So the enforcement randomness is the same, it's just the penalties are stiffer and longer-lasting.
My wife is from a country with ingrained corruption and her sister's husband is a police officer. Her cousin works at a notary's office, an institution who's only purpose is systematic corruption, and her husband narrowly escaped prison in a finance scandal at a company he ran through means that shall we say were less than ethical. Until you experience life in a place like that, you just can't really imagine what it's actually like.
There's a world of difference between a country ruled by laws in which there is some corruption, and a country that is ruled by corruption in which there are some laws.
And no, it really isn't unsafe to go at the speed limit. Driving at 20mph on a highway can cause problems, but going 10-15mph slower than traffic in the rightmost lane is not going to cause any accidents.
Power is just as capricious, wherever you are in the world. People that select to be in positions of power are rarely the kind of people who can be trusted to always execute that power honestly.
I see where the comment parent is coming from.
> People that select to be in positions of power are rarely the kind of people who can be trusted to always execute that power honestly.
I think this is an exaggeration. People that select to be in positions of power are not always the kind of people who can be trusted to always execute that power honestly.
The difference in degree of corruption in a country is roughly the same thing as the trustability of people in positions of power.
The highway will be lined with cars being pulled over.
I think you bring up good points about the relative scariness of Western selective enforcement as compared to developing world systemic corruption. Seems like if you keep your head up, you can escape getting targeted by the corrupt status quo. But in the West, people seem to get caught up in political whirlwinds with frightening randomness. Some dude's carrying cash to complete a seemingly routine business transaction the same way everybody in his town's always done it, and gets targeted for asset forfeiture.
The scale of Western corruption can't rise to the level of the whole society, and that on the whole seems to make it worse rather than better when it actually surfaces.
No, they're not. Perhaps in some states but not on average. I'm in Pennsylvania so can only use those numbers.[0] There is the base fine (which can be doubled if you're in a work zone or an area with posted signs to that effect) and surcharges.
Fine (25-55mph/40-90km/hr zone): $45-95
Fine (65 mph/105km/hr zone): $44.50-102.50
EMS Surcharge: $10
JCP Surcharge: $10
Court costs: Varies, last ticket I got was in 2010 and I think it was $7.50
MCARE: $50 for speeding, additional surcharges for additional offenses (e.g. passing a stopped school bus)
I don't mean any of this to minimize your comment regarding selective enforcement. I've passed police who were doing speed enforcement at 15+ over the limit and seen others pulled over; I've been pulled over when there were others readily available going faster than me.
[0] http://www.justdrivepa.org/Resources/TIPP%20Fine%20Card%20JA...
Edit: s/street racing/stunt driving/
Like most enforcement in the US, there seems to be a great deal of discretion in what the police officer can actually do to you, everything from a warning to a large ticket ($475 for my example w/ a reckless driving citation, which will also probably cause you to lose your car insurance).
But why people complain, I wonder? Isn't endemic bribery a realization of the libertarian dream? People setting up to collect as much toll as they can from you while you voluntarily try to access a resource - that's literally the free market solution! /s
The problem with corrupt isn't that the rules benefit one party or another, rather that they are unpredictable.