Don't get a traffic ticket in VA!

[NJ H2]

Beginning Sunday, Virginia is adding new civil charges to traffic fines. They range from $750 to $3,000 and will be added to existing fines and court costs. The civil penalty for going 20 mph over the speed limit will be $1,050, plus $61 in court costs and a fine that is typically about $200.
But if you do get a ticket make sure to post the details so I can laugh at you!

[dеiтайожни]

sux2baspeederinva

[K9sH3]

You two hush!!! I am heading there in the morning... Nope, Don't say it Dei!

[ChiHummer3]

Those fines are INSANE!!!!

[jmsspratlin]

Also heard that they are requiring children up to 9 years of age to be restrained in a booster seat/ car seat. I agreee with saftey, but that seems a bit old.....Jamie

[Mr_Pat]

The new state "driver abuser" fees going into law July 1 for Virginia drivers must be paid every year for three years. The three-year total assessment include:

Felony DWI: $3,000

Vehicular manslaughter: $3,000

Felony failure to signal: $3,000

Felony speeding above 80 MPH: $3,000

Misdemeanor DWI $2,250

Misdemeanor failure to signal: $1,050

Attempting to elude police: $900

Driving without insurance: $900

Driving with a suspended license: $750

06/28/2007
Virginia rolls out the $3,550 speeding ticket
By: John H. Arundel

This 4th of July weekend, Northern Virginia motorists will take to the roads for beach excursions, backyard picnics and patriotic partying. But don't speed, and definitely don't drink and drive, because hefty "abuser fees" await the lead-footed motorists at the courthouse.
In Virginia, new laws go on the books next week aimed at curbing highway speeding and drinking and driving. Virginia motorists convicted of traffic violations will face a new, multi-year tax beginning July 1 with assessments of up to $3,000 in addition to an annual point tax that tops out at $700 a year for as long as the points remain.


The new so-called "driver responsibility tax" was slipped into the state's massive transportation funding bill by state Del. David B. Albo (R-Springfield). It was signed into law by Gov. Tim Kaine (D) in April to pay for more than $1 billion in state road improvements.

"The purpose of the civil remedial fees imposed in this section is to generate revenue [for state road improvements]," the new law states. The new fines could cause financial hardships on Virginia motorists, especially those earning below $30,000 per year, civic activists say.

Driving as little as 15 mph over the limit on an interstate highway will now bring six license demerit points, a fine of up to $2,500, up to one year in jail, and a new mandatory $1,050 tax.

The new law also imposes an additional annual fee of up to $100 if a prior conviction leaves the motorist with a balance of eight demerit points, plus $75 for each additional point (up to $700 a year). A conviction would remain on the record for five years.

First-time drunk drivers can expect a $300 fine at the courthouse and a $2,250 fee from the state. Driving without a license might bring a $75 fine, but definitely a $900 fee from the commonwealth.

Drivers who already have points on their licenses (speeding tickets usually earns four points) will be hit for $75 for every point above eight and $100 for having those points in the first place.

Six-point convictions include such infractions as passing a school bus, failing to give a proper signal or driving with an obstructed view. The $1,050 assessment applies, but those convicted stay on a driver's record for 11 years.

While the amount of the tax can add up, the law issued by the State Supreme Court forbids judges from reducing or suspending the state fines in any way.

"People were overwhelmingly saying 'fix traffic problems,'" Kaine said in a call-in show Tuesday on WTOP Radio. "It takes money to do it."

The new tax applies only to Virginia residents; out-of-state motorists pay the regular ticket amount.

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.

Legislators like Albo and Del. Thomas D. Rust (R-Fairfax), the co-sponsor of the fee legislation, say that as much as $65 million to $120 million will be raised annually to cover roadway improvements and other maintenance issues like pothole repair, snow-plowing and grass-mowing.

In Virginia, drivers can pay the fee in installments over a three-year period. After the first third is levied and paid at the courthouse, the other two are expected to be billed by the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

Other new driver laws are aimed squarely at underage drinking and driving. One widely broadens an old law and makes it illegal to provide or assist in providing someone under the age of 21 with alcohol. It also makes it a misdemeanor for someone underage to drink or attempt to drink any alcoholic beverages.

The other law increases the penalty those who purchase, provide or assist in providing alcohol to someone who is underage. Beyond the penalties set in court, the law now says anyone found guilty can have his driver's license suspended for up to a year.

VA is off my list of places to visit, for good.

[RuggedH2]

What the hell is Felony failure to signal?

Felonies and misdemeanors require a culpable mental state. Traffic violations are generally infractions that don't require a mind set.

[tanklizard]

The new tax applies only to Virginia residents; out-of-state motorists pay the regular ticket amount.

Glad I don't live there.

[h2co-pilot]

Originally Posted by jmsspratlin

Also heard that they are requiring children up to 9 years of age to be restrained in a booster seat/ car seat. I agreee with saftey, but that seems a bit old.....Jamie

Ya think? I lmao when I think of them strapped in a booster seat with their feet on the floor.


So....anyone wanna come for a visit?

[Agriv8r]

drive by the rules and you dont have to worry...

[frenzy1]

those are some crazy fines !

[ChiHummer3]

Originally Posted by Agriv8r

drive by the rules and you dont have to worry...

In other words......don't do what Paris did.

Originally Posted by Agriv8r

drive by the rules and you dont have to worry...

What fun is that? F that.

[KenP]

I'm not worried about it, I haven't had a moving violation since '89.

Hell, we've got to pay for the new roads one way or another.

[h2co-pilot]

Originally Posted by ChiHummer3

In other words......don't do what Paris did.

[KenP]

Update:

You'd Better Be Wealthy if You're a Fast, Reckless Driver in Virginia

Thursday, July 19, 2007
By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

• E-MAIL STORY
• RESPOND TO EDITOR
• PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

WASHINGTON ? Local cops and state troopers have become the new tax collectors in Virginia.
That's one complaint from opponents of a new state law that went into effect July 1 to raise fines on traffic violations to as much as seven times their previous levels.

Excessive speeding ? or even driving with under-inflated tires ? could cost you more than $1,000 under the new law.

"You're turning the police into tax collectors with guns ? it's the wrong message," said Del. Bob Marshall, a Republican in the Virginia House of Delegates who opposed the legislation. "That's why this thing has to go."
Virginia politicians typically avoid tax hikes like the plague, so to pay for $65 million in new road and transportation projects, they have increased fines for traffic violations to levels never seen by most Americans.

Supporters say the intention of the law was not to target "soccer moms" or first-time offenders, only the very worst drivers. But the backlash in Virginia has been swift. By Thursday, more than 130,000 people signed onto an online petition calling for the law's repeal.

[DRTYFN]

Originally Posted by NJ H2

Beginning Sunday, Virginia is adding new civil charges to traffic fines. They range from $750 to $3,000 and will be added to existing fines and court costs. The civil penalty for going 20 mph over the speed limit will be $1,050, plus $61 in court costs and a fine that is typically about $200.
But if you do get a ticket make sure to post the details so I can laugh at you!

I thought you were going to say you got tricked into taking the "breathalyzer" again.

Originally Posted by KenP

Update:

And in VA, how are they pissing away the gas tax revenue?

[K9sH3]

This is what I like, ONLY VA drivers are subject to those fines. So me with a FL DL and address will only have to face the normal fine and not that added on BS.
So anyone want to use my address for there license??