Submitted by Aiken Jacobsen on
Last week we noted that the repeal of Sacramento's crash tax has left the city with a rather significant budget gap. The tax revenue paid by out-of-towners who got into car accidents was projected to fill that gap, but the crash tax did not generate even a single dollar. Similar budget woes have been reported all over California. So how is our state fixing its budget problem?
One popular allegation is that the California Highway Patrol is intentionally issuing more tickets in order to generate revenue. Sacramento County drivers have noticed significantly more police presence on the roads in the last several years, and it seems like everyone is getting caught and ticketed.
Of course, it would be easy for conspiracy theorists and speed-demon drivers to accuse the CHP without any proof. But consider this: between 2006 and 2010 there was a 16 percent increase in traffic filings just in Sacramento Superior Court. This amounts to 37,000 more filings last year than in 2006.
Other statistics show that the CHP issued 200,000 more traffic citations in 2009 than in 2007. The increase in citations has generated an estimated $50 million over two years.
Before we decide that police are out to get our money, though, a closer look at the statistics might explain the increases. First, California's ban on cell phone use while driving went into effect in July of 2008. Tickets for these distracted drivers account for two-thirds of the increase in citations.
One CHP spokesman admits that the bad economy has resulted in more tickets, but he says the fault does not lie with the CHP. In the last few years speeding tickets and stop-signal violations have decreased. At the same time, citations for registration and faulty equipment violations have gone way up. Unpaid registrations and improperly-maintained cars are the symptoms of a bad economy.
It is a fact that citations have increased in California over the last several years. Beyond that, the reasons for the increase may be open to interpretation. Hopefully the increases mean that the CHP is out there stopping distracted drivers and catching reckless speeders. If that's the case the extra revenue might just be money well earned.
Source: The Sacramento Bee online, "CHP issuing more traffic tickets; driver advocates suspect financial motive," Jack Chang, 01 April 2011
