Curious How Much Money Comes From Traffic Fine and Fees?

Do you ever stop to wonder how much money victimless traffic fine & fees bring in each year?

It’s A LOT!

Seriously, the numbers even shocked us…

Sometimes it feels like the government is just there to bleed us dry in taxes, fees and fines…

How Much the U.S. Makes from Traffic Fines Each Year

A conservative estimate for revenue generated by traffic violations annually is roughly $6 to 8 billion every year!

Aren’t you curious where ALL that traffic fine money goes?

The money collected from traffic fines is shared by the state, counties and municipalities. This is based on the type of violation and the law enforcement agency charging the offense.

Most of the time for speeding tickets in particular – the money remains at the township or city level. This is especially true for towns with populations less than 30,000.  

According to a national database compiled by Governing magazine, at least 583 cities and towns have collected 10% or more of their general fund revenue from fines and forfeitures.

The Four Worst States for Traffic Fines

Among those jurisdictions, 80 relied on fines to generate over half of their budget revenue. Most of those municipalities came from just four states: Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma.

Just wait till you see how much money some of these cities bring in each year just with speeding tickets.

Do the infamous monthly ticket quotas really exist?
Many cops will swear police ticket quotas don’t exist but evidence proves otherwise. This has many drivers believing the law enforcement is out just to meet traffic ticket quotas.

Traffic fine and ticket quotes are explicitly prohibited by most jurisdictions

But is this really true?

Quotas operate under a color of law versus – actual statutory law. Police officers cannot legally have mandatory quotas that they must meet

HOWEVER…

Police departments are private (for profit) corporations. It’s generally understood that fines & fees are how the police & city get revenue.

In order to meet local funding goals/requirements officers are often “encouraged” to various degrees to issue more tickets.  

“The message goes out that if you want more training (and funding), then go ahead and write more traffic tickets,” said Gil Kerlikowske, a former police chief in Seattle and three other cities.

Many people argue that ticket quotas are bad incentives, but officers argue that there’s value in police traffic enforcement focused on speeding, DUIs and reckless driving — a “more important role than just, ‘you have a taillight out’ or ‘you have a tag light out.’”

However, we also know the police have grown fond of using the small violation excuse as a flimsy pretext to profile motorists or attempt to search for more serious crimes.

Honestly it’s a pretty weak excuse, given their rarity and the unnecessary risk that those types of encounters could pose if they escalate (which they often do). Mr. Brown’s story was a perfect example – we’ll share it with you in tomorrow’s email so be on the lookout for that in your inbox.

In the meantime, discover the 3 methods Beat the Ticket Secrets will teach you that you can implement to erase that ticket (and future tickets) for good.

Click to Learn More About Beat the Ticket Secrets

We don’t expect you to take us at our word…

That’s why we’re so grateful to the many students that have sent us their success stories and proof for us to share with others.

These strategies have worked for thousands & we know they will help you too!

Your friends in finance,
Private Wealth Academy