Alberta reels in unpaid traffic fines

[urban.one]

Alberta reels in unpaid traffic fines
Canadian Press

October 23, 2008 at 4:51 PM EDT

EDMONTON — Alberta will go as far as seizing property, wages and bank accounts to collect $126-million in unpaid traffic tickets.

There are more than 650,000 outstanding tickets in the province and the worst drivers have as many as 50 tickets that they're simply ignoring.

The Justice Department is warning drivers who don't pay their fines that they won't be able to register their vehicles or renew their driver's licences.

The government also says it will seize wages, bank accounts and tax refunds if payments are not made within 30 days from the time a warning letter is sent.

Edmonton police officer Tom Bell holds up a stack of 793 traffic violations in front of police headquarters in Edmonton in this 2003 file photo. The tickets were all issued over that year's labour day long weekend. (Brendon Dlouhy/Edmonton Sun/CP Photo)

Justice Minister Alison Redford says violations range from running red lights to speeding in school zones to driving while disqualified.

A pilot project that began two years ago that targeted 50,000 unpaid tickets brought in roughly half the fines totalling nearly $5-million.

Justice Minister Alison Redford says they're dispatching letters to 15,000 drivers who committed offences in Edmonton, with letters to others in the province by the end of the year.

The letters will tell drivers to pay their fines within two weeks or face collection agents.

The targeted violations include running red lights, speeding in school zones, and driving while disqualified.

[Toms-SC]

What will they do with this wind fall bonus? Build another Race City?

Nope

[Redlyne_mr2]

haha 3 of those are mine.. usually just pay my fines once a year when i renew my regi.

[LadyLuck]

I got one for speeding on my way to edmonton by Leduc, not sure if they are targeting these type of tickets....whatever, I'll wait for my "warning letter"

[dropdat]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
haha 3 of those are mine.. usually just pay my fines once a year when i renew my regi.

Me too, I think I'm sitting on atleast $900 in parking tickets and one speeding ticket. No time to pay each on individually, just let them rack up then pay them at your own convenience next time you register your vehicle.

[TKRIS]

Haha.
I just got a ticket for having expired tags on a truck I don't drive. Every cop in town knows it doesn't move, since it's been parked in the exact same spot for forever while I've been trying to sell it.
I have insurance, I just didn't go get a new sticker (which is a retarded money grab in and of itself).
I'm not going to bitch about the validity of the ticket, as it was clearly parked on a side street, and clearly has an expired tag. I clearly broke "the law".
No, my complaint is that it's just more involuntary fundraising to support a retarded make work project for people with illusions of grandeur.
Anyone care to venture a guess on the price of the fine? haha.

Way to make the world a safer place hero.

On the upside, I'm not mad:
The ticket is worth the cost of me being right.
Traffic is no more than a collections agency who's primary purpose is to harrass private citizens for the purposes of funding more traffic cops. They long ago passed the point of diminishing returns, and one day enough people will understand this that all these self-important superheros will be out of a job.

So, you see, unlike most ticket related posts on Beyond, my intention isn't to bitch about getting a chicken ass ticket, or to try to beat it on a technicality. No, this ticket is justification for everything I've said about traffic cops. I'm not telling you about my ticket to bitch, I'm telling you about it to gloat.
I'm right about traffic cops, and with a little luck, enough other people will soon realize it too, and maybe we'll be able to do something about it.

[EK 2.0]

Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2

haha 3 of those are mine.. usually just pay my fines once a year when i renew my regi.

That's exactly how I roll....

And 2 are mine...

[canuckcarguy]

Originally posted by TKRIS

On the upside, I'm not mad:
The ticket is worth the cost of me being right.
I'm not telling you about my ticket to bitch, I'm telling you about it to gloat.

Okay, so I don't really disagree with you that traffic enforcement like this is a joke. And I respect that you know you warranted the ticket. But you've still got a fine to pay...that hardly seems worth gloating about, unless you plan to fight it and make a federal case out of it. Really, how do you win? They ticket you, you give them money, they generate revenue, and are thus encouraged to continue with foolish tickets. end of story.

[rage2]

Originally posted by urban.one
The government also says it will seize wages, bank accounts and tax refunds if payments are not made within 30 days from the time a warning letter is sent.

Wow, traffic dept can do that? I thought that power is only available to revenue canada.

[Supa Dexta]

They'll never take me alive!

... They also don't have a current address for me.

[Canmorite]

I'd like to see what they do with the cash grab. If it just goes back to putting more traffic cops out there, i'll be pissed. Theres enough of those meter maids around my apartment as it is. Douchebags.

[TKRIS]

Originally posted by canuckcarguy


Okay, so I don't really disagree with you that traffic enforcement like this is a joke. And I respect that you know you warranted the ticket. But you've still got a fine to pay...that hardly seems worth gloating about, unless you plan to fight it and make a federal case out of it. Really, how do you win? They ticket you, you give them money, they generate revenue, and are thus encouraged to continue with foolish tickets. end of story.

We, as a society, were willing to ignore Traffic's sticky fingers as long as they kept the fines minimal enough to allow us to pretend that we're getting something in return. A fine that, IMS, used to be ~$40 has gone up ~600%, and I very much doubt (or, for society's sake, hope) that we'll tolorate that kind of rampant racketeering.
This fine proves me right by both being chicken-ass and pointless in purpose, and by being an unapologetic ,greed fueled money grab in it's severity.

The more people who get $230 fines for doing nothing criminal, dangerous, or illogical; the more people start thinking along the same lines I'm thinking, and the better chance we have of annihilating this particular societal parasite.

We're the victims of harassment and theft and receive no service in return.

[Weapon_R]

Originally posted by rage2

Wow, traffic dept can do that? I thought that power is only available to revenue canada.

Maintenance enforcement is an obvious one that allows the provincial government agency to seize wages and I believe tax refunds.

[canuckcarguy]

Originally posted by TKRIS


We, as a society, were willing to ignore Traffic's sticky fingers as long as they kept the fines minimal enough to allow us to pretend that we're getting something in return. A fine that, IMS, used to be ~$40 has gone up ~600%, and I very much doubt (or, for society's sake, hope) that we'll tolorate that kind of rampant racketeering.
This fine proves me right by both being chicken-ass and pointless in purpose, and by being an unapologetic ,greed fueled money grab in it's severity.

The more people who get $230 fines for doing nothing criminal, dangerous, or illogical; the more people start thinking along the same lines I'm thinking, and the better chance we have of annihilating this particular societal parasite.

We're the victims of harassment and theft and receive no service in return.

Again, I think you're right, in terms of your ticket being too big for what was effectively just a nuisance. But people totally tolerate these fines. They've been going up for years, and people simply pay them.

So I'm not sure how receiving a ticket and paying it proves your point. If anything, it contradicts your point - after all, it's a big, ludicrous fine for something ridiculous, and you're going to pay it.

[TYMSMNY]

Originally posted by urban.one

The government also says it will seize wages, bank accounts and tax refunds if payments are not made within 30 days from the time a warning letter is sent.

That's a good way to collect. Start with the tax refunds then wages.

[VaN_HaMMeRSTeiN]

Haha, one of them is mine... it was due at the end of july... but I never got a notice of conviction for it... did it even go through?

[TKRIS]

Originally posted by canuckcarguy
So I'm not sure how receiving a ticket and paying it proves your point. If anything, it contradicts your point - after all, it's a big, ludicrous fine for something ridiculous, and you're going to pay it.

Because my point was never that the coppers would never take me alive.
My point has never had anything to do with paying the tickets, and I've never pretended to be able to change anything myself.

My point has always been that traffic cops do nothing but hand out bullshit tickets to generate revenue in order to justify their existance.

The actual, physical $230 doesn't mean much to me. Not because I'm rich (far from it), but because I value principle more than money. And this ticket takes me off speculative ground and moves me to a higher, more stable position. I win on principle, because I've got them doing exactly what I've been accusing them of doing for years.

They get my $230, but, in return, they validate my assertions and accusations about them.
Maybe that'll be enough to make a couple other people think about what's really happening here, and, if so, that's a worthwhile trade to me.

As far as fighting it: My position isn't one that can be won by me alone. While I fully believe my arguments are 100% valid, no judge is going to say "You know what? You're right. Starting tomorrow, we'll disband the registries department and start eviserating the traffic department." even if he agrees with me.
Like most things, this is an issue that demands a formidable uprising of sorts to gain enough leverage to envoke change. Enough people have to get pissed off about this for it to become an issue that's up for debate. Only then will we ever change it.

[canuckcarguy]

Well, I guess if it makes you feel better to confirm what you already know, that's cool. But if you think I'm a violent prick, and you really, really, really believe that, and then I confirm it by punching you in the face, you might have proved yourself right, but you've still got a black eye and a bad headache. Not sure how that constitutes a victory, but good on ya.

[TKRIS]

Originally posted by canuckcarguy
Well, I guess if it makes you feel better to confirm what you already know, that's cool. But if you think I'm a violent prick, and you really, really, really believe that, and then I confirm it by punching you in the face, you might have proved yourself right, but you've still got a black eye and a bad headache. Not sure how that constitutes a victory, but good on ya.

If you punch me in the face, there's something I can, and will, do about that.
If you and 20 friends tie my hands behind my back, then punch me in the face, I guess I'll have to learn to live with the small satisfaction I get from being a better man than you are, and hoping the message gets accross to the people who are watching so that people don't just stand idly by the next time you try it.

Originally written by I.F.Stone
“The only kinds of fights worth fighting are those you are going to lose, because somebody has to fight them and lose and lose and lose until someday, somebody who believes as you do wins. In order for somebody to win an important, major fight 100 years hence, a lot of other people have got to be willing - for the sheer fun and joy of it - to go right ahead and fight, knowing you're going to lose. You mustn't feel like a martyr. You've got to enjoy it.”

[Hash_man]

This is kind of stupid... Makes sense to try and do this to people with huge stacks of tickets... I don't know how the hell one gets 50 tickets and is still alowed to drive?

I've got one outstanding though, and just like others was planning on paying it with my next registration.