Virginia creates a $3,550 speeding ticket

[quote name='ITDEFX']the bigger question is, where the fuck is all this extra money from the 3k fines going to go into? drug and stripper money for the local officials?!??!!?[/quote]

Damned if I know. They have the lottery for education but our county consolidated scools a few years ago. It's fucking ridiculous.

About the drug and stripper money though, I'm sure you know about our former Sheriff Cassell in Henry County and the fact that quite a few deputies were involved in selling drugs they took off the street and they had a house where they met women for extra-marital affairs. So I wouldn't be surprised if what you said is true.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']the bigger question is, where the fuck is all this extra money from the 3k fines going to go into? drug and stripper money for the local officials?!??!!?[/quote]
It's in the article:

"As part of the plan to fund the annual $1 billion transportation package approved this year..."
 
[quote name='Allnatural']It's in the article:

"As part of the plan to fund the annual $1 billion transportation package approved this year..."[/QUOTE]

that's still not going to improve i-66 (specifically around nutley street/vienna metro station or i95) Nutley street exit on 66 going east to DC is always, always a mess. Gets a bit worse when you try to pull off to the right to 495. but after that your clear to go.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']that's still not going to improve i-66 (specifically around nutley street/vienna metro station or i95) Nutley street exit on 66 going east to DC is always, always a mess. Gets a bit worse when you try to pull off to the right to 495. but after that your clear to go.[/QUOTE]

I-66 is insane, even on weekends oftentimes. Yet when they increased the sales tax from 4 to 4.5 percent, they promised that 0.5 percent would go to transportation. Being politicians, they soon raided that for their pet programs. Then Mark Warner, the idiot who was governor before idiot Tim Kaine, tried to get us to pass a sales tax increase on ourselves to fund more transportation. The people said: use the funds already there for what they were promised first, idiot. So he got the idiot Republican-majority legislature to approve a 0.5 percent sales tax increase. But I guess that wasn't enough to keep up with the state's runaway spending, so they need this as well.

BTW, the money goes to the state, not the localities. It goes to whatever the fuck the state wants, regardless of this bullshit they pull about "it's going to education" or whatever. As I just said above, they promise one thing and when people approve it, later on they change it quietly.
 
[quote name='I AM WILLIAM H. MACY']fuck am I glad I don't live in Virginia, sucks for you guys[/quote]

Yeah the traffic is pretty bad.

But Mr. Macy - I thought you lived in LA - you have the worst traffic in America!
 
[quote name='elprincipe']I-66 is insane, even on weekends oftentimes. Yet when they increased the sales tax from 4 to 4.5 percent, they promised that 0.5 percent would go to transportation. Being politicians, they soon raided that for their pet programs. Then Mark Warner, the idiot who was governor before idiot Tim Kaine, tried to get us to pass a sales tax increase on ourselves to fund more transportation. The people said: use the funds already there for what they were promised first, idiot. So he got the idiot Republican-majority legislature to approve a 0.5 percent sales tax increase. But I guess that wasn't enough to keep up with the state's runaway spending, so they need this as well.

BTW, the money goes to the state, not the localities. It goes to whatever the fuck the state wants, regardless of this bullshit they pull about "it's going to education" or whatever. As I just said above, they promise one thing and when people approve it, later on they change it quietly.[/QUOTE]

then you know what? I should just work for the state...that way i can get paid vacations, free lunches, paid trips to wherever, and other free shit as those 3k tickets will pay for everything. With that much money being tossed around, bet you a few thousands are going to go missing and some state officials are going to be carrying around some new toys (ipods, iphones, laptops, etc).

See this is why I don't vote. What's the point? Bills like this passes anyways even if I did vote no.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']
See this is why I don't vote. What's the point? Bills like this passes anyways even if I did vote no.[/quote]

continue to vote, make a dictator act like a dictator.

anyways, wondering if illegal aliens will have to pay the fine???
 
[quote name='level1online']continue to vote, make a dictator act like a dictator.

anyways, wondering if illegal aliens will have to pay the fine???[/QUOTE]

you know, I never thought of that.

We don't have a lot of illegals up here in VA (this isn't Miami, fl) but I am sure they will leave the state if they get pulled over and hit with this type of fine.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']you know, I never thought of that.

We don't have a lot of illegals up here in VA (this isn't Miami, fl) but I am sure they will leave the state if they get pulled over and hit with this type of fine.[/quote]

We have quite a few people from international lands in my area, but I couldn't say if they are illegals or not. We have people from Serbia, Mexico, Honduras...
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']We have quite a few people from international lands in my area, but I couldn't say if they are illegals or not. We have people from Serbia, Mexico, Honduras...[/QUOTE]

El Savador, Guatamalans, and Hondurans are up here... mostly near dc.. Falls Church, Alexandra, Annindale.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']El Savador, Guatamalans, and Hondurans are up here... mostly near dc.. Falls Church, Alexandra, Annindale.[/quote]

I'll say this much, listening to the guy from Serbia I can understand why people want to come here. The things he dealt with were unreal.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']i can buy booze at Giant.... so what's your point?[/quote]
Last time I was there (which, granted, was 3 or so years ago), you could ONLY buy booze at state-run ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) stores. This has changed? If so that's a step in the right direction.

Just a lot of dumb vehicle-related laws, mostly. Radar detectors an current thread topic notwithstanding, I had a friend who lived in centreville that got parking tickets every time she visited her boyfriend (don't remember where he lived), because it was illegal to park overnight in that town without a city sticker. Easy enough, just get a city sticker, right? Wrong. You can't get one unless you live there. So have the boyfriend get one for her? Except that it's illegal to have two city stickers. They had the same problem when he visited her. The only way to avoid the tickets was to drive the 2hrs each way to pick the other up, and again to drop them off.

Lots of other little things she told me about over the years, made me decide I never wanted to live there.
 
That is another state I have to mark forbbidden. In fact there should be a big sign before you enter Virginia that reads.

BEWARE
Speeding Tickets
in the state of Virginia
will rape drivers wallet.
​
 
[quote name='Loyaltist Shinra']That is another state I have to mark forbbidden. In fact there should be a big sign before you enter Virginia that reads.

BEWARE
Speeding Tickets
in the state of Virginia
will rape drivers wallet.
​
[/QUOTE]

Do make a habit of reading the OP before you post, it'll make your stay that much more pleasant.
 
I can understand extra fines for DD or excessive speeding (maybe not that high, though), but the extra fines for faulty brakes? What defines faulty? Are they going to charge you several grand if you start to get the "whine" that means it time to change your pads? What defines that? Do break lights count as "faulty brakes" because they are part of the braking system?
 
[quote name='elprincipe']Anyone who is from Virginia who would like to sign a petition demanding repeal of this horrible law please go here:

http://www.petitiononline.com/va3202/petition.html

Around 110,000 signatures so far...[/quote]

I signed (number 122141) and this is what I wrote...

This is a great example of the government being too large and the the fact that it no longer represents the people. I think if you really want to raise revenue then we can reduce the number of politicians with a job in this state. Revenue from the lottery is supposed to fund school systems accross the state, yet Henry county had to consolidate schools a few years back. The Virginia government continues to find ways to waste money and pass that problem to the public. Do not try to pass off a revenue issue as a "safety" issue. The people of Virginia are too smart for that. If a fine increase is warranted for higher level traffic issues then it should be done at a reasonable level. A judge's discretion should NEVER be taken away in these situations. This is supposed to be a democratic society with the government representing the wishes of the people. We employ you, not the other way around. If you see fit to ignore the wishes of the people you belittle the people and ideals of the citizens of Virginia.
Click to expand...

Dude, I think I am going to post that link in the Off-topic forum. This is too important.
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']I signed (number 122141) and this is what I wrote...



Dude, I think I am going to post that link in the Off-topic forum. This is too important.[/quote]

I applaud your statement.

However I probably disagree with your assessment of the importance of this issue.
 
[quote name='camoor']I applaud your statement.

However I probably disagree with your assessment of the importance of this issue.[/quote]

I'd agree it isn't the most important issue in Virginia, but the fact the government thought they could just slide this by us is what bothers me. I used a little hyperbole, but hopefully it will get attention more than just the typical responses of "this is bad" that I saw on the petition.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']the bigger question is, where the fuck is all this extra money from the 3k fines going to go into? drug and stripper money for the local officials?!??!!?[/quote]

To fund toll roads in NoVA. The rest of the state sees none of it for roads. Here in Chesapeake, they're building a "clover" design ramp on Battlefield Blvd. This area is not designed for such a thing.

Funny thing is that I first read about this when I was visiting my partner in Memphis and saw the headline on Fark. I'm so fucking glad that I'll be moving out of this state by the end of the year. Hell, if it works out the way I hope it will, I'm out of here before the end of Sept. Though, I'll then start having to deal with TN laws...
 
[quote name='PyroGamer']I think these fees are fucking outrageous. But there is no such thing as too harsh a sentence for drunk drivers.[/quote]

well said pryro
 
so if they are going after speeders, are they going to get those fucking taxi drivers on 28 and Fairfax County Parkway heading towards Dulles Int. Airport??!?! Man I am getting freaking tired of them speeding and no cop pulling them over.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']so if they are going after speeders, are they going to get those fucking taxi drivers on 28 and Fairfax County Parkway heading towards Dulles Int. Airport??!?! Man I am getting freaking tired of them speeding and no cop pulling them over.[/QUOTE]

I'm more tired of not only our terrible driver education system that contributes massively to the number of accidents, but the fact that police concentrate on speed instead of reckless driving. Someone going 65 on the Dulles Access Road is not the enemy of safe roads, especially compared to all the idiots out there completely ignorant of the rules of the road, or even worse aggressive and reckless in the way that they drive, with no regard for others on the road.
 
[quote name='cindersphere']I wonder what the first guy said when he got the ticket.[/QUOTE]

Since it only went into effect July 1, he's probably still waiting for a court date to fight it. Of course, the guy who wrote the bill is a defense lawyer for people fighting tickets, hmm, no conflict of interest there...
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']fuck.

I got my first speeding ticket this month (15 mph over so it wasn't reckless), and my court date is July 16th. I wonder if I should just pay the fine now?[/QUOTE]

I got a ticket Saturday morning while driving from Halifax to Lynchburg. The police officer wrote down that I was going 42 in a 25 zone. It was 2:30 a.m., pretty much bushes/trees were everywhere, I wasn't familiar with the city at all. I thought that I was in a 35 zone because I had just went pass Walmart, CVS, and etc... (hopefully I can get off with that excuse.......)

How much was your fine? This is my first speeding ticket also. I've talked to a couple of my friends and they all have said i'll either lose my license due to all the fines I gotta pay or i'll end up spending tons of money just to keep it.
 
[quote name='michael90002002']I got a ticket Saturday morning while driving from Halifax to Lynchburg. The police officer wrote down that I was going 42 in a 25 zone. It was 2:30 a.m., pretty much bushes/trees were everywhere, I wasn't familiar with the city at all. I thought that I was in a 35 zone because I had just went pass Walmart, CVS, and etc... (hopefully I can get off with that excuse.......)

How much was your fine? This is my first speeding ticket also. I've talked to a couple of my friends and they all have said i'll either lose my license due to all the fines I gotta pay or i'll end up spending tons of money just to keep it.[/quote]

I went to court, told the judge it was my first ticket and he said I qualify to take safety/defensive driving. I'm no expert as that was the first time I had ever been pulled over, but if it is your first ticket, and there was no accident, I don't see how you could lose your license unless something else was going on. It was $136 total. $75+ court cost IIRC.

I don't believe the HUGE fines kick in until you are 20mph over.
 
Is it true that red light Cameras are now reactivated?!?!?!? I am hearing this from co-workers but can't verify it yet.

I am not speeding past red, but I have been lately getting caught behind big trucks (dump trucks) moving too slowly when turning and when I finally clear I notice the light has turned red. How the fuck am I suppose to see the light when the truck is blocking my view of the light.
 
a pregnant woman got a $1050 ticket for speeding to the hospital while having contractions...

The labor pains were coming, so Jessica Hodges got going. The 26-year-old bank teller from Burke sped toward Inova Fairfax Hospital, but before she got there, the law got her -- 57 mph in a 35 zone. Reckless driving.

Hodges's labor pains subsided -- they turned out to be a false alarm -- but the agony from her ticket is mounting. She was found guilty of the July 3 offense and given a $1,050 civil fee on top of a judge-imposed $100 fine and court costs, making her one of the first to be hit with Virginia's new "abusive driver fees," which have been greeted by widespread public outrage.
Click to expand...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/11/AR2007081101352_pf.html


You'd think if anyone could get out of a ticket it would be a woman in labor...
 
Great article RAM. The politicians have sold VA out, and now we have to rely on the fairness and good sense of police and judges. When a policeman gives a pregnant lady having contractions a ticket instead of helping her out, that doesn't give me a good feeling.

Some of these people are going to have trouble making ends meet:

Not everyone was so lucky. Upon hearing that he would have to pay the first $350 of his civil fee after being convicted of reckless driving, Samuel Ortez, 34, of Woodbridge, a truck driver and father of two from El Salvador, stared blankly for a moment outside the cashier's office, his eyes watering slightly.
"It's going to affect the bills," he said quietly in Spanish, his nephew Leo Ortez interpreting.
Click to expand...

These fines are going to work as effectively as the old "debtor's prison" system.
 
[quote name='RAMSTORIA']a pregnant woman got a $1050 ticket for speeding to the hospital while having contractions...



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/11/AR2007081101352_pf.html


You'd think if anyone could get out of a ticket it would be a woman in labor...[/QUOTE]

I wonder how the woman is going to prove she was having labor pains at that particular time period? By the time she goes to court to fight it, the baby would already have arrived. Now I think a lot of people would be extremely angry if the woman was actually going into labor and the cop said "I don't give a damn, I need to fill my quota...". It is not until AFTER he gives her the ticket that he actually is kind enough to call the hospital.

God I hate FCPD.
 
The bad news is these horror stories are already coming out.

The good news is that two different judges in two different parts of Virginia have found the fees unconstitutional (as well they are...equal protection). If the legislature and governor have to put this crazy law into effect again, they will have to pass it over the objections of a better-informed and up-in-arms public, not to mention a press that actually is paying attention. So I'm pretty confident actually. Hopefully when this idiotic law is finally and permanently pulled from the books they will reimburse the unfortunate ones who were victimized by it.
 
[quote name='elprincipe']The bad news is these horror stories are already coming out.

The good news is that two different judges in two different parts of Virginia have found the fees unconstitutional (as well they are...equal protection). If the legislature and governor have to put this crazy law into effect again, they will have to pass it over the objections of a better-informed and up-in-arms public, not to mention a press that actually is paying attention. So I'm pretty confident actually. Hopefully when this idiotic law is finally and permanently pulled from the books they will reimburse the unfortunate ones who were victimized by it.[/QUOTE]


Funny thing is that I saw that story just after I posted my response. I doubt they are going to reimburse the "victims" of this joke of a law.
 
[quote name='elprincipe']The bad news is these horror stories are already coming out.

The good news is that two different judges in two different parts of Virginia have found the fees unconstitutional (as well they are...equal protection).[/quote]
Which unfortunately changed the day after your post. Now there are two standing decisions saying they ARE constitutional:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/13/AR2007081300619.html
[quote name='Monday']The wrangling over the state's steep new fines on bad Virginia drivers intensified Monday as a suburban Richmond judge ruled that the fees are constitutional, and fresh evidence emerged that legislators and the governor may have enacted the fees without fully researching the effect on the poor of comparable programs in other states.[/quote]

http://www.roanoke.com/politics/wb/127940
[quote name='Tuesday']
Her suit also argues that the fees violate the guarantee of equal protection under the law by only being levied against Virginia drivers. A similar argument made in a Henrico County case earlier this month hit a roadblock Monday, as a Henrico County Circuit Court judge declared the law constitutional.
Judge L.A. Harris Jr. wrote that the law has a rational basis for not applying the fees to out-of-state drivers and thus cannot be invalidated by an argument over whether the provision is "fair" or "politically correct."[/quote]

Virginia Supreme Court is the last chance.
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']If that doesn't work, expect to see changes in the government because those asses will be voted OUT.[/quote]

I hope you're right!

Although there are always some ninnies who believe in draconian punishment for everything. Time will tell...
 
[quote name='elprincipe']I'll be out there pushing for just that, believe me. Hundreds of thousands of angry people can be a good thing.

Here's the latest on court challenges:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2007-08-16-0192.html[/QUOTE]


hmm I am surprised Fairfax County isn't listen in that article. I have seen a shit load more cops and under cover cops on the roads lately...just the other day I saw one guy get pulled over for speeding since the cop was shooting everyone with his radar gun and I thought I was the one speeding :(...but luckily it was so other faster fool.
 
Problem is - if they apply them to out-of-state drivers, then we're all back to being screwed, right?

As I understand it this is an "equal treatment" issue, not a "cruel and unusual" issue.
 
[quote name='Ikohn4ever']its not like they couldnt increase small fees on tobacco, alcohol, and fire arm licenses to raise money.[/quote]

Or legalize marijuana. Honestly, if they did that, do you realize the amount of taxes they could put on it? They'd be twice as rich.

Oh, and if they write tickets to protect us, and keep us safe, why don't they just make us wear fire-proof jumpsuits and helmets? And require all cars to have roll cages? Safety my ass. The governer just needs a few more dollars for his yacht.
 
[quote name='Access_Denied']Oh, and if they write tickets to protect us, and keep us safe, why don't they just make us wear fire-proof jumpsuits and helmets? And require all cars to have roll cages? Safety my ass. The governer just needs a few more dollars for his yacht.[/QUOTE]

In this case they don't even pretend it's for safety. The stated goal of the bill is to soak "dangerous" drivers to pay for road construction. Usually they at least couch it in language intended to convince people it's for "safety" reasons that someone can't go 65mph on a highway designed to be safe at 85-90mph.
 
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