For many people, summer months mean vacation. Whether you are driving hundreds of miles to your destination or are simply commuting to a waterpark the next town over, the possibility of getting pulled over for speeding is very real. And, while you subconsciously believe that speed laws are enforced to protect the safety of other drivers on the road, you might question if this is truly the case.
Is the system of federal money awarded by the National Traffic Safety Administration to states in an effort to conduct ticket blitzes fostering an environment of encouraged ticket quotas rather than highway safety? Gary Biller, the president of the National Motorists Association and contributor to The Washington Times believes so.
In a recent opinion, Mr. Biller noted that traffic tickets net an estimated $5 billion per year across the nation. When the NHTSA’s own data shows more than a 5% increase in traffic fatalities from 2011 to 2013, how can we resolve the apparent discrepancy between generous grants ($773 billion in awards in 2011 from the NHTSA to states for ticket blitzes) and increased traffic fatalities? Mr. Biller asks this question in summary: “If handing out tickets resulted in safer driving conditions, wouldn’t there be a reduced need for law enforcement to patrol the roads as time goes on?”
Part of the problem, he goes on to say, is that many ticket blitzes occur on interstates – traveled by vacationers or other out of state drivers. These tickets are never challenged. They are simply paid and forgotten about.
If you were ticketed as an out of state driver or you were unfamiliar with local traffic patterns, it is wise to seek the counsel of an experienced defense attorney. Depending on the situation, we might be able to challenge your ticket.
