Unhappy Easter !

In the next four days quite a lot of people are going to have a thoroughly unhappy Easter !

Some are going to be pulled over by the police and some are going to be snapped by speed cameras for exceeding the speed limit by a tiny degree - and all of them will face the loss of half the points necessary to retain a driver's license !

Those who already have demerit points will probably have their license cancelled, and with it will go their means of getting to work - and in some cases - the loss of their job because it requires a driving license to be viable.

The state government agrees that it has been too heavy handed in fining drivers three demerit points in normal times for slightly exceeding the speed limit - and doubling that impost during holiday periods - and it has set in motion the means of reducing the points loss from three to one.

That decision was made a month ago - but it will not come into force for another five months because it takes six months for the bureaucracy to creak into action and do the necessary paperwork.

This is a perfect example of the sloth that passes for government. All that it would take is for the government to make an announcement that tells the police and the magistrates that a single loss of a point will now apply for minor speeding offences.

As a result, all such cases would be put on hold and not proceed through the courts until such time as the paper pushers get their act together - and put the necessary legislation in place.

We also have a grave injustice present in the system that needs correction. Should a motorist fight a speeding charge and win - the fine then does not apply and no conviction is recorded - but the loss of those demerit points still stands !

It would be similar to a person being cleared of a murder charge by a court - but having the prison system go ahead with a hanging anyway !

This Easter the justice system is going to hand out penalties that the government agrees are unjust and grossly unfair. As a result, some people are going to fall foul of license loss - and further down the track some will get a double whammy by being caught driving while unlicensed - because they have no other option if they want to earn a living.

And all this simply because the people who run this state are incapable of making things happen without half a years notice !

Some could say that it's " a helluva way to run a railroad " - but then have a second though and shudder - because they also do run a railroad !