Here's an interesting article about the cost of traffic violations for those of us in California.

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/83466.html

 

What the hell!!! Post the article. Not the link that you have to sign up for.

 

If you are in too much of a hurry to go shopping for Christmas gifts, you may pay a heavier price this holiday season than you imagined -- in traffic court.

How much?

In response to reader requests, here are the top 10 traffic citations issued annually to drivers in Sacramento County, and how much each costs on a first offense, according to officials with the Sacramento Superior Court.

Not surprisingly, the two main types of speeding violations make the list.

One involves breaking the 65 mph limit, typically on a freeway; the other involves violating the state's "Basic Speed Law," which means speeding where the limit is 55 or less.

In each case, the least you'll pay is $127. That's if you weren't going any faster than 15 mph over the speed limit.

However, if a driver is clocked doing more than 26 mph over the speed limit, the base fine in Sacramento County jumps to $371.

The state's Basic Speed Law, by the way, transcends the posted speed limit on the street.

It reads: "No person shall drive a vehicle upon a (road) at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the (road), and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property."

That means an officer can ticket you for driving the posted speed limit if the officer determines that speed is unsafe at the moment -- for instance, in heavy fog.

The amount drivers must pay if they run a red light has increased to $371. That's another of the top 10 most frequent citations issued in the county.

Running a stop sign -- potentially just as dangerous -- is, however, a less costly fine, $161.

Officers have begun issuing tickets more frequently for failure to use a seat belt, pushing that citation -- $99 -- also into the county's top 10.

Although we hear plenty of complaints from readers about people getting away with driving alone in the carpool or diamond lane, that anti-social act also made the county's frequent citation list.

The California Highway Patrol's Tammy DuTemple says officers understand the frustration drivers feel when they are stuck in traffic obeying the law and some lone driver zooms by illegally.

"(We) can't catch them all the time, but the ones who keep doing it, sooner or later they do get caught, and it is expensive," DuTemple said.

The price: $371.

When police pull motorists over, they often discover the driver shouldn't even be behind the wheel.

Some are driving without a valid license. The fine for that is $297.

Driving on a suspended or revoked license is an even more serious offense, and will come with a hefty $551 price tag.

Worse yet: Not having any proof of valid insurance. That could potentially cost $711.

DuTemple of the CHP says those three violations are a big reason you see so many hit-and-run accidents. Those drivers have reason to run.

The last violation on the top 10 list carries a fine that is a doozy, which rhymes with woozy, as in drunk.

A first drunken driving arrest costs $1,985 in Sacramento County, court officials say. That's because that violation has 11 supplemental fees and assessments tacked onto the base fine.

So, why is drunk driving still on the top 10 list? Law enforcement is particularly on the lookout for drunk drivers, DuTemple said. Plus, "people just aren't getting the message."

For a full listing of the state's basic fines for vehicle code violations, check out this site: www.saccourt.com/traffic/ docs/jcbail06.pdf

There, you'll learn, for instance, it will cost you $350 if you pass a vehicle that has stopped for a pedestrian or $134 for talking on a cell phone while driving a school or transit bus.

And, whatever you do, don't transport radioactive materials without the right license. The fine: $17,500.


It can cost you

$127: The least you will pay for breaking the 65 mph limi

 

that's just court fee's. Not including lawyers and **** to help save your ***. I hate the court system. I hate how lawyers can get you off and if you talk to the DA yourself, they'll just **** on you like your a pile of garbage, even if you had no prior record. You may think "innocent till proven guilty", but boy has that phrase not been uttered in the courts in years. They'd rather get your money then care whose innocent or not. This doesn't just include traffic court.

 

I hate California.

 

Sorry about the posting, I forgot I had to sign up for the website. Next time I shall endeavor to post the content and not the link.

 

hey jb why would you need a lawyer for simple violations like that ? usually everytime ive ever had to contest a ticket i can talk to the day and they are more then willing to make deals .. maybe im just lucky.