NMA asks Transportation Secretary Chao to Curb Federal Funding of State Traffic Ticket Blitzes

July 2017

For July 31, 2017 release

National Motorists Association Asks Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to Curb Federal Funding of State Traffic Ticket Blitzes

Waunakee, WI – July 31, 2017: National Motorists Association (NMA) President Gary Biller, in a letter to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, urged the Trump Administration to fill the vacant position of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) administrator with a leader who will end the decades-long practice of funding state and local ticketing campaigns.

In direct opposition to the National Transportation Safety Board’s July 25, 2017 call for extensive automated, point-to-point vehicle tracking and increased funding of quota-driven ticketing campaigns, Biller said, “Highway safety programs should be evaluated with safety performance metrics, not activity-based goals that can lead to questionable motivations. The effect that ticket-blitz enforcement campaigns have on safety is debatable. What isn’t debatable is that making funding contingent on meeting certain activity levels is a direct incentive for state and local law enforcement to implement a quota system.”

He added, “States jump at the chance to receive tens of millions of dollars that their law enforcement agencies can use to run ticketing campaigns throughout the year while accumulating significant federally funded overtime compensation. When the incentives for highway enforcement programs are revenue-based, traffic safety improvements and the rights of motorists become secondary considerations.”

The National Motorists Association supports stronger driver education programs, realistic traffic regulations that create higher compliance levels, and well-maintained roads as the most effective means of highway safety improvement.

The complete letter to Secretary Chao can be found here.

Contacts:  

Gary Biller, President, National Motorists Association

Email: nma@motorists.org

Telephone: 608-849-6000

Website: www.motorists.org

About the National Motorists Association:

Founded in 1982, the National Motorists Association is a North American grassroots advocacy organization dedicated to the protection of motorists’ rights and freedoms. The membership-based organization advocates for traffic laws fairly written and reasonably enforced, traffic penalties based on sensible standards, traffic safety built on proven engineering solutions, and a focus on advanced driving-skill development.

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