International SMS notification systems are keeping people informed of traffic fines

Let’s face it, the current system we have for receiving traffic-relating fines in Australia could stand for a little updating.Today everything is digital, and yet we still rely on receiving a letter in the mail when we get a fine, and probably will only know of the offence weeks after the event. By then, you’re not even sure if you were there at the time. Maybe there’s been a mistake, but it’s pretty hard to dispute any fines if the details of the day are blurry in your mind.That’s if you get the letter in the first place anyway. With people moving homes, more often when you’re younger and/or renting, it would be easy for your registered postal information to become out of date.If your fine is mailed to the wrong address, it could be months before you even know you were fined. By then the debt could have piled up, because now you’re late paying the fine you didn’t know you had for the offence you might not have done.It’s crazy. So it’s no shock to see that elsewhere in the world they’ve thought of a better way of doing things.In Malta, an online portal is being developed that will allow people to receive SMS or email notifications of any fines they may receive.The new system, which will be active from mid-July on the government website, will also help businesses consolidate fines received by vehicles in their employment. It’ll also have a simple system for disputing fines.This is the best bit: it’s free and voluntary. So for those who aren’t tech-conscious and prefer the older methods, nothing has to change.There’s also a system of reminders for overdue fines, and because SMS is used, the reminders will actually be received! So people won’t have growing fines they don’t know about.The new system will be infinitely more efficient, for both citizens and government. As the fines will be more likely to be paid on time, and people won’t rack up any unnecessary debts. Win-win.Do you think this sounds like a good idea to bring to Australia? If so leave us a comment below!