Despite a double-digit drop in tickets given by state troopers last year during the seven-week manhunt for sniper attack suspect Eric Frein, overall revenue rose by $6.5 million because of a hefty jump in the fines for the citations.

That's a nearly 10 percent increase in fines and fees collected from drivers who received tickets from Pennsylvania State Police in 2014.Despite a small drop in the number of tickets from the year before, it is the largest increase in state police traffic ticket revenue in at least six years, according to data obtained from the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts and state police.It comes, in part, from a sixfold increase from $25 to $150 in the fine for "failure to obey traffic control devices," a violation that carries no points on a driver's license and is often issued at an officer's discretion when tougher penalties are available.State lawmakers also approved increases between $15 and $25 in the surcharges tacked onto tickets to pay for emergency medical services, court computerization projects and other state programs.The increases were part of a $2.3 billion transportation modernization bill designed to provide money to repair Pennsylvania's roads, bridges and transit systems that became law in November 2013.In addition to a modest contribution to former Gov. Tom Corbett's transportation funding program, the increase in fines and surcharges was enough to stave off a loss while police were occupied with one of the largest manhunts in Pennsylvania history.As many as 1,000 officers descended on the northeast Pennsylvania woodlands where Eric Frein hid after allegedly ambushing two state policemen outside the barracks in Blooming Grove Township, Pike CountyFrein, 31, of Canadensis, now faces the death penalty for allegedly fatally gunning down Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson of Dunmore, Lackawanna County, and critically wounding trooper Alex T. Douglass of Olyphant, Lackawanna County, in the Sept. 12 sniper attack. He remained at large for 48 days before being captured and charged.A Morning Call analysis in October of court filings during the manhunt revealed the number of traffic tickets issued by state police in September dropped by 22 percent compared with the same month the year before, but ticket revenue increased by more than $715,000. Updated data shows the number of tickets issued in October was down 11 percent, but revenue was up nearly $213,000 from a year earlier.State police put the cost of the Frein manhunt at $11 million.On average, the cost of a traffic ticket issued by state police in 2014 was $124.71, up about $11 from 2013.According to state court records, fines, fees and court costs for traffic tickets issued by all police agencies amounted to nearly $173 million in 2013, the last year for which complete data is available. The money is distributed between the state, counties and municipalities.Trooper Adam Reed, a state police spokesman, said violations of Section 3111 of the traffic code, for a "failure to obey traffic control devices," are among the top five most commonly written tickets. Exact figures on how often the charge is issued were not immediately available.The law does not define a "traffic control device," leaving police officers with discretion to apply the charge for a variety of offenses, such as speeding and running a red light or a stop sign, that also are covered by other laws with stiffer fines and driver's license points.Even with the increased $150 fine, a ticket for "failure to obey a traffic control device" allows a motorist to avoid accumulating points that can have an effect on auto insurance rates and even lead to the suspension of driving privileges.State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, a member of the House Transportation Committee, said the decision to increase fines and surcharges on traffic tickets was an alternative to an increase in the gasoline tax consumers pay at the gas pump.The bulk of the transportation bill's funding comes from a restructuring of the state's gasoline tax, which eliminated the 12-cent per gallon tax motorists paid at the pump and incorporated it into a wholesale gasoline tax paid by distributors. Under the transportation funding law, a cap on the wholesale tax is also scheduled to be eliminated in phases by 2019.Schlossberg said Pennsylvania's traffic ticket fines are lower than in many neighboring states."That gave me the feeling that there was room to increase those," Schlossberg said.He added that when adjusted for inflation, the $125 hike isn't as extreme as it appears."Are we really excited about either of those? Of course not, but the money to fix our roads and bridges has to come from somewhere," Schlossberg said.Kara Macek, spokeswoman for the Governors Highway Safety Association in Washington, D.C., said traffic safety experts generally look unfavorably at enforcement as a cash cow."You want to avoid the perception of it being a revenue generator," she said. "The end goal is to change behavior and save lives."Studies show that higher fines do change drivers' behavior, but ideally that money should go back to traffic safety programs, Macek said. But the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety agencies around the country, puts the greatest emphasis on high-visibility enforcement."Just seeing a cop on the side of the road will get people to put on the brakes," Macek said.Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC