Eight other states are considering the technology. However, government officials said the biggest fraud problem in Medicaid is not with beneficiary enrollment, but unscrupulous providers. Speeding through parts of Wisconsin could be costly, but at least it's convenient. The county is running a six-month pilot project that allows speeders to open their wallets and take care of the fine on the spot with a credit card if they wish. The Wisconsin State Patrol is believed to be the first law enforcement agency in the country to outfit its patrol cars with wireless credit-card readers.
Cops say it's a matter of convenience, both for the law enforcement staff and for the motorist.
The only thing we're going to do is make it more efficient. With the card readers, the motorist can pay the bond, which will be the same as the cost of the ticket, be on his way and decide later whether or not to appear for the court date. Before the pilot project, if motorists chose to use a credit card, the officer would have to call dispatch, which would have to run it through the card reader to get authorization. We just take a bail bond, which is sort of like security to ensure that either they come back to court or, if they don't come back, they've already paid their fine. Eric Skrum of the National Motorists Association said the program sounds like nothing more than an attempt to generate revenue.