The Business of Speeding Tickets

Small towns in Georgia, such as Doraville along I-285, are making millions of dollars a year by issuing traffic tickets.

2 minute read

October 24, 2014, 1:00 PM PDT

By Maayan Dembo @DJ_Mayjahn


As discussed by Andria Simmons and posted on Governing, "Doraville police write an average of 40 tickets a day, most of them on the city's 2.7-mile stretch of I-285. The city collects more traffic fines per capita than any other in metro Atlanta, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has found. It also devotes nearly half the city budget to police department operations."

It is not just Doraville that is raking in revenues from speeding tickets: "Several metro Atlanta cities are collecting hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars per year—and many times more than the state average for per capita revenue." As Frank Rotondo, the executive director of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, shared with Simmons, if a municipality's traffic fine revenue exceeds 10 percent of its total income, there is warrant to question the police force's traffic enforcement tactics.

The AJC analyzed data on local government annual revenue as reported to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and found "53 cities and counties where ticket revenue accounted for more a tenth of overall income. Doraville was among them at 17 percent in 2012, as well as Lithonia (18 percent), Jonesboro (15 percent), Riverdale (14 percent) and Pine Lake and Avondale Estates (12 percent)."

Past controversies over rampant speed traps in Georgia led to the creation of "several laws designed to protect drivers from being fleeced by opportunistic police departments. But they're all primarily aimed at overzealous speed enforcement....For example, speeding fines may not account for more than 40 percent of a police department's budget," which these municipalities have not reached, yet.

Thursday, October 23, 2014 in Governing

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 30, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Close-up on Canadian flag with Canada Parliament building blurred in background.

Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?

As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?

April 28, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Hot air balloons rise over Downtown Boise with the State Capitol building visible amidst the high rises.

The Five Most-Changed American Cities

A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.

April 23, 2025 - GoodMigrations

People biking along beach path with moored ship in San Diego, California.

San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan

The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.

May 2 - SD News

Sleeping in Public

Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts

Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.

May 2 - KSL

Conductor walks down platform next to Amtrak train at station in San Jose, California.

Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement

An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.

May 2 - Streetsblog USA

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Senior Manager Operations, Urban Planning

New York City School Construction Authority

Building Inspector

Village of Glen Ellyn

Manager of Model Development

Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO