Most U.S. drivers will face expensive traffic tickets at one point or another. In certain cities, low-level speeding tickets can cost residents up to $400 for a single violation.
For this reason, entrepreneur Christopher Riley came up with the idea of creating a smartphone application that would “give people access to services like lawyers in a cost efficient way,” he told CNN Money.
After being cited with a huge fine for going less than 10mph over the speed limit in Miami, Riley launched TIKD.com, a web application designed to help drivers in need fight traffic tickets.
TIKD originally launched its website in February 2017 and currently operates in cities such as Atlanta, Washington DC and Baltimore, as well as in certain parts of Florida and Maryland. According to the company’s executives, they plan to expand to 30 major U.S. markets within the upcoming year.
Through the app, drivers who have been cited with a traffic ticket can enter the time and location of the violation, the amount of the fine and a photo of the ticket to get an estimate from TIKD services detailing how much it would cost for TIKD to take over and assume liability for the outcome.
The one-time fee associated with TIKD services is mandatory, but it is guaranteed to always be less than the original ticket fine.
“We want to take the stress away,” said Riley, CEO of TIKD. “We hope people will view this as a cheaper, simpler alternative to just paying it.”
The TIKD app is fully insured, so if you pay for TIKD services and still get points on your driver’s license, TIKD is responsible for paying the original ticket and will refund its own fee.
However, there are certain violations that TIKD will not help resolve. For example, tickets involving minors, alcohol, serious death or injury are automatically declined service upon request.
“These aren’t people doing overtly unsafe things,” Riley says. “No DUIs or people drag racing…. It’s everyday mistakes that people make.”
During the research stage of developing TIKD.com, the company went through government data on traffic tickets in order to gain more insight on who gets tickets and how they are usually settled.
According to data found by TIKD, traffic tickets cost an average of $220 in Miami and $400 in other major markets such as Atlanta.
Once a significant amount of research was done, the company proceeded to build an algorithm that quickly digests the details of a ticket and predict its chances for dismissal.
“We have a pretty sophisticated model for how we look at the tickets and what we think will happen,” Riley noted.
Typically, the consumer is charged 15 to 30 percent less than the original traffic ticket price, and then from there, TIKD assumes the risk and hires a lawyer to fight the violation.