A traffic ticket is traffic violation notice tendered by a law enforcement personnel to a vehicle user who has just committed a traffic violation. A traffic violation may either be a moving violation or a non-moving violation.
Moving and non-moving violation
An example of a moving violation is exceeding the speed limit while a parking violation which is also known as a notice of illegal parking or a parking ticket is an example of a non-moving violation.
A parking ticket which is a kind of traffic ticket contains relevant information regarding date, time, nature and place where the offense took place.
The original parking ticket should be signed by the complainant who will give details of the violation facts while the original parking ticket or true copy serves as a record or a prima facie evidence to be filed in the enforcement agency office.
A moving traffic ticket will contain what moving violation you have committed and the corresponding fines imposed on you based on your violation. Any information regarding ticket fines, court costs and surcharges not indicated in your violation ticket would be known after contacting the court.
Traffic violation notice
The traffic violation notice provides the violator with pertinent information of his violation such as the penalty incurred which may be a fine or a deduction of points.
Traffic ticket penalty
The penalty indicated in the traffic ticket will be imposed on either the driver or the owner of the vehicle. Failure to settle the fines will result to prosecution of the violator or civil proceedings for the recovery of the fines. Some traffic tickets only include a citation and a summon for you to attend a court hearing from which the guilt of the violator is determined. Failure of attendance of the ticketing officer or any representative would lead to the dismissal of the court judge of the charge. However, a trial date may be moved to give the ticketing officer another chance to attend the court hearing.
Traffic tickets, a billion dollar industry
In the United States, millions of traffic tickets have been issued each year. The fines imposed on each violator and indicated in a traffic ticket can cost more than 100 US dollars, making the traffic ticket industry a billion dollar entity.
Critics have voiced out that issuance of traffic tickets or the implementation of a traffic ticket system does not ensure safety and only allows police officers to be granted with ticket quotas. However, traffic tickets have been proven to be a deterrent and makes violators understand and observe traffic laws.