Some people claim that giving much stricter punishments for drivers who violate traffic laws is the best way to reduce accidents. Personally, I totally agree with this suggestion based on some reasons.
On the one hand, there are some persuasive rationales that support the claim that rising financial fines makes road users raise their traffic awareness, improving the safety of our roads. In the past, when financial sanctions were relatively low, people had a tendency to ignore all strict traffic policies so that accidents occurred frequently. But now, governments have modified the traffic penalties to increase the legal obligations of each individual. As a result, many individuals participating in the traffic system can reduce and stop illegal activities, leading to a decrease in the number of accidents. For example, by enacting stricter traffic laws, the Vietnamese government has made all residents to obey traffic rules. Besides that, financial incentives can strongly influence the behavior of humanity, so imposing monetary punishment is the best way to improve safety.
On the other hand, despite the idealistic nature of proposing higher monetary penalties, its actual application could bring about many obstacles and problems. When monetary punishments have risen, financial pressure on low-income people has been increased and this will cause some mental health problems such as anxiety or stress. Moreover, if the government can not manage carefully, punishing strictly will become the root of bribery and abuse of power. This phenomenon not only makes society more unjust because of the impunity of offenses, but also undermines the political systems.
In conclusion, although there are some disadvantages of giving stricter monetary fines, I think that the merits outweigh the drawbacks. The government can implement this application to raise traffic awareness and reduce accidents and need to manage transparently to reduce bribery and abuse of power crimes.