Breaking News: Currently posted municipal court fine schedule is INCORRECT! OR ARE THEY?!?

Update: I was forwarded an email from Rebecca Stark that casts some doubt over what Lee told me last night. Check this out:

Just to clarify, fines are set by the Presiding Judge for specific violations. A bicycle “red light” violation doesn’t necessarily have to match motor vehicle “red light” violations. Some of the fines for violations for bicycles do not match the fines for motor vehicles, but they don’t have to. The fines posted on the WEB site that specifically say “bicycle” are correct. The violations that do not include the word “bicycle” are for motor vehicles. There are thousands of violations in our system so they cannot all be placed on our WEB site at this time. These are only selected violations.

I sent a list of violations for bicycles that have been set up in our court to Leander. These fines/costs/fees are correct and complete for what is in our system. Is there some concern over the fines? I’m not understanding where the concern is if there is one. What are you responding to or researching? Maybe I can further assist.

Anyway, (1) the WEB site is correct but not all inclusive; (2) bicycle fines and motor vehicles fines for the same violations do not have to be exactly the same and many are not.

Have a great 4th of July.

Rebecca

According to this the higher fines for bicycling offenses are CORRECT. I think my favorite quote from her message is: "Some of the fines for violations for bicycles do not match the fines for motor vehicles, but they don’t have to."

Awesome. This really seems to illustrate how the City of Austin and specifically the Municipal Court views the local cycling community as a segment of the population worth penalizing heavier than it's automobile driving residents. Wonder why this is? All this confusion has been very interesting, and rather distressing if you ask me. Or I guess you can ask Rebecca Stark, who can be reached through the main court number: (512) 974-4800. Let me know if you find anything out.

I have it from a very good source (namely Lee Davila, the APD's Liaison to City Hall) that the currently posted fine schedule is INCORRECT. The bicycle fines should not be higher than the similar car fines, and this information came directly from Rebecca Stark, Clerk of the Court. Lee is looking into who incorrectly modified the online fine schedule, but so far this errant schedule has not shown up in the tickets the APD have been issuing. Rebecca also sent Lee the most recent CORRECT fine schedule, which he's going to forward me as soon as he can find a reader to view it with.

Keep an eye out for more information as I get it. I'll also post an in-depth report on this evenings' meeting later, but I'm going to take it easy right now as I'm currently in a food-induced coma.