Police scramble to recover $M owed in traffic fines

The police are scrambling to recover millions of dollars owed to the government by errant drivers who have simple refused to pay their traffic tickets, after being fined by the courts and given time to pay.
Fines owed at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court alone accounts for over $2M. If one takes the other courts into consideration then the amount skyrockets to several millions.
Since the passage of the new traffic Act earlier this year, the onus is on the traffic department and more so, the subject traffic rank who issued the ticket,  to make sure that the errant drivers pay their fines.
A failure to make sure that the fines are paid can also see the traffic rank being disciplined and the driver being further penalized.
A recent check at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court showed that over 350 drivers are in default. The court has since issued arrest warrants for those errant drivers. These warrants can see them being placed in custody until the fines have been paid.
The ticketed charges are varied and include all types of infringements. Some of these are obstruction, driving without seat belts, speeding, talking on cell phones, overload and  dangerous driving.