By Shawn Henry 
In a decision that defies common sense, a family has been hit with a $6,000 fine after a thief stole their vehicle and was later caught not wearing a seatbelt.
Read that again.
The owner of the car — the victim of a crime — is now being punished because the criminal behind the wheel chose not to buckle up. This isn’t accountability. It’s bureaucratic absurdity.
Somewhere between writing the ticket and mailing the fine, basic logic got lost. The person who stole the vehicle broke the law. The person who ignored the seatbelt requirement broke the law. Yet the bill landed in the mailbox of the family whose only mistake was owning a car that someone else decided to take.
This is what happens when enforcement becomes mechanical and detached from reality. Automated penalties, rigid statutes, and zero discretion combine into a system that looks efficient on paper but collapses under scrutiny. It’s easier to send a fine to the registered owner than to pursue the offender. So that’s exactly what happened.
The real-world consequence? A $6,000 financial hit to people already dealing with the stress and violation of auto theft. That’s not a minor administrative error. That’s a punishment.
Car owners are told they are responsible for everything tied to their vehicle. Registration. Insurance. Compliance. But there’s a line between responsibility and blame-shifting. When criminals steal a car and commit violations, that liability belongs squarely on them — not on the victims left cleaning up the mess.
This case exposes a system more interested in collecting revenue than delivering justice. It’s the kind of decision that makes law-abiding drivers feel like targets while actual offenders slip through cracks.
If this stands, it sends a chilling message: even when your car is stolen, you’re still the one paying the price. And that’s not enforcement. That’s failure.
Source
John Lloyd 
Elizabeth Puckett