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You're Going to Get a Traffic Ticket Soon
by Paul Michael on 3 June 2010
How soon? Well that depends on what kind of shape your state's economy is in. But from the experiences I have been gathering from friends, relatives, co-workers, and of course my own life, I think it's safe to say you'll be paying some sort of penalty within one year.
I've written about speeding tickets before, and parking tickets, too. There was a time when a traffic violation was a rare thing in your life. In fact, some people (like my own Father In-Law) have never once received a ticket. But the clock is ticking on his perfect record, and if you have one, it could soon be tainted.
The reason is simple. Money. Actually, a severe lack of money. Every state in America is feeling the ill effects of the past decade, and they are all desperately looking for ways to balance the budget. And time and again, one reliable source of income in tough times has been traffic tickets.
Check out this lovely fact, discovered by researchers from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the University of Arkansas-Little Rock:
A 10% decrease in revenue growth caused a 6.4% increase the following year in the growth rate of traffic tickets.
That's no coincidence. No way. What are the odds that when times are tough, and people have less money, they suddenly throw caution to the wind and start speeding more, or tailgating, or running red lights? It would have the opposite effect actually; the less money you have, the less likely you are to do anything to jeopardize it.
And yet, in tough times, tickets go up. Nationwide, the average speeding ticket is around $150. And in the U.S., 93,000 speeding tickets are issued every day! (That is an updated, and more accurate, number from the previous article I wrote.) Simple math will lead you to the princely sum of $5.1 billion! That's not exactly a sum you can slash from the budget. In fact, it's easy money for the state to collect. And now that the cupboard is bare, your Old Mother Hubbard state is looking at you for the cash....<snip>
As USA Today reported (and I myself recently experienced) the old 5-10mph cushion that officers used to allow for motorists is disappearing, and fast. Several officers I talked to in the course of researching this article told me that anything more than 2mph over the speed limit is a moving violation, and subject to a fine and points. That 2mph is basically a margin of error for their equipment, they are not saying 2mph over is ok.
At the same time I was being told this, I also learned about "ticket hauls." What are they, you may ask? Well, on the days that the officers assigned to traffic duty, they have to bring in as many tickets as possible in a certain period; usually around four hours. You will recognize a ticket haul when you see several police cars and bikes pulling over motorists on the side of the road, usually in a notorious speed trap for that area.
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I was reading this article and I pondered, it does seem like more people are getting traffic tickets. My brother got caught for speeding today. Don't let me get started on parking tickets, especially in and around the campuses of universities. It's very easy to get a traffic ticket that busts your wallet in this day of age.
You're Going to Get a Traffic Ticket Soon
by Paul Michael on 3 June 2010
How soon? Well that depends on what kind of shape your state's economy is in. But from the experiences I have been gathering from friends, relatives, co-workers, and of course my own life, I think it's safe to say you'll be paying some sort of penalty within one year.
I've written about speeding tickets before, and parking tickets, too. There was a time when a traffic violation was a rare thing in your life. In fact, some people (like my own Father In-Law) have never once received a ticket. But the clock is ticking on his perfect record, and if you have one, it could soon be tainted.
The reason is simple. Money. Actually, a severe lack of money. Every state in America is feeling the ill effects of the past decade, and they are all desperately looking for ways to balance the budget. And time and again, one reliable source of income in tough times has been traffic tickets.
Check out this lovely fact, discovered by researchers from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the University of Arkansas-Little Rock:
A 10% decrease in revenue growth caused a 6.4% increase the following year in the growth rate of traffic tickets.
That's no coincidence. No way. What are the odds that when times are tough, and people have less money, they suddenly throw caution to the wind and start speeding more, or tailgating, or running red lights? It would have the opposite effect actually; the less money you have, the less likely you are to do anything to jeopardize it.
And yet, in tough times, tickets go up. Nationwide, the average speeding ticket is around $150. And in the U.S., 93,000 speeding tickets are issued every day! (That is an updated, and more accurate, number from the previous article I wrote.) Simple math will lead you to the princely sum of $5.1 billion! That's not exactly a sum you can slash from the budget. In fact, it's easy money for the state to collect. And now that the cupboard is bare, your Old Mother Hubbard state is looking at you for the cash....<snip>
As USA Today reported (and I myself recently experienced) the old 5-10mph cushion that officers used to allow for motorists is disappearing, and fast. Several officers I talked to in the course of researching this article told me that anything more than 2mph over the speed limit is a moving violation, and subject to a fine and points. That 2mph is basically a margin of error for their equipment, they are not saying 2mph over is ok.
At the same time I was being told this, I also learned about "ticket hauls." What are they, you may ask? Well, on the days that the officers assigned to traffic duty, they have to bring in as many tickets as possible in a certain period; usually around four hours. You will recognize a ticket haul when you see several police cars and bikes pulling over motorists on the side of the road, usually in a notorious speed trap for that area.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I was reading this article and I pondered, it does seem like more people are getting traffic tickets. My brother got caught for speeding today. Don't let me get started on parking tickets, especially in and around the campuses of universities. It's very easy to get a traffic ticket that busts your wallet in this day of age.
