Speeding Fine Law Hybrid Deterrent – No
All speeding is wrong and causes grief to other road users and pedestrians, endangering their life and the life of the speeding car's passengers and driver. Speeding involves driving a vehicle faster than the stated speed limit of the road. Speeding also involves driving faster than the limit made possible by weather conditions - a variable often left to driver's discretion and judgment - and overlooked in the assessment of whether a driver was speeding, or not.
Speeding is discouraged by issuing fines. Often more severe fines are imposed for speeds that are heavily in excess of the speed limit or which occur near pedestrian areas or schools etc. Thus there is some graduation of penalty but a uniform penalty system conveys one basic message. That is, all speeding is absolutely wrong and deserves penalty without excuse. A driver who persists in speeding will ultimately lead loose their license to drive, since points are issued with the fine.
The problem of not issuing uniform fine penalty for speeding across all drivers and vehicles is that this conveys that in some instances it is more "ok" to speed than others. If driver's of hybrid vehicles were to be fined more, then implicitly drivers of non-hybrid vehicles are fined less. Suddenly we transform speeding from an absolute crime that endangers life and deserves uniform penalty across the board, to something far more relative. We make it more "ok" to speed in some vehicles than in others. This is wrong. Speeding an absolute crime.
A speeding penalty dependent upon a vehicle is the first step towards the absurd situation where all manner of random variables might be included in the equation that determines the ultimate fine. Perhaps we should take into account the driver's mood, employment status, or even whether they have a good excuse for speeding. This is of course absurd and mocks the basic danger that speeding presents to innocent human life. We need a uniform penalty system to convey a uniform message about the danger of speeding.
Non-uniform penalty for speeding makes the fine become more like a "speeding tax" than a deterrent. We may calculate how much we can speed according to our situation and budget and vehicle etc. and calculatingly pay our way through the speeding we want to do. Perhaps one day drivers will be means tested to see how much they can afford to pay and further ridicule the basic idea that all speeding is wrong and deserves uniform punishment.
Should hybrid-drivers be fined more for speeding? Absolutely no. Speeding is a matter of life and death. We cannot convey that in any situation it is more "ok" to speed than in others. If we fined some who speed (in the same situation as others) more, then we would totally undermine the fine as a penalty deterrent for irresponsible, life-threatening behavior.
