Skyrocketing traffic fines cause some drivers to lose their cars -- or worse

Updated

Highway robbery has taken on a whole new meaning with local and state governments now jacking up the fines to such an extent that it's leaving people destitute, and in some cases, homeless or even incarcerated.

In California, the cost of a ticket for a broken headlight nearly tripled to $100 this year, according to a report by Fox News. Meanwhile, fines for parking in front of a fire hydrant in Pensacola, Fla. were jacked up 900% to $100.

Local and state governments have long turned to issuing traffic and parking fines as a way of raising more revenue, but doubling or tripling the amount of traffic fines for modest violations seems less like "enforcing the law" and more like a form of extortion aimed at filling the dwindling coffers of local government.

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