Drivers to be hit with $500 traffic fine based on how much money they make

DRIVERS in a major US city will now be fined for speeding tickets based on their income. Speeding tickets currently range from $50 to $200, but some Americans may receive a significant discount. San Francisco officially launched its new program, granting some traffic violators an 80% discount on tickets .

Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom implemented the Speed Safety System Pilot Program in 2023, allowing California cities to fine drivers for speeding with cameras. Those living below the poverty level are eligible for a 50% discount on the speeding ticket, while homeless individuals can get 80% off their ticket. The city launched the program on March 20 and has 33 speeding cameras installed.

READ MORE ON PARKING FINES "Automated enforcement tools are a critical part of our public safety tool kit," Mayor Daniel Lurie said during the launch. "These cameras will help our city's resources go further and SFMTA will collaborate with our police department on a holistic approach to punish and prevent egregious speeding." However, only about half of the cameras are operational, The Post reported.

During the first 60 days of the program, the speed cameras will send warnings to drivers. Most read in Motors After the program kicks into full swing, drivers who go 11 mph over the speed limit will receive a fine . The city stated that the penalties would be “proportional” to the driver's speed.

In lieu of paying the citation , drivers will have the opportunity to participate in community service. A brochure for the program states that the cameras will be spread throughout the city and are “ intended to benefit all communities and not single out any particular neighborhood.” The 33 speed cameras were placed in “high injury” areas that accounted for 68* of severe traffic-related injuries in the city.

The city announced the program early this year by posting announcements on billboards and running digital ads. Proponents of the program include nonprofit Walk San Francisco, which advocates for safer city streets. "I had a close call myself at [an] intersection about 10 years ago when I was pregnant.

And now that baby walks to school down...

so this is very personal for me," Walk SF Communications Director Marta Lindsey told CBS News earlier this year. According to a legally reviewed post, there are five effective strategies to fighting a speeding ticket if it was wrongfully issued. If pulled over and issued a ticket, drivers can argue or dispute a driver's personal opinion.

When issuing a speeding ticket, an officer is required to write their opinion and come to an "objective" conclusion. If the ticket was written based on that judgment, it can be contested. An example would be if you were going 75 mph in a 65 mph zone because others were traveling at the same speed, you could argue that it would be more dangerous to travel at 65 mph.

You can dispute the officer's presentation of evidence. If you were ticketed for something like running a stop sign or making an illegal u-turn, you can't contest that if an officer saw you, but you can call things into court like eyewitnesses, diagrams, or photos. Argue that the ticket was issued by a "mistake of fact.

" This is tricky, but a "mistake of fact" is a mistake made by a driver about a situation that was beyond their control, or if a driver legitimately did not know they were violating the law. For example, you were driving in two lanes because the lane markers were so worn down that you could not see them. You could say circumstances justified your driving.

You could say you were speeding to pass a possibly drunk driver, or avoiding an accident by rapidly changing lanes. However, the argument won't work if there's proof you continued to speed after passing. Similar to the above, it could be argued that speeding was necessary to avoid harm.

The key is to argue that if you weren't speeding, you or someone else could have been harmed. Consult a traffic attorney, if all else fails. Many have free consultations to decide whether or not there's a case.

Source: FindLaw "Every day, more than a thousand drivers are going more than 10 miles an hour above the speed limit on Fulton.” At the launch of the new camera system, Lindsay said nothing was “more important” for the city. "Nothing is more important than speed when it comes to making our streets safe," said Lindsey .

Read More on The US Sun "If drivers slow down, everyone is safer. We will prevent some of these heartbreaking tragedies." Los Angeles announced it will begin a similar program in 2026.