I got a speeding ticket. I was speeding. I’m not trying to get out of it.
What I am wondering, however, is where the money goes. I did find out that if I am pulled over by a State Trooper, some money goes to the state and some goes to the county in which the ticket was issued. I was wanting to know about local tickets. If I get a ticket in town, does the fine still get split up between state and local government?
Thanks in advance
If I get a ticket in town, does the fine still get split up between state and local government?
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The last ticket I received (seatbelt?) was $69. Of that, $50 was the fine, while the other $19 was dog-eared for different programs. DWI prevention, an account to help victims of brain injury, and administrative costs are the three that I remember specifically.
I suspect the answer varies with the state you’re in. In some states, it goes directly to the municipal coffers, in others, to some state fund, and in others it’s divided among various funds on a percentage basis. So there are at least 50 right answers (not counting DC and tickets on Federal land like military bases and national parks/monuments) --more if the rule for that state varies with the location.
In some jurisdictions it depends on the infraction. For moving violations some money goes to the state. This has led to the practice in those jurisdictions of allowing you to plead down to a lesser charge because the locality gets more money (the fine may be the same, but there are no points on your license).
As was my “case dismissed, $100 court fee” speeding ticket several years ago. The fine would have been the same $100 plus the points, so I left not at all disappointed with the proceedings, considering I know I was guilty as heck.
At one time some southern jurisdictions compensated J.P.'s w/ a percentage of the fines they levied. I know this was true in southern MS. into the early 70’s. The opportunity for abuse is obvious. I’m pretty sure this practice no longer exists.
This is a very complicated formula. And any suggested changes are very controversial, since many jurisdictions depend on their share of this money. I once served on a State Legislative committee which happened to look at some changes that might affect this – the reaction was immediate and very strong!
Here’s how it works in Minnesota:
So dividing up this money is fairly complicated.
In NC all such “fines” are, by law, required to go the the county school system. There would also be “court costs” that go to the courts.
Some jurisdictions try to get around this by levying "civil penalties"which, in their opinion, do not need to go to the school systems, and they add them to their revenues.
There is a big court issue there right now over “fines” from red light camera violations. A private company owns the equipmant and does the “fining”, with a perctnage going to the city. One school system is suing for all of the “net proceeds”, not just a percentage. Millions of dollars involved in more than one city/county.
Well? Was the ticket for a seatbelt violation or not?
And $69?:eek: Where are you? They only total $10 here. Not even worth writting.
10 bucks? Both OR. and WA. are over a hundred.
Jesus, was that canadian dollars? Was it seatbelt violation as well?
My last speeding ticket was a little over $300 USD and that was almost six years ago.
Here in Sydney, parking violations are a local government (city, municipality) matter, and the fines just go to the issuing couincil’s consolidated revenue, as far as I know. They can’t issue demerit points. All traffic violations are a state government matter, and once again it’s straight to the government’s consolidated revenue, as far as I know. I’m unaware of the money being earmarked for road safety or anything else. On a drink driving charge (which automatically goes to court), a judge might order you to undertake counselling or attend some sort of community work related to alcohol and its victims, but that’s a separate matter to any fine imposed, which does not go to a specific programme.
I dont’ remember if it was for not wearing a seatbelt or speeding, but the last few tickets I got have all been the same amount. And they were in New Mexico.
In New Jersey a very large percentage of the fine goes to the state. Something like 95%. The court keeps the court costs. Usually $30.
We used to use a couple of statutes to give people breaks and for plea bargains at court. These are no point violations like obstructing traffic. After a bit the municipal court assignment judge made a ruling that we couldn’t do that (I say we but it was being done all over the state). He found it was not legal to have someone plead guilty to a charge that the facts do not match. In other words you can’t say you were guilty of obstructing traffic when you were speeding.
That left the court with nothing to plea bargain with. For once the legislature came up with a good idea. They made a new statute, driving in an unsafe manner. This statute was strictly for plea bargains, an officer can not write the ticket on the road. It is a no point ticket which totalled about $120 after court costs. The catch is you can only plead guilty to it twice in a 5 year period. It was simple, it worked and it benefitted everyone. Therefore the state could not let it continue. They were not making enough money off it so they imposed a $250 surcharge on top of the fine and everything else. Now it will cost you $430 to get a no point ticket and almost all of that goes to the state.
$300? That’s nothing. There are some $2000 speeding tickets in Australia.
Here in TX, someone’s got to pay the jackass that came up with the ‘click it or ticket’ slogan and those responsible for the subsequent ad campaign.
Here is an explanation of how ticket revenues get distributed in Michigan: http://house.michigan.gov/hfa/PDFs/traf.pdf
Not to give you shit or anything;)
But it’s been over 25 years since my last and I remember EVERY-SINGLE-TICKET I ever got, and for what, why, the fine, and the name/badge number of the officer who gave it to me (of course, I’ve been in law enforcement for over 20 years, so maybe my skills of memory/observation come into play).
The very last ticket I got was in for going 61 in a 55. The Speed limit at that very location is now 65! And, believe it or not, that deputy is STILL:eek::smack::rolleyes: on the job!! I insist that he buy me a beer every time I see him at a certain bar! Write me up for going 6 over when it would now be 4 under, will he!! 
Wouldn’t be the first time, won’t be the last. But it’s kind of hard to remember all the tickets I’ve ever gotten, especially since most of my college years are a haze. I got a lot of stopsign violations handed out to me, and the judge told me if it happened one more time she’d revoke my license. But I think officers in that town just really like handing out stopsign tickets, because several of my friends have been pulled over, even one when he stopped, kissed his girlfriend, and then went!
I do remember specifically 4 tickets, but only because they were given to me in the same stop. Running a stopsign, reckless driving, no registration, and no insurance. I had bought a motorcycle earlier that day, which explains the last two. The first two were valid, but I just had to see what it could do. After they wrote all of them up, and I took all the obligatory field sobriety tests, I reminded the cop that I didn’t have a motorcycle license, but he didn’t feel like writing any more tickets. All but the stopsign one was dropped, which, might actually have been what the ticket in question was for?
Add to that, I got a seatbelt ticket on the way back from paying a court fee for speeding, and the only reason I was out was to pay the earlier fine!
I haven’t been issued a single ticket since I’ve moved here, though knock on wood, and it’s been nearly a year. I chalk it up to too many police for too small of a town, and overzealous officers there.
