Memorial weekend is prime time for traffic violations

The weekend before Memorial Day is a perfect opportunity for Maryland families to kick off the summer. Because school is almost done for children and warmer weather has arrived, many families use the long weekend to take a road trip. At the same time, however, police will be out in full force looking to issue traffic citations.

In every corner of the country, not just the Baltimore area, police take advantage of increased traffic volume to issue more tickets, and this is not a new practice. One thing that many note is police are particularly aggressive in handing out tickets around the Memorial Day holiday, which is frequently viewed as an easy way for departments to pull in money from fines.

One of the primary focuses of the traffic violation crackdown is to ticket people for not wearing seat belts. In Maryland, it is a primary offense to drive without a seatbelt on. This means that police can ticket people in the front seat of a vehicle for not wearing a seat belt without any other violations present.

This can present problems for drivers, especially as cops will be much less selective about who they pull over. A person who already has traffic violations on their record or requires a clean driving record for professional may be particularly harmed by the ramped-up enforcement efforts during the last couple weeks in May.

As Baltimore residents celebrate the weekend, the main focus should be to enjoy time with friends or family. However, it’s important to note the potential legal consequences of traveling the roads on a busy weekend, such as this one.

Source: Time, “Peak Traffic Ticket Season Is Here: Police Pushed to Give More Seat Belt Violation Citations,” Brad Tuttle, May 15, 2013

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