Traffic Fines and Fees Archives - Page 13 of 20 - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Driver’s License Suspension in North Carolina: A Report Analyzing Data from 1986 – 2018

This research article highlights the prevalence of driver’s license suspensions in North Carolina due to unpaid fines and fees and failures to appear in court for traffic offenses.

Personal Narrative: Rick

Rick Venable is currently homeless and sleeping in the woods in Jacksonville as a result of a spiral that started with driver's license suspension.

Personal Narrative: Celeste

Celeste Sawyer is a single mother of five children living in Florida. Her driver’s license was suspended, because she accumulated $584 of traffic ticket debt.

Driven By Debt: How Driver’s License Suspensions for Unpaid Fines and Fees Hurt Texas Families

This report discusses the various ways debt-based driver’s license suspensions harm Texas drivers, especially those that are low-income and minorities.

Texas House Bill 2754: Arrests for failure to pay or failure to appear.

This bill, which did not pass, would have limited the use of arrest for fine-only offenses in Texas.

Melanie is a white, 45-year-old resident of South Carolina. As a mother, she tries her best to care for her children but she has not been able to provide basic healthcare for them for years due to her license suspension.

Personal Narrative: Kevin

Kevin lives in a rural town in Alabama and is disabled. He relies on his monthly disability check to support him and his partner. He could not afford car insurance, but he continued to drive since there are no other viable options for transportation where he lives. After he was ticketed for lack of insurance, his license was suspended and his fine only compounded the thousands of dollars in court debt he already owed.

Nevada Assembly Bill 110: Traffic ticket notification and bench warrants.

Nevada AB 110 makes changes to the notification process for traffic tickets and related court dates.

Stopping the Debt Spiral

This report shares the results of a survey of 304 low-income Illinois residents who were asked about their experience with debt, including criminal justice debt. Respondents disclosed the types of debt they had, the number of debts they owed, and the emotional toll debt takes on their families.

Speed Trap or Poverty Trap? Fines, Fees, and Financial Wellbeing

Steven Mello’s research paper investigates the effects of traffic fines on financial wellbeing by studying the correlation between Florida traffic citation records (between 2011 and 2015) and credit reports and payroll data of ticketed drivers.