The Traffic Ticket Scam Machine

Written by Gregory Monte.

Sometimes I am pretty hard on the cops who enforce traffic laws, but even I have to admit that they are not entirely to blame.  Yes, some of them are dicks, but I can’t put all of the onus on them.  After all, they are nothing more than cogs in the traffic ticket scam machine.

Why do I describe it as a “scam machine?”

Consider the following:

• Traffic tickets are arbitrary.  Thousands of people roll through stop signs/speed every day, but you were one of the ones to get caught. Lucky you!
• You did come to a complete stop (or were not speeding), but the judge won’t believe you no matter what you say – it’s the officer’s word against yours.  That sucks – but such is life.
• Or let’s say you actually did “roll through” the stop sign/speed, but there was no one else on the road. Because you didn’t endanger anyone, what is the big deal?  Let me answer that for you – there is none.
• Off-duty police officers go through stop signs/speed also, but all they have to do is show their ID and fellow officers will let them slide.  Yeah, that sounds fair.
• On-duty police officers also fail to obey traffic laws when they are in a hurry.  I have seen them go through red lights, fail to signal when turning, roll through stop signs, etc.   Who is going to issue a ticket in this instance?  Rhetorical question, of course.
• Friends of police officers get PBA cards which allow them a free pass on tickets.  That shit should be illegal, if you ask me.
• The police are not issuing citations out of a sense of safety.  Let’s get real, tickets are used as “revenue” generators for the local government.  I put the word “revenue” in quotes, because I find it strange that the government calls money obtained by force “revenue.” Businesses, on the other hand, convince you to purchase products voluntarily, so I can understand why they use the word “revenue.”
• Tickets are nothing more than a tax imposed on those in society who are least able to afford it.  Do you think the top 1% care about a measly (to them, at least) $150 stop sign ticket or points?  Of course not.  First of all, they can afford to pay a lawyer if they choose to do so, and secondly, its pocket change for them anyway.
• It’s all a big game to the local prosecutor or police officer – and the local court is a party to it all.  What kind of game?  Have you ever watched Let’s Make a Deal?  Well, that is what 99% of the individuals who show up at court eventually do.  After pleading not guilty to the citation, they don’t show up in court to try to prove their innocence.  Instead they “make a deal” with the prosecutor or police officer and end up paying more money in fines, but get the points taken away. 

Did I say it was a “scam machine?”

No, it is a “scam machine” on steroids.