend this to fixed penalty notices will require changes to the law that the government don't have the capacity to do.

[Moscow Mule]

I read it that currently people who get a conviction get hit with the extra charge but that to extend this to fixed penalty notices will require changes to the law that the government don't have the capacity to do.

I read it as they'd already done it by statutory instrument. I can't be arsed to look it up in Hansard to work out which one of us is right though...