WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — The Wake County court system claims it can save you time, trouble and tax money by computerizing traffic tickets. By August, the highway patrol, Raleigh and Cary police will switch to an "e-Citation" system.

In Wake County, 167,000 citations are written every year. Six workers are responsible for keying the information into a computer, which can sometimes lead to mistakes.

"These things are hand-written. Anytime you're dealing with a manual system, you are dealing with human beings that make mistakes," said Superior Court clerk Gil File said.

Wake County will soon switch to an "e-citation" system. Officers will use laptops to key in the ticket. They can print a copy for the driver and transmit it to the courthouse. As a result, there will be no more bad handwriting and less mistakes.

"We deal with a lot of very frustrated people on a day-to-day basis. I think this will alleviate at least some of the frustration that an everyday person would feel," File said.

State trooper Eric Collins does not mind the old-fashioned way, but he is ready to modernize.

"I've only had it brought up one time in court where something I wrote on a citation was an issue," Collins said. "It's going to help us out in our cases in court. I really don't think it's too technical, not at this time. I think if anything, it'll make us safer and more aware in our job.

Cumberland County officers started using e-citations in 1999. They said the system is working well.