That Ticket Smarts

If more and more of your friends are getting moving violations these days, don't be too shocked. It's a good way for the municipality to raise some much needed revenue, not to mention give its citizens a wake-up call.

While it might be an innovative way to balance the local budget, over ticketing people for moving violations has another side to it - people being incorrectly or indiscriminately ticketed taking their case to a lawyer. One has to wonder if this was a factor that was even considered when the bright idea occurred to the politicians needing funds in the coffers.

This type of extracurricular ticketing activity takes on a slightly meaner edge when out of state and out of country vehicles are ticketed. In those instances, most of the drivers tagged will just pay their fine. Who is going to stick around and fight the case in court? The answer is not many people; however, this isn't stopping the police from handing out even more tickets to the local citizenry, much to their everlasting annoyance.

Look at it from the point of view of a bureaucrat wanting to make dollars and cents from traffic enforcement in town. A traffic officer is paid (and this does tend to vary from location to location) roughly $65,000 to $75,000 a year. That sounds like a lot of money for a small town or country to be forking out. However, that same traffic officer has the ability to be able to pen anywhere from $150,000 to $200,000 in ticket revenue.

When you realize that some small towns make up to three quarters of their yearly revenue by handing out traffic tickets, you get the urge to not drive anywhere near those towns. Moving violations certainly have their place in the greater scheme of law enforcement, but their overuse really raises concerns when it comes to the fairness and accuracy of the ticket(s) issued.

Be aware that over the past few years, the penalties for moving violations have shot up quite drastically. For instance, if you happen to drive for a living as a sales rep with a company car and get three or four speeding tickets in three years (which doesn't sound like many) you may be assessed 9 out of 12 points, which will dramatically affect the price of your insurance.

If you think you have been given an unfair moving violation, call a reputable attorney who has experience in this area and talk to them about the circumstances of your case. While not every case may be able to go to court, there are likely a fair number that would certainly benefit from questions being asked in appropriate places.

Jeremiah Denslow is a Dayton Divorce Lawyer in Dayton Ohio with Denslow Law Firm. The firm specializes in family law. Jeremiah also practices Dayton criminal defense. To learn more, visit Denslowlaw.com.