According to New York traffic attorney Matthew Weiss, Esq. the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles has raised the payments of traffic tickets with a hefty 60% increase. As of August 1, the surcharge has gone to $80.00, just having gone from $50 to $60.00 on July 1st. Originally $5.00, this surcharge was instituted by then-Gov. Cuomo in the 1980s and has quickly grown to often surpass the actual fine amounts.

The surcharge is payable in addition to the actual fine for the NY moving violation. It is also payable in addition to the $300 (or more) Driver Assessment Responsibility Fee, which is imposed upon motorists that accumulate six or more points. The Driver Assessment Fee is payable by all motorists regardless of their state of license, that have 6 or more points in New York.

According to Weiss, “New York politicians use motor vehicle traffic laws as a multi-faceted way to tax New York drivers which, of course, creates further incentive for motorists to fight their tickets.” Weiss adds that, because the high cost of gas is reducing vehicle traffic on major NY highways, “the police have fewer targets to ticket and therefore need to squeeze more money out of each victim. Courts have no discretion to waive or reduce the surcharge and often the surcharge exceeds the actual fine amount for the traffic ticket.”

(Source: PR News Wire)