PaulF wrote:
Remember - YOU say someone (the speeder) otherwise driving completely safely but guilty of 31 in a 30 (a 'road-slob') should be punished and £60 + 3 points is fair (even though we would argue that this is only 'technically speeding' and that the punishment {if any should be brought in any case} is grossly disproportionate in relation to the offence in question)...
This is more like it < DONG - bell rings for start of round 2>. Now first of all, it is not quite that simple, is it? I have misgivings about cameras that are not well calibrated with some margin for error. And I have misgivings about 3 points for fairly small transgressions, as you would know if you had read my posts. I may be tempted to think that the m-way limit is too low, and a case can be put for more margin. There are degrees of slobiness. And I have misgivings about poorly sited cameras and I think regression to the mean analysis is important. This is the way I am
now, not last year after my crash, when I wanted all speeders to be chemically castrated. One moves on.
PaulF wrote:
You be the judge on this. What should the sentence be for the guy who steals pens in the way outlined throughout this thread?
If I were a judge, the sentence would be based on several things. First, it should reflect the gravity of the offence. Second, it should be graded according to the chance of getting caught – the less likely you are to be caught, the greater the sentence, so as to act as a deterrent to others. Third, extenuating circumstances should be considered. Now, for the specific offence of stealing a pen: it is low gravity with a low chance of being caught, so that cancels out. The extenuating circumstances are that a) I have provided my employer with £100’s of books for free, and b) I take (most of the) pens back.
Therefore, the sentence should be that I should be banned from using scissors for a month!