The violations that will be punished are the lack of a seat belt, the use of a cell phone while driving or crossing a red light, among other violations of traffic regulations.. Francisco Baggio, Secretary of the Environment and Citizen Protection of the Municipality of Neuquén, clarified that the most frequent violation during the trial period was the invasion of the pedestrian path, which represented 70% of the recorded events. He also clarified that excessive speed will not be controlled or punished.
Before the cameras LMPlay, the drivers were, for the most part, in favor of the measure. “We are children of rigor, but we have to see what happens if one begins to receive many very high fines and cannot pay them. There it will be a problem and it will have to be reviewed, but the system is good,” one of the drivers explained.
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Maria Isabel Sanchez
Many of those consulted agreed that motorists only become aware of the rules “when it’s in their pocket,” which is why they considered that the measure could generate a change in habits in the future that would be beneficial for traffic.
“In some things it is good, but in some things it seems to be a collection effort,” said a driver, who criticized the demands for speed reduction in the school zone, because it ends up complicating traffic. “The value is disproportionate to the purchasing power of the car owner. You get a very heavy fine and lose everything. It is disproportionate and too much punishment, it seems to me that the punishment should be for those who do commit an accident,” he stated.
Although he considered that the use of a seat belt is actually a personal protection measure and should not be controlled, he clarified that it is correct to penalize the use of a cell phone while driving. “I have used it and I know that it is very distracting. The belt is for taking care of yourself but with the cell phone you can kill someone,” he said.
“I didn’t change the way I drove in the city because the photo fines started, I always respected the rules and when I see the yellow light, I stop,” said a motorcyclist while refueling at a service station in the downtown area.
“It will help us be aware that we must use the seat belt and respect the traffic rules,” said another of the motorists who was filling up with fuel. “Something that my wife pointed out to me is that sometimes you are about to cross, the traffic light changes and you end up in the middle, that should be considered,” he clarified about the penalty for invading the pedestrian path.
Although he stated that it is important that the Municipality does its part by keeping the streets in good condition and preventing potholes in the asphalt, he considered that a specialized entity should decide what the money collected is used for. He indicated that the fines should be millions in serious cases, such as drunk driving or a serious accident. “It can’t be the same when you forget to put your belt on,” he said.
“They force us to wear seat belts and we start using them to avoid paying. We are children of rigor, and we get used to respecting pedestrians or wearing seat belts when these controls are in place,” he said.
A taxi driver who was in the middle of a work shift thought that the measure is correct but considered that there is no clarity about how it will be applied to taxi drivers, especially with the contraventions of the double line. “In hotels we have a place to wait for passengers but in buildings we don’t and sometimes they take a while to get off,” she said, adding that they should offer workers in the sector a longer tolerance time. “There is always insults and honking because they take a long time to get off,” she said.
“We are in the eye of the storm and on the street all day,” said the taxi driver, who asked for consideration for those who work transporting passengers. “It is also important that pedestrians cross where they should, because sometimes pedestrians cross in the middle of the street and we have to stop on either side. It should be even for everyone so that we can circulate accordingly,” he said.
“The fines seem high to me but I accept it if it is the way for us to become aware. I am on the street every day dealing with people, honking at them. We are not perfect and having a license assures you nothing. Anything to avoid accidents It’s good,” he reported.
Photo tickets prices
When announcing the launch of this road planning system, the Undersecretary of Environment and Citizen Protection of the Municipality of Neuquén, Francisco Baggiohad explained that The value of the fines is tied to the price of super gasoline, which increased again on the first day of June.
This Saturday, fuels registered the sixth price increase of 2024, so Super gasoline is now available for 795 pesos in Neuquén. That value was chosen to automatically update the amounts of fines for violators who are captured by the new cameras installed on the corners of the city.
According to reports, the economic sanctions that the Municipality will apply They range from 25 to 1500 units, depending on the seriousness of the infraction and whether or not it is decided to voluntarily pay the fine. With the new value of super gasoline in the city, it is estimated that drivers who Violate traffic regulations must pay between 19 thousand and 1.2 million pesos.
Values could increase in the future, as price increases in the fuel sector became more and more frequent. As reported LMNeuquénthe fuels rose 62% so far this year. But since November of last year, the accumulated increases reach 262%.
By crossing a red light, the financial fine will range from 79 thousand to 1.2 million pesos. For the lack of a seat belt, a fine ranging from 19 thousand to almost 400 thousand pesos will be imposed and those who are caught using the cell phone will have to pay between 39 thousand pesos and almost 400 thousand.
Those people who turn left will have to pay a fine of between 39 thousand and 238 thousand pesos, and those who invade the pedestrian path will have a financial penalty of between 19 thousand and perhaps 400 thousand pesos.
Vehicles without lights will also be fined: they will have to pay between 39 thousand and 390 thousand pesos, according to the current values of super gasoline in Neuquén.
