Officers, citizens voice thoughts on Missouri law regarding traffic violations

By Jenna Wilson

Weeks after a new Missouri law cut back on certain consequences pertaining to certain traffic violations, officers and citizens are voicing their concern.

Part of senate Bill 754 which recently went into effect reads: “No court shall issue a warrant of arrest for a person’s failure to respond, pay the fine assessed, or appear in court with respect to a traffic violation issued for an infraction.”

“I think this is a start going towards the right direction,” said St. Joseph resident Jacob Morrison. “Every individual shouldn’t be arrested over a small traffic infraction, especially when you consider the different types of predicaments they may have been in when getting to receive that violation.”

Many believe this law should have been put into effect long ago. Particularly, when considering factors like overcapacity, which is an issue in the local county jail.

“Think about how many innocent people are wasting space in jail over a traffic infraction they didn’t show up to court for,” he said.

However, this causes concern and drawbacks for many law enforcement agencies who believe this could only incentivize people to continue violating the law.

“This new law has many positive aspects,” said Buchanan County sheriff Bill Puett. “It gives people a second chance to clear up minor infractions before it continues to grow but, at the same time, we would hope this doesn’t allow citizens to delay getting the issue taken care of. We want people to understand all traffic violations are a very serious matter and without the right rules in place, it may not appear as serious to some.”

Even with the new law in affect, The Buchanan County sheriff’s Office said local law enforcement agencies will continue to enforce traffic violations across the city when it comes to Careless driving, speeding and seatbelt usage which has taken far too many lives.