Actually in South Dakota I don’t think they’re high enough. Maximum speeding fine is $200…for 20mph over plus.(first violation) Most tickets are much less. Last I saw red light violations were $85.
“missileman 9:28AM Report
"A speed limit sign is right by definition.” True…unless it was installed by mistake which this one was. If you saw a right curve sign on a road with a left turn would you turn right or left? Using your logic you would have to turn right with disastrous results."
What part of the phrase “speed limit sign” did you not see? “Speed limit sign”.
The curve signs are NOT telling you to turn they are WARNING you that the road curves ahead.
Using my logic, I’m right. It doesn’t happen often, but this is one of those times.
I’m happy to see most everything agrees the fine amount is out of line.
The fine was about $370, and add to that about $105 to attend traffic school, giving a total of $475. Traffic school is optional, so yes I could have avoided that cost, but if you don’t attend traffic school, your insurance rates may go up. The basic fine is considerably less than $370. The $370 includes a whole littany of fees and charges the cities and counties are adding on. I’ve heard others complain on local radio talk shows about these “extras” they’re getting hit with. The counties say these new fees tacked onto the basic fine are necessary to reimburse the cost of the traffic court system.
Right turns on red are legal after coming to a complete stop in Calif unless otherwise posted. There was no such posting. The only offense cited was that I was not properly positioned, I didn’t properly merge into the bicycle lane prior to making the turn. Here’s what the Driver’s Hand Book says:
“When you are making a right turn and are within 200 feet of the corner or other driveway entrance, you must enter the bicycle lane only after ensuring there is no bicycle traffic, and then make the turn. Do not drive in the bicycle lane at any other time.”
So yes I was technically guilty of a violation as I didn’t enter the bicycle lane. But $475? That seems a little too much.
Why do we have fines? Hopefully we have them to encourage drives to drive safely. Not to make money.
So what should they be. IMO they should be high enough to encourage drivers to drive safely and in most cases to obey the law. If a speeding ticket is $1.00 it likely will not discourage drivers from speeding. If it is $2,000 it likely is too high.
I don't have the data, but being a math major, I would tend to look at statistics to determine the best fine. I would say that when the cost of the ticket is enough to equal the cost of damage and injury and the cost of enforcement caused by those not obeying the law, you have the right penalty.
Anyone who wants to employ my services computing those cost, let me know and we can work out a contract.Littlemouse…I will concede on this one but you have to promise to concede on the next one. GeorgeSanJose…“When you are making a right turn and are within 200 feet of the corner or other driveway entrance, you must enter the bicycle lane only after ensuring there is no bicycle traffic, and then make the turn. Do not drive in the bicycle lane at any other time.” Sounds like this is a law that was not thought out very well. A bicycle is a lot harder to see than a vehicle in a blind spot especially when turning right.
George, if you think your fine is too high, look at what they are doing in Europe. For some speeding offenses, the fine is based on the speeders wealth. They have had a problem with wealthy drivers in high performance supercars going through small villages at outrageous speeds. A fine of a few hundred, or even a thousand euros was not a deterrent. A driver in Switzerland was fined about a quarter million euros for doing over 200 km in a 30 km zone, about the cost of the car he was driving.
What will they do when the only people left in California are govt. employees ? Probably get a decent paycheck, hold their job longer, have payed or partially payed healthcare plan and a generous retirement plan. Not only is the govt. the biggest single employer in the country, but even if it were devoted to defense, it still would be. No one nor will anyone cut defense spending, police and fire expenses. The last great depression was lessened, not by the private sector, but by making more people a govt. employee. Because the govt. makes nothing, all private industries are directly influenced or indirectly depended upon govt. employees. It will never change.
You are dead on. Same crap here in Michigan. Vote the bums out.
“Vote the bums out.” And replace them with new bums.
WOW! $475? That’s extreme! I live in Nevada and their fines can be pretty high as well, however, it depends on the type of citation you receive. Nevada has really high fines for DUI/DWI offenses. They have high fines for Cellphone usage while driving. And high fines for driving too slow or impeding traffic but everything else seems to be the same as other states. I remember one time when I was in living in South Carolina, I didn’t come to a complete stop at a stop sign and got pulled over for that. My fine was $237 and I received 4 points on my driving record. And then 4 years ago, I got pulled over for doing 10 miles over the speed limit and it was $75 fine and I got 1 point. I don’t think the cop that cited me for speeding was too thrilled about me having a loaded pistol in the glove compartment. But the funny thing was I was driving my brother’s truck and it was my brother’s gun and my brother didn’t have proof of insurance in his glove compartment. That didnt’ make for a good day on my part.
Keith … I think there’s merit in that Euro-scheme for traffic fines you mention. It’s a higher fine for those with high income, sure, but they can afford a higher fine. I’m in the low income bracket, so my fine would be $75 probably w/a fine scheme based on income level, campared to what I got hit with, nearly a week’s take home pay of $475.
European style traffic fines seem ok to me!
Imagine the backlash hollywood celebrities would make because they got a $200,000 ticket for doing 45 in a 35 zone
Just like wealthy people should pay more in taxes than poverty stricken people? Issues our nation will probably never resolve.
"GeorgeSanJose 8:38PM Report
Keith … I think there’s merit in that Euro-scheme for traffic fines you mention. It’s a higher fine for those with high income, sure, but they can afford a higher fine. I’m in the low income bracket, so my fine would be $75 probably w/a fine scheme based on income level, campared to what I got hit with, nearly a week’s take home pay of $475.
European style traffic fines seem ok to me!"
What makes you think you know what your fine would be? Why couldn’t the system be a week’s take-home pay for everyone?
I don’t know how California works and this also varies from city to city and county to county and so on but some traffic courts will let you make payments on your fines. I did that once in South Carolina when I got a $230 fine and that was around 8 years ago when I was only working parttime and not receiving child support for my kid at the time and so the court allowed me to make bi-weekly payments on my traffic ticket.
Katidid79: Every court in CA seems to be different. And even the same court and judge do things differently day to day. Most people from what I saw just said “guilty”, usually offered some excuse, which the judge ignored, so they had to “pay up” or schedule a trial, so they simply paid the ticket in full and left. That’s probably the better solution if you have a job and are losing income while you are waiting around for something to happen in traffic court.
Yes, anyone can ask for a payment schedule I think, but there’s an add’l fee associated with asking for that. Some people said they were out of work etc and couldn’t afford even a payment schedule and requested community service. The judge told them to come back at a new day/time and he’d consider their request then. I see people in orange vests picking up roadside trash, or raking leaves in public parks, etc, from time to time, often on weekends, so I’m assuming those are traffic ticket people who can’t pay the fine so they are doing community service.
Littlemouse: Of course I have no idea what my fine would be if the European laws were in effect in the USA. I’m pre-supposing those with very low income would benefit, getting a reduce fine than normal, while those with very high income would get a larger fine than normal. Since I wasn’t in a European court, this question is difficult to answer.
My experience is in IL, First offense, traffic school 4 hrs$75 or have it reported to insurance., 2nd offense in a year, traffic school 8 hours or have it reported to insurance., 3rd offense within a year judges call.
illinois.
“Littlemouse: Of course I have no idea what my fine would be if the European laws were in effect in the USA. I’m pre-supposing those with very low income would benefit, getting a reduce fine than normal, while those with very high income would get a larger fine than normal. Since I wasn’t in a European court, this question is difficult to answer.”
You thought it would be $75.
That fine is absurd. That's the kind of thing that makes me quite happy I don't live in California!
On the other end of the scale...
I got a speeding ticket in Kansas in 1999, for going 68 in a 55MPH it was $75. It looks like now it'd run about $90, and even going 78 in a 55 would be about $160. (I know someone will want to chew me out. This is a straight, flat road, with no side roads or driveways and about 1 car an hour.. The 1 car that hour just happened to be State Patrol. He kept going for at least a mile, probably looking for a turnaround, then about when I thought he was letting me go he did a big smokey bootlegger spin. It looked like he had fun.)
And, parking meter fines here are $10 (they used to be $3! But when the University raised the meters on campus to $1/hour, too many students realized it was chaper to get the fine than to pay the meter!)
Agreed on the European system... (really I don't think this is Europe-wide.. but for sure in some Scandanavian countries.) It does end up with eye-popping results sometimes -- in 2002, the head of Nokia was fined $103,600 for driving his Harley 75kph in a 50kph zone (that is 47MPH in a 31MPH zone). This was 14 days income. He did try to appeal it, saying his income was from stock options, and he'd published a revised income figure a few days after his fine was calculated. No dice. I do like this system, a $450 fine, or even a $75 fine, can break the bank for some people... whereas, making $12 million a year (like the head of Nokia was) they wouldn't even blink. Paying $100,000 surely made him think twice about speeding through town!bscar2, those fines are not for anyone doing 45 in a 35 (mph), no matter the income. They are targeting those doing 240 or more in a 30 (kph) and have the money. If you don’t have that kind of money, you probably can’t afford that kind of car in the first place. A drunk or drugged celebrity caught doing 145 in a 35 (mph) probably wouldn’t get a lot of sympathy if they were fined a quarter mil or so. Come to think of it, this could be a cash cow for cash strapped California.