Increased fines take a bigger bite out of lead-footed drivers

Slow down, or be prepared to dig deeper into your wallet.

Beginning July 1, state fines for speeding and nearly all moving and non-moving violations will increase by $10 to $100, with the average increase approximately $42.

For example, driving 11 to 20 mph over the speed limit where the posted speed is slower than 55 will cost you an extra $50.

The fines, approved by the 2010 Iowa Legislature, will raise an additional $9.1 million in court receipts, $1 million for local governments and $441,000 for the Crime Victim Compensation Fund, according to the Legislative Services Agency. In fiscal 2009, the state collected $9.3 million in fines.

Lawmakers raised fines to maintain public safety functions in the face of declining state revenues.

“I thought it was critical to do to avoid further layoffs in public safety, the courts and corrections,” said Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids. He said Iowa's fines remain below the regional average. “If 20 years ago the fine was set at $50, I don't think you can criticize us for making it $100.”

Paraphrasing 1970s TV detective Tony Baretta, Hogg said, “If you can't pay the fine, don't do the crime.”

“It's not like the government makes you speed,” he said.

Ben Stone, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, can't argue with that but called the fine increase an “expedient decision” typical of “bottom-line thinking” by lawmakers.

He sees a cascading effect for Iowans facing fines of $100 or more, plus court costs and surcharges that might double the cost of the fine. Some, he said, may have to choose between paying the fine and paying other bills. Some may lose their jobs or become homeless.

Motorists ought to obey the law, “but is it worth a person losing their job and becoming homeless because they sped?” he asked.

Among the collection methods used by the state are going after a violator's income tax return or garnisheeing wages.

Given the current economy, the state may be trying to “get blood out of a turnip,” Stone said.

He sees the increase as part of lawmakers' anti-tax mindset that makes it easier to raise fines than expect the people who benefit from public safety to shoulder some of the higher cost through higher taxes.

For the low-income and unemployed, “once you're ensnared in the system, the difficulty of getting out of it is really monumental,” Stone said, adding that they're not being nickel-and-dimed, either. “It's Jacksons and Benjamin Franklins.”

Department of Public Safety lobbyist Ross Loder expects higher fines will cause drivers to change their behavior. It may be hard to break bad driving habits, but “the cost of citations provides teachable moments.”

Fines for some critical safety issues, such as passing on a hill, “which is incredibly dangerous,” Loder said, were increased more than other offenses.

“So we hope to have some safety benefit flow from the increase,” he said. “Over the long haul, we would like to see a reduction in death and serious injury.”

Col. John Stuelke of the Linn County Sheriff's Office agrees. “I would hope (motorists) have second thoughts. If it costs $50 to speed today and $100 tomorrow, maybe they'll slow down. That's the whole idea of fines.”

Fine Comparison 2010

Slow down, or be prepared to dig deeper into your wallet.

Beginning July 1, state fines for speeding and nearly all moving and non-moving violations will increase by $10 to $100, with the average increase approximately $42.

For example, driving 11 to 20 mph over the speed limit where the posted speed is slower than 55 will cost you an extra $50.

The fines, approved by the 2010 Iowa Legislature, will raise an additional $9.1 million in court receipts, $1 million for local governments and $441,000 for the Crime Victim Compensation Fund, according to the Legislative Services Agency. In fiscal 2009, the state collected $9.3 million in fines.

Lawmakers raised fines to maintain public safety functions in the face of declining state revenues.

“I thought it was critical to do to avoid further layoffs in public safety, the courts and corrections,” said Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids. He said Iowa's fines remain below the regional average. “If 20 years ago the fine was set at $50, I don't think you can criticize us for making it $100.”

Paraphrasing 1970s TV detective Tony Baretta, Hogg said, “If you can't pay the fine, don't do the crime.”

“It's not like the government makes you speed,” he said.

Ben Stone, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, can't argue with that but called the fine increase an “expedient decision” typical of “bottom-line thinking” by lawmakers.

He sees a cascading effect for Iowans facing fines of $100 or more, plus court costs and surcharges that might double the cost of the fine. Some, he said, may have to choose between paying the fine and paying other bills. Some may lose their jobs or become homeless.

Motorists ought to obey the law, “but is it worth a person losing their job and becoming homeless because they sped?” he asked.

Among the collection methods used by the state are going after a violator's income tax return or garnisheeing wages.

Given the current economy, the state may be trying to “get blood out of a turnip,” Stone said.

He sees the increase as part of lawmakers' anti-tax mindset that makes it easier to raise fines than expect the people who benefit from public safety to shoulder some of the higher cost through higher taxes.

For the low-income and unemployed, “once you're ensnared in the system, the difficulty of getting out of it is really monumental,” Stone said, adding that they're not being nickel-and-dimed, either. “It's Jacksons and Benjamin Franklins.”

Department of Public Safety lobbyist Ross Loder expects higher fines will cause drivers to change their behavior. It may be hard to break bad driving habits, but “the cost of citations provides teachable moments.”

Fines for some critical safety issues, such as passing on a hill, “which is incredibly dangerous,” Loder said, were increased more than other offenses.

“So we hope to have some safety benefit flow from the increase,” he said. “Over the long haul, we would like to see a reduction in death and serious injury.”

Col. John Stuelke of the Linn County Sheriff's Office agrees. “I would hope (motorists) have second thoughts. If it costs $50 to speed today and $100 tomorrow, maybe they'll slow down. That's the whole idea of fines.”