Driving is a vital aspect of a family function. Many of us depend on some mode of transportation to get our family members to school, work, or daycare. Typically we use a personal car to get us to those specified locations. For some drivers, it is tough to balance the maintenance as well as the upkeep in additional to the standard of living that our families require. The unfortunate circumstance of a traffic ticket violation adds on stress.We have all at some point received a traffic violation. Upon the hearing date, and the appointed time to pay the violation, a dire pressing issue has come up or we simply do not have the funds to pay the fine. We have to decide whether we are going to buy groceries, pay for our child’s lunch, or much needed medications.California courts are offering some relief to drivers who are suffering and not able to pay traffic fine violations and driver’s licenses are suspended. The Assembly Transportation Committee approved the SB 185 bill in a 9-5 vote on July 10, 2017. The bill offers driver’s payment plans that they actually can afford. Fines are also reduced to reasonable amounts that are within a feasible level of payment. SB 185 prohibits the automatic suspension of a driver’s license due to the inability to pay a fine or a simple traffic ticket. If a driver license has already been suspended due to the inability to pay, the court is able to restore their license and begin a payment plan.
The state’s goal is to restore hope and confidence in the people. The objective is not to give drivers’ punishment that does not fit. As a result, people lose their jobs, because they have no license to drive to work or get their children to school. The city wants drivers’ to be able to pay something that they can afford and go to work every day.
On another note if the violations remain profusely high many of the violators would not be able to pay the fine and would continue to owe money, and still lose their job. The punishment is not just. The law aims at providing fairness and good judgment to consequences and costs for minor traffic offenses.Middle-class Californians who are affected the most by this law, seem to pay the higher fees in the nation and go through the hardships. There is a disproportionately difference among people of color who are impacted by this law as reported in the May issue of Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights for San Francisco Bay Area. Other efforts were in December 2017, SB 10, designed to replace the pre-trial process that forced drivers with limited income to stay in jail until the court determines their guilt or innocence but allows the wealthy to go free.
The downfall to this law is that drivers could potentially lose their jobs while waiting for the courts to determine their guilt or innocence. Next, the SB 185 is in place to assist California drivers who still need some help making payments plans or aide with reducing tickets so that those fines does not cause strain on making payments on the necessities of everyday living. Then, we have the SB 405 which allowed drivers to talk to a judge about fees before being paying a fine, making a payment plan, taking into account the person income, and then setting the fine amount. The program had some successes.More than 205,000 Californians received amnesty fine reductions and more than 192,000 had their suspended driver’s licenses reinstated. Finally, the SB 881 states that courts has 90 days to respond to traffic amnesty claims being filed. SB 882 prohibits any teenager from being charged with a criminal violation for transit toll skipping but the violation goes through an administrative process.State legislators proactively seeking solutions generate a better moral within the community. The stress is lifted. Not only is the community better, but the people are better, In return they seek to want to become better law abiding citizens. Helping one is helping all. It’s the circle of life.