photo credit: Marc Albert/KRCB
Freddy Blue of Local Heroes Auto

Petaluma police have scrapped fix-it tickets for minor vehicle equipment violations---things like an out tail-light or turn signal.

Instead they are handing out free vouchers to pay for repairs.

It's part of a small, but growing, national effort towards socioeconomic justice and improving public perceptions of law enforcement. 

Launched by a former Minnesota police chief following the shooting death by police there of motorist Philandro Castile, initially stopped for a broken tail-light, the Lights Up! program aims to reduce the chances of a similar incident occurring.

Reading about its roll out in other communities, Petaluma's deputy police chief, Brian Miller, said he knew Petaluma would be a good fit.

"For us, anything that we can do that improves the driving conditions for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists, is paramount to us," Miller said.

While fix-it tickets have nominal processing fees, blowing one off adds up. While Petaluma won't impound a vehicle for a minor equipment failure, wait long enough and you'll be unable to renew your registration, possibly ending in a close encounter with a tow yard.

Milller acknowledged that it can be too much of a burden for those with limited incomes.

"We don't set the fine for what the violation fines are or what the court administrative fees are, but it's been my understanding and experience that some of those additional fees take a $100 fine and when they are added to it can make it much more expensive," Miller said.

Another goal is improving safety generally by handling repairs quickly.

You'll find little disagreement with Freddy Blue of Local Heroes Auto. That's a small local chain of repair shops. It's one of two, along with Hansel car dealership, that's accepting the vouchers and performing repairs.

"The cost of living is so high up here that something that doesn't get inspected is going to just get overlooked, which is something I've been doing my whole life, I've been, I've put in a lot of light bulbs for people just because they are out, I'll just go, 'come on in, let's do it right now, let's get a wiper blade on there," Blue said.

Blue said it's a great service, one he's proud to support, even if he's just breaking even.