Why aren't fees for traffic citations (speeding, running a red light, etc) freely available on the internet?

Wouldn’t you hate to find out that the officer was having a bad night so he tacked $50 on to your fine for the heck of it?? I agree to not wanting to be screwed, but you really shouldn’t be doing anything that would make this a cause for concern anyway.

I for some reason thought that those types of fees (such as for speeding, running a red light, illegal parking, even jaywalking) could vary (at least I think they can here in Australia). I think the cost is at the discretion of the officer (to a certain extent) which might explain why exact fees are not listed or available to the public…

Fines for traffic infringements are available online for the Australian state of Victoria. Vicroads, the state’s road and traffic authority, last published them online at http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/4379A15A-E0DB-4FEC-A970-FE89B0F699E8/0/VicRoadsFinesAndPenalties2007.pdf.

Note that fines are charged in “Penalty Units” which can be changed in value over time. As far as I know 1 Penalty Unit is worth AU$110.12 in Victoria at the moment, but it seems the total value of the fine gets rounded off somehow in that document.

It even has laws relating to bicycles, even listing the $55 fine for not wearing a helmet!

Why should they be on the Internet? All are available in some form, to you. While most levels of government are becoming increasing digitalized, they are not required to do so, unless they have been mandated by a form of government. This information is not withheld from the public, but you also have to know where to find it, and on what level the code or statute is.

There are different tiers of codes and statutes, municipal, county, state, federal. In addition you may be subject to some private regulations when entering certain properties or venues.

I think that the judge determine how much your ticket is depending on what you did

if they change them from month to month they can ultimately ensure they meet their goal, get a bonus, and make their payments on new equipment.

Obey the traffic laws so that we don’t have to worry about it. The ultimate penalty of disobedience is living with the guilt of severely injuring another person or even ending anothers life. I just got out of mandatory traffic school so this is fresh on my mind. I went eight years with no violations then rsn through a 4-way stop

Statistically the average driver breaks 10 laws with in one mile of leaving their home. The arguement of just follow the law and you will be ok is flawed when the laws are written to ensure everyone is violating them.

Assuming this is the USA, yes of course the info is available. I’ve seen full statutes posted on the Internet. Finding them and finding that specific info might or might not be easy, depending on where (what jurisdiction) you want to know about. You can also phone/mail/wander in to the appropriate courthouse, and ticket forms tend to have the contact info on them. Some traffic lawyers also offer free initial questions. Etc.

@jamms: I agree—its not set up to keep our safety a priority, its all about keeping the dough rolling in

The prices are not available because the fines vary fron court to court and by county to county…..

@thomasr, Nonetheless, that information tends to be available, on local county government web sites.