Is it right to reduce traffic fines?

Colombia’s debate over traffic fines cannot be settled with a presidential speech or a simple government order, José Clopatofsky argues. The country’s traffic system is still governed by a 24-year-old law, which he presents as the clearest sign that it needs updating.

The analysis examines recent government proposals involving fines, driving licences, technical vehicle inspections and speed cameras. It says the proposals raise ethical, technical, legal and operational questions, but that the discussion quickly disappeared from the media while leaving more doubts than concrete results.

Clopatofsky strongly rejects the idea of reducing fines. If penalties for speeding, driving without a licence, running red lights, failing to comply with general traffic rules, skipping vehicle inspections or driving without compulsory insurance become less significant, he argues, violations will increase in a system already marked by impunity.

He also criticizes the proposal to set fines according to an offender’s financial situation. “Calibrating fines according to the offender’s economic status is ridiculous,” the analysis says, arguing that legal violations are not generally penalized according to a person’s ability to pay. Under such a system, it adds sarcastically, drivers might need to keep their tax returns in the glove compartment while negotiating the penalty with the officer.

The analysis supports making penalties proportional to the violation. It notes that current rules can impose the same fine for exceeding the speed limit by 500 meters per hour as for exceeding it by 100 kilometers per hour. It also cites the transport regulator’s figure of nearly 6 million unpaid speeding fines.

Changing the fines and related mobility fees is possible, the article says, but only through a universal sanctions system without social strata. Because the rules form part of Law 769 of 2002, the entire relevant text would need to pass through Congress, requiring two committee debates and two plenary debates in the Senate and Chamber of Representatives, potentially taking two legislative sessions.