Doug,
I believe that American law has always held that the punishment should
fit the crime. Are you saying that if you were to be going under the bridge
too fast and creating a SMALL wake, (and I think it's up to the officer's
judgment as to what constitutes a wake), if he were to find you to be
creating a wake where you shouldn't, you wouldn't object to paying $27,500
for the mistake? The law may very well be the law, but that don't make it
right. Now on the other hand, if you owned a mega million dollar shipping
company and your skippers were blasting through there creating a gigantic
wake to make you more money by saving time, than a $27,500 fine might not be
enough.
Paul

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"NOYB" wrote in message
ink.net...


I'm familiar with the Sanibel Causeway. If you read the article, the
Coast
Guard talks about the safety of the boaters. They're concerned "chunks
could fall off and hit the boaters". The chunks they are talking about
are
mostly from the overhead span, not the support polls. Waves aren't
responsible for that...a combination of environmental conditions, and
the
multitude of dump trucks, construction vehicle traffic, delivery trucks,
and
passenger cars are responsible.



Here's a crazy analogy:

On the road, when you approach places where there are suddenly a higher
number of variables to watch for (like intersections), the painted line is
usually solid, which suggests that you shouldn't pass or change lanes.
This
is a good idea.

While it may not always be true that the passage under a bridge is
narrower
than the channel which leads up to it, it still seems like a good idea for
boats to slow down because there are more variables to be concerned with,
specifically bridge supports and boats which are suddenly closer to you.
Maybe even fishing lines which could result in YOU getting a large hook in
your face.

The amount of the fine is logically irrelevant. Would someone go SLOWER if
they agreed with a $100 fine, but faster if they disagreed with a $27,500
fine? :-) The law is the law, regardless of the fine.