Discounts Begin For Unpaid Traffic Tickets

Courts in Riverside and San Bernardino counties will begin offering a 50 percent discount on old, unpaid traffic tickets beginning Tuesday.

The program affects drivers who received a traffic ticket that were due to be paid before Jan. 1, 2009.

According to the the list of requirements, drivers may qualify if:

* You did not appear in court or failed to pay the full fine * No restitution is owed to a victim on any case in the county where the infraction happened * No outstanding misdemeanor or felony warrants in the county where the traffic case is filed

Parking tickets are not covered under this program, nor are DUI cases or reckless driving.

The judicial branch is making the offer because it took a $350 million cut for its current fiscal budget, and one possible source of revenue is all those unpaid tickets, even for half the amount owed.