New California Traffic Ticket Fines Effective 2011

If you’ve been pulled over for a ticket this year, you may have looked at the price and thought, “You’ve got to be kidding.” You may have also thought, “WHAT THE $&#%!”  What the $&#%! indeed. If you didn’t find out the hard way, January 6^th was the day that California activated the increase of every traffic ticket fine.

Every ticket fine was raised by at least $4. At first reaction, I thought, “Okay, that doesn’t sound too bad,” but when I found out that parking at a handicapped zone for even a minute could cost over $1000, I was shocked. I found out in the Los Angeles Times article that the increase was due to the decline in Medi-Cal funding. It is estimated that the extra money from the fines will generate $34 million dollars a year. The money will go towards funding emergency air-transport services.  

At least your fine is for a good cause!

In the end, the fines may sound crazy but at least the money is being used to help transport critically ill patients. I think that we just have to suck it up and drive more carefully. With the fines going up and cops watching the roads like hawks, you better be aware that the more tickets you receive the more your California Auto Insurance bill increases! 

You shouldn’t violate the traffic laws in the first place. The only solution to this is to drive safer!All the increased violation fines can be seen in this 200 page Judicial Council of California’s Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedules packet, but to make it easier, I’ve summed up some of the more outrageous fines here:

• Failure to stop at a red signal – $436
• Driving 15 miles over speed limit – $214
• Driving 25 miles over speed limit – $328
• Passing a school bus with flashing red signals – $616
• 1st offense: Driving while using phone (not hands free) –  $148
• 2nd offense + : Driving while using phone (not hands free) – $256
• Driving while texting – $148
• Parking in a bus loading area – $976
• 1st offense: Parking in disabled area –$976
• 2nd offense +: Parking in disabled area – $1876
• Driving without a seat belt – $148

Who knew...

                                                      THIS                            could help                            THIS! 

Basically, California needed more funding for emergency air-transport services, so they kicked up the fines for us bad drivers. That sure is another way to help the critically ill.