Traffic Fines Chart

I have plotted a number of traffic moving violations as well as other infractions on the above graph.

The x-axis is risk of harm. On a scale of 1-10, I made my best judgment.

Now, compare that to the fee associated with each.

I would think in general that the greater the harm, the higher the fee. So those infractions related to moving violations should fall along a somewhat diagonal line from lower left to upper right.

But we can see that the tie for highest fee is for an infraction that is associated with little harm.

Having been an avid utilitarian cyclist for decades, I am appalled at the comparison of $35 for breaching the space of a cyclist - that IS on the road - that DOES present the possibility of a person who could be hurt - to $490 for a rolling stop at a red light when no one is in the nearby space.

I am equally appalled that hitting a cyclist garners a fee less than half of the rolling stop fee with no pedestrians or bicyclists around.

I heard a news report on a local San Jose news station discussing the 26 pedestrian deaths in that city. Not a word was mentioned about rolling stops being even part of the culprit. Rolling stops weren't mentioned at all.

Everything I've learned to this point seems to gel that the only reason this infraction is ticketed at such a high price is because it can be paired with the infraction of going straight through a red light, which often ends up in severe injury or death. And since so many people commit this infraction, it's an easy resource for funds.

Please feel free to share studies that show otherwise.

NOTE:

$35, $220 cyclist infractions - I learned from traffic school Feb 2014

$490 for both infractions - I learned from getting my own ticket June 2013 and learning that my right turn on red was not distinguished from a ticket for running straight through a red light.

$161+ for texting was displayed on several different highway computerized signs Feb 27, 2014.

All the rest - $396, $320, $238, $145 - I witnessed people in court Fall 2013 receiving tickets for these infractions at these amounts. I don't know if these fees were originals or had been decreased some. I did notice different judges offered different discount schemes. I don't yet know of a place that lists the standard fees for these infractions.

Red Light Camera Violation - Millbrae, CA

It's Expensive to Break this Law; It's Dangerous to Follow It

I recently received a traffic ticket from a camera for a Red Light Violation at the Millbrae Ave. and Rollins Road intersection while turning right into the BART parking lot.

I performed an illegal but empirically innocuous behavior that is executed safely and unthreateningly all day long by probably 99+% of all drivers in this San Francisco Bay Area, including law enforcement in uniform and marked cars.

The original fee for my ticket was $490.

As I tried to understand this ticket and traverse the legal system to resolve it, my frustration continued to grow with what I learned and saw.

I will probably not get my ticket negated but I hope my story can help right many of these situations for those who come after me.


My story below is offered to anyone who is interested in this issue, who likes to read and hear a lot of details, and who appreciates a discussion that examines an issue from many different angles. If any of what I report is an anomaly, I'm interested in hearing about it. I only have this one experience to go on. Feel free to leave a comment or contact me via expensivemovement at the gmail.com domain.



MY STORY

This ticket was dumped in my snail mailbox, was ill-prepared, and no human was evidently accountable for it to me although one was on the hook to show up in court if I pushed for a trial. [My Ticket]


If a police officer had issued a similarly unqualified ticket, it could look something like this. [Police Officer Equivalent]


I gathered opinions and thoughts from friends and acquaintances. [Views and Reactions]


I sat in on a couple court sessions to see how this issue was handled and to see just what I would have to go through. [Early Court Observations]


I could plead Guilty, pay a fine, or choose community service or jail time. And pay for traffic school. [The Guilty Option]


I could plead Not Guilty. Or could I? [The Not Guilty Option]


My 53 seconds in front of the judge. [My Turn]



So, it's over. Penalties have been assessed. I just need to fulfill them.

What started out as a medium irritation grew and grew into a major frustration with no outlet as part of the process.

This blog is my outlet. Please, oh smart readers, please tell me why the system is this way (good explanations, no snark). Or let's change it.



Why is the fee for this ticket so high? Am I stuck in some decade of olden days? [Why so High?]


Should I risk another ticket or piss drivers off? Eeny meeny miny moe. [How I Drive Now ... is there no Good Place to Stand?]


How could I modify my own car to help? [Tarball Car]



SUMMARY

What do I think should be changed?

1. Tickets issued by a camera should be associated with a human from the start, someone who can stand in for the duties that a law enforcement officer performs when making a traffic stop.

This unaccountability allows a less than adequate ticket to be issued with no appropriate recourse for the defendant.

This unaccountability also sets up a confined feeling for someone who receives one of these, which really isn't conducive to changing behavior to something safer, unless of course the purpose of this ticket is to just squeeze some dollars out of someone.


2. Something is wrong with a system that selectively gives out tickets for a behavior that everyone does, even officers in marked cars, without causing harm. This is exacerbated when these tickets are issued by an automated machine at the finest points of infraction at a trap-appearingly designed intersection just because it can.


3. If we still want to argue that a rolling stop is a rolling stop and should be ticketed regardless, this fee is out of whack when compared to other fees and their associated harm potential.


I would really like to hear solid, non-sarcastic arguments to the contrary.



For more information on attending traffic court as an observer in San Mateo County, visit or call the Clerk's Office.



Recent related articles:

SFGate article: California Stopping - It's a Pricey Pastime

San Diego Drops Red Light Cameras

Redwood City Ends its Red Light Camera Program

2010 Grand Jury


COMMENTS WARNING

Those who choose to offer drive-by simplistic comments, such as "Just follow the law," "Drivers here are terrible," "You'll never win that fight," "Oh, let it go," or "All cameras should be removed," are not welcome here. I will delete these sorts of comments with no more warning than this.

I will allow comments that are backed up with reason and robust argument that enhance this discussion. Agreement is not required. A well argued point is. I am interested in hearing from people with solid knowledge about law enforcement, traffic design, and the judicial system who can explain why things need to be the way I saw them or who would like to describe how they think the system should be changed and why.

Don't like this policy? You, too, can create your own blog and set your own rules. Have at it!