The True Cost of a Speeding Ticket
By Wayne Patterson
Have you noticed more autos on the side of the road with an
officer issuing the driver a speeding ticket? Have you seen
more trucks surrounded by DOT transport police? I sure
have. There are several reasons for this increased activity.
One is that after 9/11 many departments have increased
patrols. The additional police presence is to assure the
public that efforts are being taken to prevent terrorist
attacks like the recent sniper killings. The other reason is
that cities and states are faced with budget deficits in
these tough economic times. Since traffic tickets are a
politically correct form of taxation, many jurisdictions are
increasing fines as a means of balancing the books.
A traffic officer will cost his department the average of
$75,000 per year while he can be expected to issue between
$150,000 to $200,000 in speeding ticket citations. There are
few businesses that can equal that rate of return. Some
towns like New Rome, Ohio and Waldo, Florida take in over
70% of their entire town budget through speeding tickets.
What does this mean to you, the safe driver who has not
received a traffic citation in years? It means that you are
now more likely than ever to see those dreaded blue lights
flashing in your rear view. If that does happen you need to
know that the true cost of a speeding ticket has changed
drastically in the last few years.
Consider Mary, a successful sales representative who enjoys
the perk of a company car. She travels extensively and has
received four speeding tickets in the last three years. She
considers herself a safe driver and in each instance was
traveling with the flow of traffic on the interstate. She
has 9 out of the 12 points on her driver+
