My second speeding offence in 1974 brought a court appearance and a four-day license suspension. I was warned by the judge that driving while under suspension carried a jail sentence. Nowadays I might struggle to get thrown in jail even if robbed and bashed someone.

Police nowadays say they are concerned about the number of repeat drink and dangerous drivers who continue to flout the law by driving disqualified. As near as I can tell when one of them is brought to justice the only penalty imposed will be a further fine which may not get paid, pus a further license disqualification which will be useless if the first one wasn't honoured, or a community service order which may never get filled for any one of a myriad of excuses.

The only thing that the law seems capable of doing with any seriousness is ripping dollars out of decent, law abiding citizen's pockets. I have not personally had a traffic offence of any sort for seventeen years, yet if I forget my wallet and get caught driving it will cost me a hundred smackeroos. This is justice?

The safe alternative is to leave my driver's license permanently in my car. Will the police recommend that?

I don't totally subscribe to the revenue-raising arguments because I am aware of the enormous cost to the state government of road crashes and road safety provisions, particularly third-party insurance losses. The government simply doesn't make a profit on the deal.

Authorities are quite correct to eagerly pursue significantly reduced road trauma.

However, that doesn't justify unleashing upon society a Grim Raker wielding a money-magnetic scythe, who cruelly slashes down the cash reserves of unwary people who aren't deliberately flouting or breaking laws.

If they continue in that fashion, not only will the bad-guys have zero respect for law and order, the good guys will have little belief in it, either.