Should Cities Begin Ticketing Drivers That Breakdown?

Hey! Thats Bangkok!

not a bad idea, incentivise people to take care of their cars and not inconvenience the rest of us

Also it offsets any time utilized for traffic control by local officals.

Many cities charge you for a wreck to offset expenses from emergency vehicles. While this sounds like you are preying on the unfortunate, in reality you are offsetting imposed costs.

I think this is a very bad idea. How often do you see car breakdown because of maintenance. Most of the time it is a flat or accidents or something fell in the middle of the road or just because you ran out of gas.

If your car broke down, you are already in trouble for getting it fix asap so as you can get to work the next day and now imposing a ticket.

The whole article does not make any sense. Pay to have your car inspected. We have that already. It is a machine and it is bound to break sometime. What do you do if your transmission breaks in the middle of the road?

Modern day reliability levels are so high that typically the breakdowns are on older vehicles that need to be maintained.

In Japan after owning a car for three years there is a rigorous inspection to determine road worthiness. So strict in fact that many simply trade in the vehicle rather than undergo the scrutiny.

Let also ticket the unemployed and all other less fortunate people.

That doesn't excuse an individual from the responsibility of maintaining road-worthiness of a vehicle.

Cars break down. And it doesn't always have to be neglect. What if the malfunction that caused the breakdown was recall related? Should the person still be tickted?

Also, some folks are just squeaking by and are doing everything that they can do to be productive. They cannot afford a better car. So let’s tax them when their car breaks down. (Like they can afford it). Gouging the poor isn’t going to make anyone’s life better.

I would say a breakdown that isn't maintenance related should be fined, as should running out of fuel. I would say most people can just look at a car to see if it's maintained properly. I admit that there are some neglected items that aren't visible. However, it they are ignoring one thing, they are probably ignoring something else.

No excuse for running out of fuel. I know some people are stretched but there's a gauge on the dash for a reason.

A breakdown from road rash or something that is unforseen, nope, no fine.

Crap, I wish we could edit :(

"I would say a breakdown that IS maintenance related..."

I agree with a few people here, you shouldn't penalize people for just having bad luck...ALL CARS breakdown, sooner or later, and most of the time it has nothing to do with maintenance. While I would agree, SOME things can be preventable, ALL things cannot. If you have never had a breakdown, that was not attainable to poor maintenance, you haven't been driving long enough, or you have just been really lucky! Nothing lasts for ever...Sh*t, there is a better chance that your last car will outlast your present marriage!

Sounds about as smart as jailing people for getting sick...The beatings will continue until morale improves!

In *MY* opinion, if the problem is poorly maintained cars, then pass a law that requires people to maintain their vehicles well, and fine them heavily for not doing so. For example, the Canadian province of Ontario has a mandatory (and useless) Clean Air test that compels a driver to get their car tested for emissions every 2 years, or else they can't get their license renewed. This could be applied annually to safety checks that include proof that your vehicle has been maintained according to the manufacturer's maintenance schedule.

Or we can look to General Aviation (GA) for an example of how mandated maintenance schedules and taking mechanical safety seriously results in incredibly few mechanical failures. Mind you, one of the primary complaints of GA owners is the high cost of maintenance. Another is the slow rate of progress in order to attain high reliability. For example, in most GA aircraft, the pilot *manually* controls the fuel richness, and engine designs haven't changed significantly in many decades.

Sure, tax and fine the people whose cars break down until of course, it happens to your car.

If it's a breakdown from something maintenance related - YES. Heavily.
If it's a flat on a tire that wore through from being bal - YES. Heavily.

If it's a puncture on a brand new tire - No. Never. Especially if the person is out changing it themselves.

This is such a gray area, it would truly be hard to enforce.

tehshibbs, look at the picture above. I would rather have my car towed and have the tire changed in my garage than change it in the road and risk getting hit by a car.

Is it inconvenient for you and the other drivers on the road? Yes. Sometime we have to suck it up.

Send tickets to owners of american cars periodically and cut out the middleman.