Traffic tickets are presumably issued in order to ensure motorists follow traffic rules and regulations, to make the road safer for everybody. The issuance of traffic tickets is not always based purely and simply on these motives, though. Behind the scenes, there can be political, administrative, and even personal factors at play in the issuance of a traffic ticket.

A recent example of this is the increase in State Police-issued traffic tickets in New York, According to records from the New York State Police, officers issued traffic tickets at an incredibly higher rate in the first handful of months this year compared to previous years. Whereas no tickets were issued in 2014, four tickets were issued in 2015, and 1,692 were issued in 2016, a total of 14,542 were already issued in the first four months of 2017.

The increase in traffic tickets can be attributed at least partially to an increase in officers patrolling city roadways in recent years. Last December, Governor Cuomo deployed 150 State Police officers to patrol the city, partly as a way to increase state revenue and partly to demonstrate that Mayor de Blasio isn’t doing enough to improve traffic safety. Most of the tickets issued have been for speeding and cellphone use violations.

Some have questioned whether deploying additional State Police officers in New York City to enforce traffic laws is wise. In any case, motorists are now facing a situation where they have to be extra cautious on the road, not only to ensure they are driving safely and legally, but also to ensure they don’t suffer unnecessarily from what seems to be, at least partially, a politically driven battle between state agencies.

Whenever a motorist is targeted for an alleged traffic violation, it is important to work with an experienced attorney to determine the best way to resolve the case. If fighting a ticket makes sense, a skilled attorney will be able to provide zealous advocacy to give a defendant the best opportunity to reach a favorable outcome in their case.