Save Your Money - Challenge That Ticket!

Under a New York City program introduced in 2005, people who go to court to challenge most parking or traffic tickets are automatically offered a chance to settle the ticket by paying a reduced fine.

A fine for parking at an expired meter, for example, will be reduced from $65 to $43.

This initiative was introduced and implemented without much buzz (the city never issued a single press release about it,) and the fact that only 20% of New Yorkers chose to challenge their tickets suggests that most are unaware of the opportunity for reductions.

The best part is how fast the process can be: since the city is allowing judicial clerks to handle many of the cases, following a "fine reduction schedule" as opposed to their own discretion, it's not necessary to wait for a hearing with the judge.

The motivation behind the program was, of course, to save city government dollars; it has allowed the city to cut in half the number of parking judges it employs and to eliminate $2 million in administrative costs.