Virginia creates a $3,550 speeding ticket

I like the drunk driving fine "First-time drunk driver? A $300 fine from the judge and a $2,250 fee from the commonwealth." Maybe that will be enough to get people to stop drinking and driving. I'd be in support of something like that nationally.
 
As part of the plan to fund the annual $1 billion transportation package approved this year, state legislators endorsed a new set of "civil remedial fees" for all misdemeanor and felony traffic violations...
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Hurray for government banking the budget on the public's bad behavior(s).

"Please drive recklessly, preferably while smoking. We need the money."
 
Sticking it to a drunk driver is fantastic, I fully support that. 20 over? That's kind of BS. Maybe anything over 100mph instead of +20.

But yeah, taxing cigs and booze sounds good too.
 
Drunk drivers are dumb. I don't think someone that gets pulled over with a little bit too much alcohol in their system should be fucked over completely. 3 grand? Jesus Christ, especially if it applies to under 21 and all you have is one beer in your system.
 
[quote name='Ikohn4ever']its not like they couldnt increase small fees on tobacco, alcohol, and fire arm licenses to raise money.[/QUOTE]

Cause the taxes on booze, and firearm licenses aren't already high enough.
 
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?
 
Ok, I saw this...

Standard traffic infractions, such as low-level speeding and running a stop sign, do not carry the fees. The state courts posted the fees and eligible offenses this month.
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The people who will be caught up in the new fees say the first wave of chaos will hit in early August, when the first tickets issued under the new law arrive in courthouses.
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Good. VA drivers are easily the worst bunch of reckless drivers on the interstate I've ever seen. I-95 is bad enough, but when you see someone hurtling past at 120+, you don't have to see the plates to know where they are from.
 
[quote name='Allnatural']Hurray for government banking the budget on the public's bad behavior(s).

"Please drive recklessly, preferably while smoking. We need the money."[/QUOTE]
That's a pretty safe thing to bank on, though - there are always people who drive like complete fucktards, and with any luck, these fines might lead to less of that kind of behavior.

The drunk driving fine is absolutely justifiable and appropriate, but the whole plan seems perfectly fine in my book. The article said that these additional penalties won't apply to the lower level violations, so if you've earned one of these, you were most likely doing something exceptionally stupid or illegal, and chances are that you would be aware of that. It seems pretty clear cut to me - if you at least attempt to follow the laws, you won't get hit with one of these, which means that the cops shouldn't be handing these fines out at random.

Considering the number of idiotic drivers here in Michigan, I can only dream that something like this law gets implemented here. It'd definitely help our budget crisis...
 
Don't like the high fees? Don't speed. I enjoy driving the speed limit. Especially when it is a construction zone 35 mph it is! If they want to raise money, install red light cameras. Georgia has several in the suburbs as well as in downtown Atlanta. Three to five people run the red light every time it changes. At $70 a pop, it is an instant gold mine. State legislators tried to get the fine cut in half ($35) since so much money was being generated by these cameras. However, that was shot down, but they did make sure that money is used to cover the cost to install/operate the cameras, and the rest is put into a fund for road construction/repair (I think).
 
We need these kinds of fines in Michigan. People can't drive here at all. If one more soccer mom talking on a cell phone in her Hummer cuts me off after passing me on the right when I'm going about 5 over the speed limit... grrr...
 
[quote name='CocheseUGA']Good. VA drivers are easily the worst bunch of reckless drivers on the interstate I've ever seen. I-95 is bad enough, but when you see someone hurtling past at 120+, you don't have to see the plates to know where they are from.[/QUOTE]


HEY

Get your facts straight before you say VA drivers.

It's those under 25 fuck heads with hot rods that there parents spoiled them with who speed like crazy. Don't get me started on soccer mom's... they can all fucking die!!
 
Hooray for Draconian punishment, for all you self-rightous posters in this thread, cops in this area have been known to hand out drunk driving tickets to ppl who have had only one drink (more likely if the accused asserts their rights)

South Virginia sucks. Those damn rednecks sure as hell take our tax dollars, but never vote to spend a penny on roads. So the VA govt has to resort to stupid stunts like this.

Its very easy to get a reckless on the highway (20 over) if the speed limit suddenly dips to 50, you aren't watching your speed, and a semi is tailgating you - trust me. Sometimes a driver just needs a wake-up call - $300 and a trip to the courtroom is more then sufficient, no need to tack on an additional $2700 unless you are trying to give the southies another free ride.
 
[quote name='Dkellar']Don't like the high fees? Don't speed.[/quote]

Almost as smart as Cheney's "If you have nothing to hide, you don't need to worry about losing your privacy"

Punishment needs to fit the crime, jacko.
 
[quote name='Kaijufan']I would love to see all states adopt a $2500+ ticket for drunk driving.[/QUOTE]

Agreed, that would be great. Maybe some jail time too.
 
How can anyone support a law that fines $1500 for a speeding ticket? That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. You could do a lot worse things (beat someone up, steal, etc) and get fined less. What ever happened to the fine matching with the punishment? If I was a Virginia resident I'd be tempted to move.
 
[quote name='camoor']Almost as smart as Cheney's "If you have nothing to hide, you don't need to worry about losing your privacy"

Punishment needs to fit the crime, jacko.[/QUOTE]

Drive I-95 with Virginia drivers some time.
 
this law isn't as bad as the one i heard is coming out. I live in the Va and have heard recently that they are going to start giving $1000 tickets for drivers who don't signal when making turns.


[quote name='CocheseUGA']Drive I-95 with Virginia drivers some time.[/quote]

I think NJ drivers are the worst.
 
[quote name='VanillaGorilla']I agree, this suck. Virginia needs more reckless drivers endangering the lives of others.[/QUOTE]

You're an idiot. If they really wanted to cut down on reckless drivers, they wouldn't be doing so by issuing exorbitant speeding tickets; they would give people jail time or probation for driving dangerously.

Most (80 percent) accidents are caused by distraction, not speeding, in any case. Someone talking on their cell phone with one hand and fishing in their purse with the other hand while driving 25 down a local road is a lot more dangerous than someone paying full attention going 80 on an interstate designed for 90 mph speeds.
 
[quote name='YoshiFan1']I like the drunk driving fine "First-time drunk driver? A $300 fine from the judge and a $2,250 fee from the commonwealth." Maybe that will be enough to get people to stop drinking and driving. I'd be in support of something like that nationally.[/QUOTE]

I don't mind the drunk driving part. That is too low IMO. What really is stupid is that if someone goes 20+ mph over the limit they get a bigger fine than someone who drives drunk. What kind of bullshit is that? Oh, BTW, the sponsor of the bill in the House of Delegates is a lawyer who...shocker...defends drunk drivers!
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']holy shit!!

Bet you those fuckers in FCPD are really happy right now. They will ticket you for the smallest thing.[/QUOTE]

Tell me about it. Arlington too, where I live. We have so many police they need something to do, so they raise money by writing their quota of tickets.

If I sound bitter, I am. Traffic law is the only area where you are guilty until proven innocent in this country. If the cop says you were doing something you were doing it, unless you have proof otherwise.

Of course, this is not to mention that speed limits are universally too low because of the busybody crowd. They all want everyone to slow down instead of getting at the root of the problem, poor driver education and leniency towards drunk drivers and real incompetent/reckless drivers (the kind that cause accidents, not go with the flow of traffic at 70mph on the interstate).
 
[quote name='CocheseUGA']Good. VA drivers are easily the worst bunch of reckless drivers on the interstate I've ever seen. I-95 is bad enough, but when you see someone hurtling past at 120+, you don't have to see the plates to know where they are from.[/QUOTE]

I'm not going to say anything about Georgia drivers because I haven't seen enough of them, but around here the worst are not VA drivers. Worst are diplomats (they don't care because they don't pay the tickets), then Maryland (horrible), then DC (also horrible). Not that VA drivers aren't bad too, but in my experience no state is immune from this.
 
[quote name='elprincipe']Tell me about it. Arlington too, where I live. We have so many police they need something to do, so they raise money by writing their quota of tickets.

If I sound bitter, I am. Traffic law is the only area where you are guilty until proven innocent in this country. If the cop says you were doing something you were doing it, unless you have proof otherwise.

Of course, this is not to mention that speed limits are universally too low because of the busybody crowd. They all want everyone to slow down instead of getting at the root of the problem, poor driver education and leniency towards drunk drivers and real incompetent/reckless drivers (the kind that cause accidents, not go with the flow of traffic at 70mph on the interstate).[/QUOTE]

I've mentioned this before here on CAG.

back in 2004, while on the way home from work I was on Fairfax County Parkway approaching Franklin Farms (the area I need to go into for my shortcut home). People were taking way to long to move and I needed to make a right to exit. Like the other people who do it still to this day, I decided to cut out of line and use the shoulder and make my right. Well I started to turn, but then I saw two other cars already in the shoulder with a cop car behind them, so I quickly got back into my lane..as a matter of fact I wasn't even completly out of my lane. To me that doesn't count if part of my car is out of the lane and the other part isn't and I didn't completely get out of the lane. Traffic started to move and a cop was out there directing traffic pointing people to go. When the fucker saw me he pointed to me to park on the side. 20 minutes later after taking my information down I get a ticket for passing on fucking shoulder.
35 dollar ticket, 50 dollar processing fee!!! I know thats nothing but it sucked anyways as my insurance went up. I tried to argue with my insurance company since it was a *minor* infraction on my clean record but they wouldn't budge :(

With all the fuck heads who speed on FCPW, those cops that day had nothing better to do then to write tickets for minor shit like passing on shoulder.
To this day, people STILL PASS ON SHOULDER and where are those fucking cops?? Where else at Donkin Donuts !
 
[quote name='geko29']Reason number 1,326,592 not to live in Virginia.....[/QUOTE]


and what's so special about where you live??
 
I hear you ITDEFX.

I hope my insurance doesn't go up because of one speeding ticket. I never had been pulled over for anything before. I even stop at stop LINES when no sign is there. The cop said it wouldn't go up (I'm with State Farm), but I don't know. At anyrate, I'm going to do the defensive driving or whatever other classes they make you do before I even get to court and I'll make sure I am watching that speedometer every 5 seconds.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']and what's so special about where you live??[/quote]
Nothing, but we don't ban radar detectors, don't have to pay $3000 for a speeding ticket, and can buy booze at the grocery store.
 
Y'all need to get in your cars, critical mass style, and log-jam busy intersections in Virginia in protest. Drive 7-10 MPH.

Not that, as a responsible liberal, I'd advocate the mass use of gasoline to make a political point...but this is just another case of the very frequently disproven idea of "deterrence" slammed into another policy where it isn't going to stop people from behaving a certain way. 'matter of fact, what's the difference b/w a $3000 ticket and resisting arrest? This may be an incentive to run from the police instead of slow down. ;)
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Y'all need to get in your cars, critical mass style, and log-jam busy intersections in Virginia in protest. Drive 7-10 MPH.[/quote]

The road system in the DC metro area is so clogged, half the time we're lucky if we can drive a consistent 7-10 MPH on the busiest roads.

Second-worst in the country, and gaining on LA. It's what happens when your primary population (DC) isn't represented in Congress - Fed money is spent on other states' bridges to nowhere and out-of-control big digs while VA state govt eats up all the NOVA state tax money and gives us jack in return.
 
[quote name='ighosty']I live in the Va and have heard recently that they are going to start giving $1000 tickets for drivers who don't signal when making turns.
[/QUOTE]

Now that part I like.

I'm all for the drunk driving fines, but the speeding ones are ridiculous.
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']$1000 for failure to signal is ridiculous. Who the hell came up with that?[/QUOTE]

The state of Michigan would be out of debt in two weeks. Signaling is simply giving away your next move here.
 
[quote name='MrBadExample']Guile, can you imagine the drive through Boones Mill now? (notorious speed trap for those that don't know)[/quote]

:lol:

I bet everyone will be at LEAST 10 mph below the limit. I know I am more conscious about my speed there than any place on Earth. It's going to be ugly for sure.
 
[quote name='geko29']Nothing, but we don't ban radar detectors, don't have to pay $3000 for a speeding ticket, and can buy booze at the grocery store.[/QUOTE]


i can buy booze at Giant.... so what's your point?
 
Soooo.... has anyone here ever gotten a DUI?

Let me put it to you all this way...it doesn't just end with a simple fine.

Even if you don't endanger any lives, You'll still have hell to pay. A drunk person who is just sleeping in their parked car, but still posseses the keys, can and will get slapped with a DUI.

You basically get treated worse than a child sex offender or someone convicted of domestic violence.
 
[quote name='level1online']Soooo.... has anyone here ever gotten a DUI?

Let me put it to you all this way...it doesn't just end with a simple fine.

Even if you don't endanger any lives, You'll still have hell to pay. A drunk person who is just sleeping in their parked car, but still posseses the keys, can and will get slapped with a DUI.

You basically get treated worse than a child sex offender or someone convicted of domestic violence.[/QUOTE]

I should hope it doesn't end with just a fine. Any fool driving while drunk should have their license suspended for 10-15 years, and on the second offense permanently revoked.

But I'm curious as to how you can be convicted of DUI while not driving.
 
Well I usually limit my speeding to 5-10 over, 15 on I95 (speed limit of 60? WTF?), but I've caught myself going 80 several times when not paying attention to my speed.

That kind of fine for 20 over is ridiculous. Sometimes speed limits are just too damn slow. I don't mean that going 50 in a 25 residential is ok, but when the limit on the interstate is 60 and everybody is going at least 70-75 having to pay $3,000 (or $1,000, where's the $3,050 coming from?) for going 5 mph faster is crazy.

Driving drunk should be a huge fine and a temporary revocation of license on first offense though. It's not like you can accidentally drive drunk or drive drunk to keep up with everybody else on the road who's driving drunk. Just drink at home or get a ride, it's not that hard.
 
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?!??!!?
 
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