The Hidden Fees This US State Is Tacking Onto Its Traffic Tickets

It's no secret that operating a motor vehicle in the state of California can be a very expensive proposition. A combination of high gas prices, high registration fees, and high insurance rates regularly has California ranked as the most expensive U.S. state to drive a car. That's why it's probably not surprising to hear that California drivers with traffic violations can also be subject to some extravagant ticket costs — not just from the standard penalties, but also from a whole list of 'hidden' fees that have, at times, made for ticket costs nearly five times higher than the initial citation fee.

What has many California drivers and budget auditors even more concerned is that many of these stacked fees are used for things that have no relation to improving roads or traffic safety. Deeper dives into the structure of these fees have found that traffic tickets have become an ever-growing source of revenue for a variety of state and local funds across California, which is currently experiencing notoriously high budget deficits. Over the years, lawmakers have quietly added and expanded a number of seemingly arbitrary fees that can make for exorbitant ticket costs.

While these high fees can seem dishonest when they get dropped onto unsuspecting motorists, there is a transparent breakdown of everything involved in the calculation. The exact amount can also vary by county, as each county can choose whether to levy certain parts of the fine.

Americans have grown to accept small but annoying extra fees on so many things in life, but the fees on California traffic tickets often go far beyond being an extra annoyance.  A recent CBS News report on the skyrocketing costs of traffic tickets in California includes an account from one motorist who received a ticket with a $486 bail amount, even though the citation itself was only $100.  Maybe not the most expensive traffic ticket ever issued, but a pricey one nonetheless. 

Ballooning ticket fees are not a new or unknown phenomenon in California. An extensive audit done in 2017 breaks down exactly how many fees have been added to traffic violations over the years and how they are divided between different funds and jurisdictions.  The fees would perhaps be understandable if they went to things like road safety initiatives or the construction of safer roads and highways. But in many cases, the added fees are for things completely unrelated to traffic law enforcement or road safety. Among the fees currently being levied on tickets are ones paid to the Fish and Game Preservation Fund and Traumatic Brain Injury Fund.

Expensive traffic tickets don't just affect people's pocketbooks in terms of numbers. Advocates have pointed out that higher ticket costs are more likely to go unpaid, and when unpaid traffic tickets compound, they can grow into more serious legal and criminal issues. What makes the situation even worse is that a declining number of actual traffic tickets issued has resulted in a spiraling situation where ticket fees are increased to make up for lost revenue, which in turn only discourages even more drivers from paying their tickets.

One could make a solid argument that ultra-high ticket costs are a factor in encouraging safe and responsible driving habits. But those high costs become harder to justify when there's a perception that motorists are squeezed to bolster both a state budget and a traffic citation system that hasn't responsibly managed itself. As for potential fixes for the issue, CBS reached out to the California State Transportation Agency, only to receive a fairly generic statement about advancing public safety and maintaining affordable access to transportation. 

And if all of this wasn't enough to give California drivers great fear over getting hit with a wallet-crushing traffic ticket; an increasing number of those tickets will now be issued with no human cops involved whatsoever.