Blast from the past: Rhode Island seeks to collect $29 million from old traffic fines

Drivers from every state, though predominantly Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, will be getting collection letters telling them their privileges to drive in Rhode Island are suspended until they pay up.

“We don’t go away. We’re not going to send just one letter. We’re going to do follow-up calls,” said Kate C. Brody, chief of legal services for the Central Collections Unit. "It’s kind of reminding them, you do have this outstanding balance and responsibility.”

The collection push, a cooperative effort between the Traffic Tribunal and the state Revenue Department, ends an embarrassing chapter in Rhode Island’s history.

Nearly 25 years ago, the former traffic court was so poorly run and bogged down by political patronage that an audit found the court wasn’t chasing $23.3 million in traffic fines. An investigation by The Providence Journal at the time found thousands of unpaid tickets in boxes stacked to the ceiling at the court, known then as the Administrative Adjudication Court.

That led to an overhaul of the court in 1999 and creation of the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal.

Over time, the rate of collections by the courts has improved.

Traffic Tribunal Chief Magistrate Domenic A. DiSandro III said the court collects more than $20 million per year.

Those facing traffic fines have 90 days to pay or to ask the court for a hearing to be put on a payment plan. Otherwise, the licenses and registrations of Rhode Islanders are suspended, and the privilege to drive in Rhode Island is suspended for out-of-state motorists.

The tribunal has collected more than 80 percent of the fines and costs that are owed, according to Judiciary spokesman Craig Berke. But the system is not designed to chase debtors for years.

Improvements in technology have helped states share information about motorists’ history, DiSandro said. So even out-of-state drivers who have their driving privileges suspended in Rhode Island may be unable to obtain or renew a license in their home state - a nice incentive to pay their Rhode Island fines.

However, "a lot just don’t care,” DiSandro said. "They’re going to drive anyway.”

Two years ago, state lawmakers established the collections unit at the Department of Revenue to help state agencies collect unpaid fines.

Brody knew the history of the old traffic court, and within a few weeks on the job, she asked the Traffic Tribunal if her staff could help.

They spent much of last year working out an arrangement with the tribunal to turn over tickets that fall within the 20-year statute of limitations, said revenue spokesman Paul Grimaldi.

They found unpaid fines ranging from 14 cents to $8,535, owed by motorists in every state. Rhode Islanders owed the most, at $17.4 million, followed by Massachusetts drivers at $2.35 million.

But tracking down the scofflaws who still owe Rhode Island money won’t be easy. Over 20 years, people move and companies dissolve. Grimaldi said the collections unit is working with the Department of Health and the Department of Motor Vehicles to cross-reference the information to make sure the tickets get to the right person.

And if they discover that the motorists have died, the collections unit will ask the court to dismiss the cases, said Brody. “We’ll try to close cases and try to collect on cases where people are not paying their fines and broke the law,” she said.

The collectors are sending 100 letters a week, starting with the biggest debtors and working their way down to those who owe $50.

The first batch went out to 101 motorists, nearly all for out-of-state businesses, that owe a total of $415,000.

Brody is optimistic the collections unit will be able to recoup at least some of the money owed to the Traffic Tribunal. Eight other states have similar programs, she said, "and they said traffic tickets are one of their biggest collections.”

Amanda Milkovits can be reached at amanda.milkovits@globe.com. Follow her @AmandaMilkovits.