Prolific traffic scofflaw vows to drive on right side of law

David Drum did what a lot of us do when he got a traffic ticket.

He ignored it.

Then he let another one go.

And another.

Eighteen traffic tickets later, Drum owed more than $20,000 to the Las Vegas Justice Court, making him the court's worst offender for unpaid traffic fines.

He appeared in court Tuesday to avoid arrest for the outstanding penalties.

Nine other offenders who owe the court $10,000 or more and were ordered to come to court Tuesday didn't show up, meaning they could be arrested.

No one could top Drum, though. He started getting tickets in 2005 and hasn't stopped since.

Most of his offenses are for driving without insurance and driving on a suspended license -- offenses that cost $1,130 each in fines.

"I want to get this past," he told Chief Justice of the Peace Douglas Smith. He appeared in court with his girlfriend, who drove him there.

Smith, however, wanted to get to the bottom of things. He said he didn't know why authorities hadn't previously arrested Drum and asked repeatedly why Drum didn't take care of his tickets.

"Why did you ignore these?" Smith asked.

"There's no excuse, sir," Drum replied in court. He said he no longer had a valid license.

"But I'm kind of interested in why," Smith said. "Did you think we weren't coming looking?"

In the end, Smith ordered Drum to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to register one of his vehicles and to get proof of when he can drive again. Drum also will be placed on a payment plan to take care of his fines.

"Don't drop the ball on this," Smith said.

Collecting unpaid traffic fines can be big business for the courts. The top 28 offenders in unpaid traffic fines owe the Justice Court more than $283,000, Smith said. The top 10 alone owe more than $100,000.

In November, Smith announced that the court was waiving late fees and penalties for people with outstanding traffic tickets. The waiver lasts until Feb. 6. After the deadline, Las Vegas constables will serve warrants for offenders.

The court is owed about $135 million from 200,000 outstanding tickets, Smith said previously. The money the court receives goes to the Clark County general fund.

After his court hearing, Drum stood in the lobby of the downtown courthouse and sheepishly answered questions from reporters.

Drum, who works as a tile setter, said he used to drive a 1994 Acura and a 1994 truck but now gets around by bicycle. His girlfriend drives him, too.

He said he got caught up in a vicious cycle where he would get ticketed for driving on a suspended license then would lose his license. He said the violations, especially those over $1,000, add up fast. But Drum didn't give detailed explanations on why he let his tickets lapse.

He had one bright spot at the end of the day. Court officials told him they would knock off about $5,000 from his $20,000 in fines, he said.

"I'm not the top anymore," he said.

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.