California: How a $25 traffic ticket ends up costing $194.

[BlueCheese]

So a friend of mine was pulled over for a minor traffic violation (making a turn that a police officer judged was a bit too close to oncoming traffic) and given a ticket. Nothing particularly bad happened-- maybe the officer had to apply the brakes a little, but the sort of thing that must happen a million times a day in the U.S. In looking up how much this would likely cost, I came across a real shock.

The ticket probably has a base fine of $25. Okay, that's slightly irritating, but no big deal, right?

Um, no. By the time a huge array of penalties and fees are attached, the total is more like $194.

First, a penalty of $28 for each $10 of the fine, or part thereof. So that's $28 * 3 = $84 (a 336% increase right there).

Second, a $40 court operations charge (it's called a court operations charge because it funds the courts, not because you use the traffic courts).

Third, a $35 conviction assessment fee for any vehicular infraction. Strangely, the fee for more serious vehicular misdemeanors or felonies is only $30.

Fourth, a $4 emergency air/medical transport penalty (again, to fund air/medical services, not in case you use them).

Fifth, a 20% surcharge on the base fee, just for the heck of it, for another $5.

Sixth, a $1 night court fee (again, to help run night courts, not in case you go to night court for this ticket).

Add it all up, and that $169 in penalties, fees, and surcharges that have little or nothing to do with the actual ticket.

Does anyone else find this ridiculous? Courts, emergency air/medical services, etc. should be funded by taxes, not by piling 676% penalties on to traffic tickets. If the state really thinks that an iffy turn should be punished with a $194 fine, then they should simply come out and make that the penalty. But this way of turning traffic enforcement into a revenue mechanism is unseemly, and given the very uneven enforcement of traffic laws, unfair.

[SoCalDem]

1. I got a ticket in my driveway for no seatbelt...$175.00

[Art_from_Ark]

3. WTF!

How can they ticket you for such a thing in your own driveway???

[BlueCheese]

4. In your driveway?

How does that happen?

[hollysmom]

5. how can you get a ticket in your driveway - that is private property

unless the cop followed you into your drive way from the road. If you have not pulled out into traffic - they can not give you a ticket.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

13. Cops can do whatever they want. They are not restricted by the law, logic, or common sense.

[SoCalDem]

16. He happened to be on the street and "whooped" as I pulled in..

I had stopped at the mailbox 2 houses away and did not re-buckle my belt as I turned into my driveway..He was a real $%#@!! about it.. I was doing about 5 mph.. live and learn..

[Duckhunter935]

29. So you were on the street with unbuckled seatbelt?

He was technically right but common sense should prevail on this and just give you a warning.

[dems_rightnow]

31. Why?

Common sense would also say the driver didn't drive all the way home at 5 mph.

[SoCalDem]

69. Common mailbox is one driveway away from my house

I tossed the mail onto the seat and "drove" maybe 25 ft to my driveway

[hollysmom]

38. You must live in a large city.

I think our town is small enough that they don't give locals tickets, just warnings unless you are doing something outrageous. But if you are not from this town, you better have your registration up to date, etc. This is not exactly a speed trap town. Most car stops I witnessed have been for unregistered trucks. Now in surrounding towns, it is another story.

I know I was stopped once, for reasons unknown driving a company car once, but when the cop looked at me, he let me go - never did say why he stopped me.

[Cleita]

53. Same here. Locals don't get tickets. They go after the visitors

and tourists.

[hollysmom]

56. But, never seen a bad ticket being given out and locals do get stopped and warned.

I have seen speeding through a town with streets with no speed higher than 35 mph allowed (no major roads), careless driving but mostly no registration stops in front of my house. at least one a month - you would think people would know better.

[no_hypocrisy]

23. My client was convicted of DWI in her driveway while in park,

with the police car blocking her truck from access to the street (in back of her), after they told her to follow them back to the police station to drive her husband home from processing. She got in the truck and turned on the engine. That was "enough" to prove that she intended to drive DWI.

[proud2BlibKansan]

42. That's the law in KS

You don't have to be moving to get a DUI. As long as you are in the drivers seat and the ignition is on.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

65. Yep. It sometimes depends on how the state law is written.

Some states say "operating" and some say "driving" - or at least that is my recollection of reading some articles posted in a DUI thread on the DU machine.

I remember reading an article about cell phones and the same issue. Some guy got a ticket in, IIRC, California while stopped at a light.

[shanti]

74. the engine doesn't even need to be on.

as long as the keys are in the ignition, they can cite you here in cali.

[bluedigger]

62. She's lucky she wasn't thinking about having sex or they would have charged her

with child endangerment.

[MindPilot]

49. My kid got a seat-belt ticket at the drive through.

After he got his food, he put his belt back on as he pulled out of the drive through. And yeah, that is a $35 fine that ends up being a $150 ticket.

[villager]

2. It's completely chickenshit, and turns the cops into jackbooted tax collectors

...who have no choice but to find people to penalize with ridiculous "infractions," further reducing what little respect anyone has left for "law enforcement."

The only way to fight any of this is to actually go to traffic court, where you can usually get fines reduced, or to insist on facing the officer, and if s/he doesn't show up, it's dismissed. Or there's traffic school.

But basically, if everyone who received a ticket opted for court -- even a substantial minority -- they could truly gum up the works and perhaps cause some reassessment of this ongoing harassment.

[BlueCheese]

6. Seriously...

If you wanted to design a system that would make people distrustful of law enforcement and angry at the government, you could hardly do better.

Charge everyone in the state an average of $10 or so in income taxes, and nobody will really care. Charge people $200 for small traffic violations, and watch them get out the pitchforks.

[Cirque du So-What]

24. Hasn't happened yet - pitchforks, that is

even though fines have been like this for quite awhile in most places I know. Thing is, unless it affects everyone - and I mean EVERYone - nothing is likely to happen. As it is, people will talk about it, cluck their tongues, and that's as far as anything goes - even it it involves a family member, close friend or neighbor.

As for anger & distrust at government & law enforcement, I believe TPTB just don't give a shit. Haven't for ages. They'd rather be hated, feared & obeyed than respected.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

27. We have DUers supporting this crap. They'll call it an asshole tax.

Never mind it's a regressive tax.

Never mind EVERYONE gets caught sooner or later.

I guess that makes us all assholes.

[Cirque du So-What]

34. You'll never read anything I write in favor of it

I don't like anything about the way municipalities use fines to generate income, especially because they hit the poor disproportionately hard. I know it'll never happen in this country, but I was impressed to find out that Finland bases traffic fines based upon income, although I believe the speeding fine levied against that Nokia executive - ~$100,000 if I remember correctly - was a bit excessive.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

14. Choose traffic school? In Chicago, traffic school has been privatized and operated in part by

a Daley cousin.

[Politicalboi]

18. I had a red light ticket

Went to court, they had some video on that was boring, after 9:00 they continued to let people in even though you're supposed to be there by 9:00. Anyway, others have the same fine as me. Red light ticket $500.00. See the judge, plead guilty and would like to go to traffic school $100.00. Sounds great! Well my turn arrived, the judge says the same thing to me. I would have chosen community service if the fine was more than $100. The bailiff comes back and hands me a paper that says $500.00. I said WHAT! The judge said $100.00? Well she said, that was in the video. The fine is 5 times the amount the judge says. I shit you not.

So once you had your say with the judge, and don't choose community service, you are screwed. So $500.00 and the privilege to do traffic school. Years ago, you just did the traffic school, and that forgave your fine. That's back in the day where you spent 8 hours in a class and it was looked at like getting paid for a job with no fine to pay. Just the class and your certificate.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

30. I was in court a few years ago and the "supervision" with traffic school was like...

.... two or more times as expensive as pleading guilty.

I was there to fight my ticket but I listened to the judge's spiel at the start of court and was astounded at the increase in fees to ask for supervision.

I had a really good case and knew I could beat it but even if I was guilty I would have taken the pinch on the ticket. I figure my insurance can handle one ticket every 15 years.

The judge had to give just about everyone who asked for supervision a continuance so they could pay their fees in installments.

I and maybe one other person plead not guilty. They told us to have a seat and our case would be heard after everyone else. I guess that is their way of fucking with you.

It was worth the wait. They dismissed my case because the cop had to be next door for the next docket. I sat behind the cop the entire time and they dismissed her immediately before my hearing.

I was a little ticked because I spent so much time photographing the obstructed and burned out "no left turn signs" and copying the state and federal guidelines for enforceable regulatory signage.

My lawyer buddy laughed and said a dismissal is the best you can ever hope for. Damn it I had a point to prove.

[SoCalNative]

55. In California

you still have to pay the cost of the ticket if you go to traffic school.

[MrScorpio]

7. Welcome to the American Criminal Justice System

It's mostly a huge scam.

[GObamaGO]

8. A ticket for talking on the phone and driving is $160 in CA

Ridiculous.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

15. Ridiculously high or ridiculously low? This may depend upon whether you've gotten into an accident

a phone-talking driver.

[proud2BlibKansan]

43. My mom and dad who were hospitalized overnight after being hit by a driver on the phone

would say that's a small price to pay.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

44. As a lifelong motorcyclist, I think it should be much higher too

[datasuspect]

46. it should be $1000 for first offense and progessively higher until third offense

4th time, you go to jail.

there is NEVER a good reason for talking and driving, it's worse than driving drunk.

i spend at least 2-4 hours a day on the interstate highway system - "talkers" are tremendously unsafe.

[Skittles]

73. the fine should be WAY more than that

[tblue37]

9. Because many of the Americans who actually vote refuse to accept that they must pay

taxes to fund the government services that they and everyone else want--and the politicians are therefore afraid to raise needed revenue through taxes for fear of losing their cushy sinecures--cities, counties, and states must find other ways to fund government functions and services.

Seriously soaking anyone who gets caught up in the court system because of a traffic violation is just one way of doing that. Since most people don't get caught up in the court system that way, it is a relatively safe approach, because it won't lead to a taxpayer revolt, nor will it get the billionaires or the PACs funding a primary challenge against them.

Another way of funding government services without seeming to raise taxes is by instituting "fees" for all sorts of things that didn't used to have fees attached. For example, schools now have to raise funds to cover the gaps the Republican-controlled state legislatures leave when they cut funding. Disadvantaged kids discover they cannot afford to ride the bus, go on field trips with their classes, join teams, clubs, bands, or other organizations, or do many other things that used to be included in "free" public education, back when it really was pretty much free for students and their families. Textbook rental costs have also soared, but when I was a kid my parents didn't have to rent our books--the school provided them, and as long as we returned them in good shape at the end of the year, it didn't cost us a thing.

Now that schools cannot even afford to provide classroom supplies, parents get longer and longer lists of supplies their kids must bring to school (for the classroom, not for each individual kid's own use)--including pencils, paper, crayons, glue, Kleenex, etc. Communities like the one I live in end up having to run charity drives to provide these required supplies for the disadvantaged the kids in grade schools and middle schools. The group that organizes the drive each school year buys backpacks, fills them with required supplies and then gives one to each kid whose parents have submitted an application for one.

What Americans who vote for lower taxes don't realize is that they are not getting taxed less, because that money is coming out of their pockets anyway in such revenue enhancing schemes as the fees attached to traffic stops, to the use of public services that used to be free, and to the public education that also used to actually be free.

And since the rich folks who don't much use the public services won't end up paying those fees, but do end up paying much lower taxes, the cost of government functions and services is not spread across society, including those who can afford to help cover the cost of government, but instead falls largely on the middle class and the poor.

[Turbineguy]

20. By buying cookies at a school bake sale

you are actually agreeing that it's OK for republicans to fuck things up.

[tblue37]

21. I don't think it is necessarily "agreeing" so much as it is

not recognizing that this is what is going on. It's a failure to connect the dots.

[Turbineguy]

22. You are right.

Some years ago my Wife made a beautiful apple pie for a school bake sale. Later, she heard a well dressed (our area is heavily republican) lady bragging how she got this apple pie for a mere $4. Several hours of work and about $10 in ingredients. It was the last one my Wife made.

[Luminous Animal]

10. Hahaha! Nice story.

[JI7]

11. we can't have the wealthy having to pay their share , so we do things like this

[dsc]

12. the ticket I got last may in Ohio did me the same way

the ticket itself was like 60 but then with court costs it ended up more like 150. It is a giant scam that our taxes should be paying for.

[SoCalDem]

17. My husband's "red-light" camera-ticket cost us $800.

He could have gone to court & fought it but his time is more valuable to him..

[RebelOne]

37. That is ridculous.

I got a red light camera ticket and it cost me $70. I'm in Georgia. What state are you in?

[dsc]

41. now that is outrageous

[mokawanis]

67. My friend in LA got off much cheaper

His red light camera-ticket was only $500. They made up for it a while later when they towed his car for being parked illegally and charged him another $500.

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. Is some or all of the traffic ticket system now in private hands?

I heard the parking meters were now a private corp.( in SF)
and many red light cameras have been privatized.

[bike man]

25. I was stopped for speeding, knew it was me as soon as the LEO came out into the road w/ lights on.

He asked if I knew the speed limit, and how fast I was going. I knew, and told him - I was doing 45 when I saw his lights, and the speed limit was 30.

As to why I was going 'so fast', it was because I was listening to a football game and wondering how such mismatched teams were playing.

He said I could refuse to sign the citation, and fight it in court. My response "Why? We both know how fast I was going."

We talked football for a few moments. I went to the courthouse and paid my $35 at the clerk's window.

It was that easy.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

28. Was this 1967?

$35 dollar fine?

Was the deputy's name Fife, by chance?

The option to refuse to sign the ticket went out with fender fins.

[bike man]

40. No it was not Deputy Fife. It was about 5 years ago. The LEO explained that refusal to sign

the citation "could" result in immediate arrest. In many places, there IS an option. Signing the citation is sorta an "own recognizance" bond, admitting that one did what is on the citation and agreeing that one will appear in court on the date/time specified. Refusal "can" result in immediate arrest because of the lack of the O.R. bond agreement.

I knew how fast I was going, he knew how fast I was going, the speed limit was clearly posted, and I was on a road I travel quite regularly going for coffee. What purpose would a refusal serve?

I wa in a pick-up truck, no fins.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

50. I think you may have misunderstood the purpose of the signature.

I doubt it would even be Constitutional to require a signature admitting guilt or be denied bond.

The signature is typically not an admission of guilt but an agreement to appear/contest or pay.

[bike man]

59. No, I did not misunderstand the purpose of the signature. It is/was in effect

a 'release on own recognizance' bond/agreement, and I was agreeing to appear at the appointed place and time. I understood it then, and still do, and truly, deeply appreciate the effort to educate me.

As I mentioned, both the LEO and I knew I was going over the posted limit, a transgression I freely admitted to. And, the LEO COULD have taken me into custody had I refused to acknowledge by signature the date/time of court appearance, thus ensuring that I would appear by virtue of being in their custody.

http://www.expertlaw.com/library/traffic_tickets/traffic_tickets.html

If the local practice is to require you to sign a traffic ticket issued to you, you should be aware of any consequences if you refuse to sign. While your signature acknowledging the ticket is not an admission of guilt, your refusal to sign may result in the officer taking you into custody so you can be formally charged and be required to post a bond.

http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/legal-faqs/traffic-violations/federal/is-signing-the-ticket-an-admission-of-guilt.html

Is signing the ticket an admission of guilt?
By: LawInfo
No, it's just your acknowledgment of receipt of the notice to appear. Because you are actually being charged with a violation of law, the officer could take you into custody if you refuse to sign the ticket. By signing the traffic ticket, you avoid being taken into custody and are actually released on your own recognizance pending the court date. It's in your best interest to sign the ticket, so you remain free and retain your right to show up at the court hearing to dispute it or otherwise resolve the matter.

http://www.blacklawoffices.com/georgia-traffic-law

The traffic ticket contains an actual notice to you of a pending court date at which you must appear. By signing the ticket, you are providing an acknowledgment of receipt of the "notice to appear." Since the officer is charging you with a violation of law, he could take you into custody. By signing the traffic ticket, you avoid being taken into custody at that time, and are "released on your own recognizance" pending the court date. It is better to sign the traffic ticket and go about your business pending the court date. By signing the traffic ticket, you remain free and retain the right to show up at the hearing to contest the issuance of the citation or summons.
A person is free to refuse to sign the traffic ticket; however, the police officer is free to place him/her under arrest and take him/her into custody

These links tend to support my view of 'own recognizance'

[Hassin Bin Sober]

61. Remind me to never do a crime with you.

Never admit to nutin'!

I think we are on the same page. Signing the ticket doesn't admit guilt but acknowledges the receipt of a summons and you willingness to appear/contest/pay.

[bike man]

70. One of the things I learned from inmates whilst working in a prison - never

do a crime with anyone. Allways work alone. Partners will turn on you in a heartbeat.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

71. I used to work for a guy with a pretty rough past.

And he said the exact same thing.

"There's always a beefer"

[RebelOne]

48. I received a speeding ticket about 5 years ago.

I knew I was guilty. But the officer told me I could pay it online, which was great because I did not want to travel to the courthouse to pay it. But my fine was $125 and not $35.

[bike man]

60. I'm in a small town. Courthouse is about 6 miles from my house. I went from the place of the crime

to the clerk's office with my copy and paid it.

[davidpdx]

26. I happen to like the system here in South Korea

If you commit a traffic violation there are two types of fees you can pay: 1) a lower fee if you want points on your driving record; and 2) a slightly higher fee if you don't want the points. I'm not exactly sure how the point system works, except that if you get X number of points your license is suspended.

Most enforcement is done via camera here and its pretty obvious where they are (even my GPS tells me that).

[MrScorpio]

32. Although it may cost more money up front, one should hire a lawyer

In a lot of cases, a good lawyer could have the ticket tossed. If found guilty, one should appeal.

If you can get the ticket expunged by doing driver's training (not all states allow for this$, by all means, do it.

The point isn't as much to current ticket as much as it is what could be the result of the next. A clean driving record can hold a lot of sway over a judge's decision to toss a relatively minor offense.

Major stuff, like reckless driving and DUIs, are a completely different animal.

All in all, the courts, traffic courts in particular, are about extracting as much time and money from people as possible. It's not about safety as it is about grabbing and throwing as many people into a labrythine apparatus, in order to overwhelm them and empty their wallets.

You're going to have to give up some cash, one way or the other. You just need to decide who you're going to give it too, a lawyer who works for you or the system that's working against you.

[markiv]

33. sounds inspired by a phone bill

i'll bet there isnt one customer in the country outside the industry who really understands all the charges on their phone bill - they just pay it and move on

[tularetom]

35. Your friend can thank Howard Jarvis and his republican buddies for that

The enforcement of traffic laws has nothing to do with public safety anymore. But thanks to Prop 13 and all sons of prop 13 that followed it, local government no longer has any means of raising revenue without a vote of the people. So they have resorted to the only source of funds they have left - petty fines for minor infractions, which can be imposed or increased by an ordinance adopted by the governing body. No election, no fiscal analysis, no justification, no nothing, just a quick "public hearing" which can be opened and closed without anybody realizing what's happened, and viola - you have a ready made, reliable revenue stream.

Even a medium sized city can raise millions of dollars every year this way. Assuming 20 officers on patrol during daytime hours, each officer writing 2 tickets per day at say, $150 per ticket, for 365 days a year, and you have taken in over 2 million bucks annually.

Speed and traffic light cameras are even better if you can sneak them past the citizens. Because now you don't even have to pay the cop to write the ticket, a computer does it for you. Just sit back and watch the money roll in. And when you add all those "administrative" fees to the maximum statutory ticket amount (which incidentally is very subjective) the sky's the limit.

Would have been a lot simpler just to keep the property taxes the way they were.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

39. Chicago loves the red light tickets because they call them a municipal infraction..

.. and keep the whole fine. They don't have to kick back the state.

The good news is, your driving record isn't affected. Cause the state never knows. It's just you and Chicago's little secret... because driving safety isn't what this is all about - otherwise they would ding your license, no?

Nah, you only lose your license if you don't pay enough fines. But that is done under the same law that allows the city to suspend your license for not paying parking tickets.

Nice and neat. That's the way to do it.

[SoCalNative]

57. The problem was

the system didn't have any kind of cap in the past, so property taxes could be raised at alarming rates to astounding levels by all jurisdictions who levied them.

In California, people who worked hard their entire lives to pay off their homes were threatened constantly with losing their homes just because the state or the county kept raising the property tax rates.

[tularetom]

58. That's why my dad moved back to Oklahoma when he retired

Of course the only reason the counties were able to get away with raising the rates was that property values were increasing so fast that every time a piece of property sold it was reassessed for the new value which was way more than the seller had paid. But you're right it was a bummer for people on fixed incomes.

My dad was so pissed off at the increases in his property taxes that he sold the whole place off to his 3 kids and left the state. I bought out my brother and sister and moved into the house in 1988. Oddly enough my taxes are less than they were when I bought the place. Of course I sold off most of the acreage and put the rest into the Williamson Act which my dad had never done.

I spent over 30 years as a local government bureaucrat dealing with ongoing state raids on local funds so I definitely have an opinion as to who is at fault for the plight of city and county finances.

[backscatter712]

36. How long before DU's gang of authoritarian douchebags comes to this thread to scold us?

We'll have to endure their endless derp: "If you don't like the fine, don't do the crime."

[MindPilot]

52. Oh they are already upthread.

Stiffer fines and harsher penalties!!! That will rectify my irrational fear of this statistically insignificant problem!11!11!1

[McCamy Taylor]

45. So the state pays its way by taxing tickets? Surreal.

[MillennialDem]

47. In WI a speeding ticket I had for about 12 mph over was $300. And they would change it to a

non-moving violation for another $100.

Oh, and never mind it was a 55mph freeway on what most would consider a 65mph freeway.

[Cleita]

51. Are they going crazy?

That sounds insane. I once got a ticket for making a right turn and the officer said there was a person in the crosswalk. I wouldn't have known because the car in the left lane blocked my view and IMO should have gotten the ticket instead if this was a problem. So I went to traffic court and fought it. The judge ruled in my favor. Your friend should do the same. Also, you can get the tickets expunged if you spend a Saturday or two in traffic school if the judge doesn't rule in your favor. It does affect your insurance rate.

[Sadiedog]

54. Years ago I got a ticket for getting out of my car, I forget now the legal language used in the

complaint. But basically I got out of my car, stepped into the road, and a speeding cop almost hit me. Well I was not out in the road far or anything because then I could possibly understand what happened next. The cop hits his brakes, stops in the middle of the road and runs up to me just screaming. Long story short I fought it in Court with rather hilarious results. The Judge and the entire Courtroom was laughing. The Judge asked me how I plead and I said, "Well, Your Honor I am guilty I did get out of my car." She then asked me if there was an accident and I told her no. Then she asked, "Well, how were you supposed to get out of your car?" I let her know that I had no idea. Anyway she lowered my fine to 5 dollars which was Ok by me and I let it go. It still confuses me but I think that the cop was probably just having a bad day or something. Which happens to all of us at one time or another.

[b_in_AK]

63. It's like car tabs in WA:

Voters approved an initiative 3 times to limit car tab fees to $30, yet I just paid $60 each to register mine. $45 of it was a fee for "Other".

[uppityperson]

66. Depends. $30 for an optional Discovery Pass to get into state parks & other legislated fees =>$30..

It is annoying that that $30 we voted on is only in addition with other mandated legislated fees.

http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/renewalfees.html

Vehicle tab renewal fees (including motorcycles)
Standard fees (for all passenger vehicles) Fee amount
Registration fee $30
Weight-based fee
0–4,000 lbs: $10
4,001–6,000 lbs: $20
6,001–8,000 lbs: $30
Filing fee $3
License service fee $0.75

Additional vehicle fees that may apply Fee amount
Subagent fee (if you renew your tabs at any licensing office except a county auditor) $5 per registration
Replacement plates (mandatory every 7 years) $24
License plate number retention fee (to keep the same plate number when getting replacement plates) $20
Special design plates Up to $30, depending on type of plate
Personalized plates $30
Personalized plates with a special background design
$30 personalized plate renewal
plus
$30 special design plate renewal
RTA tax (for urban areas of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.) 0.3% of depreciated manufacturer's retail price (MSRP) of vehicle
Local transportation benefit district fees
(if required in your city or county) Varies by local transportation benefit district
King County congestion reduction charge
(if tabs expire on or after June 1, 2012) $20
Vehicles powered by propane, natural gas, or butane Depends on scale weight of vehicle. See the Propane F

http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/crc.html

If you live in King County, you’ll pay a $20 congestion reduction charge when you renew your tabs. This charge was authorized by the legislature and enacted by the Metropolitan King County Council to enable King County Metro Transit to continue providing the current level of transit service, and help reduce traffic congestion for all motorists.

[Egalitarian Thug]

64. The brilliant residents of California voted to devastate their tax base and hand

the giant agri-corps a perpetual multibillion dollar gift back in 1979. Of course since then they have been unable to fund the operation of their state and so this has become the alternative tax system. It's both wholly inadequate and completely regressive, but at least the morons can pretend that their property taxes are low.

Disclaimer: I'm one of of Beverly Hills most wanted parking criminals. If I were to ever try registering a vehicle in that state, I would probably be assessed the entire budget deficit in unpaid fines and penalties.

[mokawanis]

68. A minimum wage or low-wage worker really gets screwed by that system

Those penalties and fees might not mean much to someone who makes a good wage, but they really put the hurt on people who work for low wages.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

72. Yep.

And to make matters worse, their cars get confiscated in Chicago and sold out from under them - bank lien or no bank lien.