Database: Find out who was issued a traffic or parking ticket in Kansas City
We’ve all been there. Maybe you were going a little bit over the speed limit. Maybe you let the parking meter expire.
And then you got a ticket.
In 2017, more than 118,000 parking and traffic tickets were issued in Kansas City.
The Star analyzed the Kansas City Municipal Court traffic and parking ticket data for last year to help shed light on trends within the system, including the breakdown of infractions, who gets tickets and where tickets are issued by police.
The data, which is a public record, allows the public to see what happens in the majority of cases.
The Star has compiled some of the data into a searchable database that includes only cases where the person pleaded guilty or was found guilty by a judge for a ticket in 2017 as of February 2018.
Have you gotten a speeding ticket in Kansas City? You're probably on this list:
Within the 118,000 tickets issued, The Star found:
- Among traffic tickets, about 60 percent were issued to men and 40 percent to women.
African Americans were issued a disproportionate number of traffic tickets: At least 47 percent of traffic tickets went to African Americans, who make up about 30 percent of the population.
About 56 percent of tickets were issued to defendants listed as living in Kansas City. After that, the greatest number went to Independence residents (4.3 percent), Lee’s Summit (2.7 percent), Overland Park (2.4 percent), Raytown (2.3 percent) and Grandview (2 percent).
Certain areas of the city had a higher number of tickets issued. Click here to see the hotspots.
The most common color of car pulled over was black. The most common make was Chevrolet. And the most common years of vehicles were 2005, 2006 and 2007.
The highest recorded speed for a speeding ticket went to a Renton, Wash., man who was going 119 mph in a 65 mph zone at Interstate 435 and Bannister Road in February 2017.
About 5 percent of traffic tickets were issued related to accidents. Two percent of tickets were given in school zones. And less than 1 percent were given in construction zones.
Not all cases had dispositions by the end of the year. But of those that did, 55 percent of people entered a guilty plea.
There were 765 DUI-related tickets issued.
Ten officers accounted for 30 percent of all tickets issued in the city.
The months where the fewest number of tickets were issued were January, July and December.
This story was originally published April 8, 2018 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Database: Find out who was issued a traffic or parking ticket in Kansas City."