As I’ve written before, my Traffic Law practice takes me to Stafford Town Court on a regular basis.  Stafford, New York’s geographic location makes it a prime location for speeding tickets as it covers the Thruway (I-90) between Batavia and Leroy.

That said, the Court’s procedure for hearings on traffic matters has changed a bit over the last few months.  Stafford Town Court is one of the few courts where the officer who issued the ticket actually prosecutes the ticket.  Most town courts will have an assistant district attorney who does this.  In Stafford, it is not uncommon for 10-15 New York State Troopers to appear to prosecute their individual cases.

The new practice in Stafford is to have a “trial” where the Trooper/officer will give testimony of the facts surrounding the ticket being issued.  The defendant then has the opportunity to cross-examine the Trooper or give his/her version of the facts.  It is also the time to make an application before the court for a reduction of the ticket.  As stated in prior posts, the main factors for the court are the driving history of the defendant, speed cited, and any other factors, including whether the officer was given a “hard time” by the driver during the stop.

If you have received a traffic or speeding ticket in Stafford Town Court, contact me for a free consultation at 585-752-7523.

Many States across the US are facing massive budget shortfalls, including New York.  States are looking at ways to increase fees associated with traffic violations to add to the revenue side of the budget.  California is facing a budget deficit of $20 billion.  As an example of the increased fees, consider a seat belt ticket - a $70 fine but an added “penalty assessment” of $26 for each $10 of the base fine.  So the $70 ticket turns into a total fine of $252 which includes the “penalty assessment” of $182.  The revenue generated by these assessments goes to fund such programs as DNA identification, courthouse construction, EMS, and other services.

California is also looking for ways to increase revenue from its red-light camera programs throughout the State.  A typical fine from running a red light is $500 and failure to make a complete stop before turning right results in an average fine of $381.  Lawmakers believe the red-light cameras will generate a projected $338 million which will be used for courthouses and security.

Currently, New York assesses a mandatory surcharge of $85 on top of any moving violation.  This fee may be increased to $100 in the near future.  Take a typical speeding ticket in New York that gets reduced to a VTL 1110(A), failure to obey a traffic control device.  The fine ranges around $100 - $150, but tack on the surcharge and the total payment is almsot double the original fine.

New York has also increased other mandatory surcharges associated with DWI convictions and other criminal convictions.

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Mannequin is speachless

A New York driver was pulled over for driving in a car pool lane with a dummy for a passenger.  Her excuse to the officer was that “everybody does it”.  What always amazes me when I read these stories is the lengths that some people will go through to save some extra time on the road.  The police stated they stop about 2 people each year for this type of conduct.

Full story here.

Effective February 22, 2010, New York will make the following changes to its drivers license laws that will apply to teenage drivers.  First, teen drivers will be required to increase the practice time behind the wheel from 20 hours to 50 hours which must include 15 hours of practice after sunset.  Next, the changes will eliminate the limited use junior license and requires a junior (learners) permit to be held for at least six months before a junior or senior license may be issued.  Finally, the new law will reduce from two to one the number of non-family passengers under 21 years old riding in a car being operated by a junior license holder when not accompianied by a licensed parent or guardian.

Info at http://nysdmv.com/broch/GDL2010.pdf

Sad news out of Morris, New York in Otsego County where 31 year old Trooper Jill Mattice was killed in a collision with a tractor-trailer.  She was a six year veteran assigned to the Oneonta barracks.  My thoughts and prayers to her family and collegues.  Reportedly, she was the first female NY Trooper killed in the line of duty.

According to the preliminary investigation, Mattice was in the eastbound lane when for unknown reasons she crossed the center line at a slight curve in the road. Her car then sideswiped the westbound tractor-trailer, Troop C State Police Maj. Kevin C. Molinari said.  It was also noted that police have not ruled out the possibility she may have been using her cell phone or texting at the time of the crash.

In my Traffic Law practice, I interact with NY Troopers on a regular basis.  This is especially true in courts such as Stafford Town Court where the Troopers still prosecute their own tickets.  To a person, with few exceptions, NY Troopers are professionals who put their lives on the line every day fro the protection of NY residents.  While most of my clients see these men and women in an adversarial position - a ticket or an arrest - I respect the work of the Troopers.

This may be a new upstate New York record.  A man from Greece, NY led local law enforcement on a thirteen minute chase where his vehicle was clocked at 110 mph in a residential area.  Following his arrest, he was cited for 56 traffic violations. 

Needless to say, he may not be driving in the near future.  This translates into a large number of points on his DMV abstract and what will be a “hefty” fine.

Full story here thanks to 13WHAM.

Last Thursday, Gov. David Patterson (D) signed a Bill banning texting from hand-held devices while operating a motor vehicle.  Starting November 1, 2009, this conduct will be penalized with a maximum fine of $150.00. 

The dangers of such activity are clearly self-evident.  The case that comes to my mind occurred several years ago when five high school cheerleaders from Fairport, NY were killed in a tragic accident with a tractor-trailer.  The driver of the cheerleaders’ vehicle crossed the median and hit the truck head-on at high speed.  It was suspected the high school aged driver had been texting (reading or writing) just prior to the collision.

In a study recently conducted by The Virginia Tech Transportation Institution, truckers sending text messages while driving are 23 times likelier to cause a crash or near-crash than  truckers who are not texting, according to The New York Times. In light of these findings, the Governors Highway Safety Association is pushing the ban against texting while driving at the national level. This organization of state highway safety officials hope to “change the culture that has permitted distracted driving,” according to Vernon F. Betkey Jr., chairman of the association.

In Utah, causing an accident while texting is no longer considered an “accident”.  It is on par with drunk driving, an act of willful negligence.  Drivers who are pulled over for texting face steep fines.  Drivers who are involved in accidents involving serious injury or death can face jail terms of up to 15 years.

Clearly, the New York state-wide ban is a good idea.  As technology changes, so do the dangers when connected with other activities. Problems will remain convincing our younger drivers in the 16 to 25 year old range that this type of activity is dangerous.  Early driver education will be crucial in this regard.  Another problem is in the enforcement of the ban. 

From a traffic law attorney’s perspective, the defense of such violations may be difficult.  Most assistant District Attorneys I have cases with will not negotiate or reduce such violations because there are no “points” associated with the violations.  An example is a ticket for talking on a hand-held device while driving.  There are exceptions or defenses (ie. an emergency) but these are rare. 

HTH, but YVMV.

Starting tomorrow, September 1, 2009, the New York Department of Motor Vehicles is raising basic fees as follows.  The state registration for passenger vehicles rises from $44 to $55.  The cost of a basic driver’s license or renewal (eight years) goes up 25% - from $50 to $62.50.

With its on-line renewal system, one might expect that these types of fees would actually decrease as the DMV becomes more efficient.  New York is one of the highest taxed states in the country and these fees are just another tax on the privilege of driving in the Empire State.

New York State has recently approved a number of on-line course providers of Point and Insurance Reduction Programs (PIRP).  These are listed by the NY DMV here. Successful completion requires 320 minutes of actual instruction time.  Once completed, the driver is entitled to a 10% reduction for three years of the motorist’s liability, collision, and no-fault insurance premiums.  Additionally, the completion of the program can be applied once within 18 months and will operate to reduce up to four points from the driver’s DMV abstract.  It should be noted that the reduction will NOT remove violations, convictions or prevent/cancel a mandatory revocation or suspension for DWI, DWAI, or 3 speeding convictions within 18 months.

It should also be noted that the completion of the program will not have any effect on the Driver Assessment Fee that a motorist may have been assessed by the State.  To illustrate, suppose a driver has amassed 8 points on her abstract in an 18 month period.  She will pay $150.00 each year for 3 years to the DMV - in addition to the court fines and mandatory surcharge.  Now, because she is only 3 points away from a future suspension (11 points), she successfully completes the PIRP.  The driver will STILL have to pay the $150.00 each year to the DMV, but will be treated by the DMV as having only 4 points for license suspension purposes (8 less 4 point reduction from PIRP).

The offering of these on-line programs is great news for New York motorists who may need such benefits.

The New York State Troopers in Troop D, which patrols Central New York, have issued a whopping 30% more speeding tickets in 2009 when compared to 2008.  Through the Freedom of Information Law, WSYR-TV9 of Syracuse analyzed the tickets issued by Troop D and found an increase of 6,400 tickets being issued in 2009 when compared to 2008.  This increase includes:

12% more seat belt tickets;

15% more child restraint tickets;

27% more equipment violations.

Original link here

Troop D Captain Jay Pristash stated that there are no quotas per se and that the increase in tickets being written is due to a new “traffic management” team of 10 troopers and one sergeant, who are directed to problem areas in the region.

Whatever the reason given for the increase, it is clear that the State benefits from the increase because each ticket carries a mandatory NYS surcharge of $85.00 - in addition to any fine that the Court will assess against the violator.  So this increase of 6,400 tickets results in an additional revenue of $544,000 from this Troop.

With the increase of tickets being written all over New York State, it is critical that motorists know their rights and options when it comes to fighting these tickets and spaek to an experienced Traffic law attorney.  If you have any questions, call me for a free consultation - 585.752.7523.