Courtesy Notice

My husband was pulled over for using his cell phone while driving. I can’t even tell you the countless times I have told him to not talk on his phone while driving. He is an idiot and he deserved the ticket, I will not argue that! I got online and “googled” to see how much this ticket will cost us and to see if he can take traffic school. Countless websites stated the ticket shouldn’t cost more than $50 and that traffic school is recommended if the driver was eligible. However, upon receiving the “Courtesy Notice” in the mail I was annoyed to see how much the ticket was really going to cost us. Total amount due $147.00

Violation VC 23123(A) Driving W/CellPhone $72.00
Violation VC 40508.6 Admin assessment $10.00
Violation GC 70373 Crim Conv Assessment $35.00
Violation PC 1465.8(a)(1) Court Secrutiy srchg $30.00


“What is all this!?” I got on the phone and called the number for the Redding Branch Traffic Unit. Of course it is only a recording. I couldn’t get a hold of an actual person to ask what the additional charges were. I got online and went to their website, only to find most of it was not yet updated. I did, however find out that a person with this violation was not allowed to take traffic school. I was curious as to what the additional charges were, so I checked out Google, again. Only to find that there are countless people who have questioned the charges and have not gotten any answers. I would be fine paying the ticket of $72, but the other charges have me annoyed. Does a person who gets pulled over for using a cell phone while driving really need a criminal conviction assessment? Do they really need to pay the court security guards wages if they are just sending a envelop with a check written for the ticket amount? I understand all the extra charges are put back into the state of California, but I find it to be a bit excessive. Isn’t the purpose of taxes to fund the court house and what-not. Isn’t it the Governors job to figure out how to pay the various wages of the court administration and security guards without extorting the general public? Do I have it all wrong here?

With the citation due date fast approaching I decided just to pay amount. I call the automated phone number on the Courtesy Notice. I was going to use my bank charge card, however upon reaching the right department in the automated phone world I was notified that an additional $9 was going to be charged for processing the bill. Of course I hung up and just wrote a check… stamps aren’t as expensive as that processing charge!

I feel that those delinquent drivers using their cell phone, running red lights, failing to fix a broken tail light, and having spouts of road rage are being taken advantage of. Yes, they broke the law and should pay a reasonable fine. This is blatant extortion.