Whereas the primary deterrent from exceeding speed limits or violating other road safety regulations on municipal roads in British Columbia are fines administered under the Violation Ticket Administration and Fines Regulation; And whereas fixed rate fines are inequitable, disproportionately impacting people with lower incomes while applying lower deterrent value to people with higher incomes, creating a structural inequity in the application of justice: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM calls upon the provincial government to implement a means-tested traffic fine system, similar to Finland, Switzerland, Sweden or the UK, where fines may be calculated on the basis of the offenders income.
Ministry of Attorney General No Canadian jurisdictions have implemented an income-based traffic fine approach. In Finland, the driver is subjected to a fine that is proportional to what they earn. Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK have similar systems. Linking a ticket to income would require tying ticketing and licensing systems into Canada Revenue Agency systems which would require significant systems integration and policy work.Implementing a new fine model linking fine amounts to income would require extensive research, including around efficacy and fairness of the scheme, and systems overhaul. Legislative andor regulatory changes would be required. Tying ticket value to income may shift the burden from behavioural to monetary consequences. An individual with low income would receive a low fine amount, which may produce low incentive to follow the rules of the road. There is also some evidence from the Netherlands that higher severity traffic penalties, or those that are not perceived to be fair, do not affect the likelihood of reoffending. Although fixed fines may impact people with lower incomes disproportionately, Driver Penalty Points impact all drivers regardless of income. If drivers accumulate enough Driver Penalty Points, there is intervention through RoadSafetyBCs Driver Improvement Program. This program identifies and intervenes with high-risk drivers through warnings and prohibitions, which incents them to improve their driving habits.