Many people rightfully think it is not. And I do understand why, and I generally do agree to the point of view that people should accept the consequences of their deeds (or misdeeds, for that matter). If we had God given laws, I would absolutely agree with this in the case of traffic tickets, too.
Problem is, our laws are written by people, and people are not perfect and have their own agenda. Worth, different countries have different laws, and what is considered unlawful in one of them, could be perfectly OK in another. This makes me thinking that law is not an absolute moral category.
For example, perfectly moral and law abiding German citizen can drive 100 mph on a highway. If American citizen does the same thing, he is considered a criminal. Are people that different in Germany and America? I don’t think so. I don’t think the person is a criminal if he/she drives above speed limit – millions do this on a regular basis, and almost everybody – at least several times during their lives. I couldn’t say the same about theft, for example.
If so many people break the law, law is bad, not people, no matter what government says about it. On the other hand, American speed limit laws are a significant source of income for the governments on all levels. Some small towns along interstates just plain live out of speeding tickets! For them this is not a question of law, this is a question of income, which effectively removes traffic laws out of moral considerations. This became a game of hide-n-seek that drivers play with authorities and, as such, does not entitle any of the parties to a moral superiority.
That’s why I do not consider immoral an attempt to get out of traffic ticket, or at least to reduce the consequences.
Posted by Joshua 