District DMV Announces Ticket Amnesty Program

Photo by maxedaperture.

Drivers owe the District of Columbia over $245 million in unpaid parking tickets. The city would really like to get some of that money back, naturally. So beginning August 1, the city's Department of Motor Vehicles will be suspending penalties on outstanding tickets to encourage people to pay up.

The program, which is expected to net the city $6.3 million, was announced by Mayor Vince Gray this morning. "In the current economic environment, we expect that many customers will take advantage of this opportunity to clear their debts to DMV at a lower cost -- producing revenue results for the District," Gray said.

Overdue fees will be waived for all open parking tickets, citations for moving violations and photo-enforcement tickets issued before January 1, 2010. The program will end on January 27, 2012 -- the city's hoping it is as successful as the city's income tax amnesty program, which recouped over $20 million in back taxes.

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By Aaron Morrissey in News on July 27, 2011 12:00 PM

Comments [rss]

Joel S.

This is great! Maybe I will pay all of my unpaid tickets now........ NAH!!!!

Over the River

Just don't go into a coma.

paulcotton

Harry Thomas Jr's 'infractions' are also covered by DC's amnesty program.

scooterj2003

I think he just makes a phone call to 'make sure they are handled appropriately.'

yonas

Wouldn't it be cheaper for them to send intimidating goons like Marion Barry to collect fines in person?

DCTransplant

Marion "Dawg" Barry?

Over the River

Bounty Hunters!

CJ_Scudworth

We should adopt the Bartlett policy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Shady_Berry

What really gets me is that I have already paid my many tickets and their associated late fees (fear of the boot), but had I NOT paid them I would have saved myself some serious cash because they are waiving the fees? Please make out my refund check to "Sucker".

scooterj2003

In this world, lazy folks are usually rewarded, so this just kind of follows that ethos.

DCTransplant

"... we expect that many customers will take advantage of this opportunity ..."

I think this speaks volumes about Lord Gray. DC is his corporation and we're his customers, so any money he or his cronies take is not theft, it's lawful profits that they are entitled too, and if we don't like it, we can shop somewhere else.

monkeyrotica

Typical DC fustercluck. They've got a quarter of a billion dollars in unpaid fines, so they're "incentivizing" not playing the fine for a year and hoping to collect a measly $6 mil and will probably only get two, maybe three mil if they're lucky. Yet they continue to write tickets for Failure to Lift Left Buttcheek Why Flattulating in the Passing Lane.

Just hire the f**king Mandaloreans already. It's not that hard.

http://images.wikia.com/starwa...

scooterj2003

Admittedly, this is a pretty impressive racket. The city issues maybe $100 million worth of erroneous citations, then charges exorbitant late fees when they're not paid, then suspends the late fees to make it seem more attractive for the citizen to pay up. And it'll probably work, too. Kudos to Mary Cheh and our motor vehicle overlords.

hillrat

This is bullshit. If I have a ticket that's 61 days old I don't get any relief, but if I have ticket that's over a year old I get some help?

D_Rez

Agreed.
Any ticket that has doubled should be covered, not just the worst of the worst.
How is this not an incentive to wait until next year?

IMGoph

pay up, maryland!

wizzyliz

cough it up, virginia!

Over the River

Unlike the District residents, Virginia drivers have the resources to pay their tickets. Also I would assume most tickets to Maryland drivers are for moving violations.