Virginia Creates $3,550.00 Traffic Ticket

One online newspaper has the scoop on what Dave Albo just did.  Since this bill was the "Albo-Rust" plan, let's not leave out "credit" for Tom Rust either!

However, there's plenty of "credit" for this $3,550 traffic ticket to go around here.  Let's not forget also supporting Albo's $3,550 ticket were "Democrats" David Bulova, Chuck Caputo, Steve Shannon, David Marsden (who also serves as Albo's bitch on the Courts of Justice Committee), David Poisson, and Mark Sickles.

Heckuva job guys!  Now for the bad news.  Traffic tickets, the person charged and their address are all public information.  Now your opponents (this year or in the future) will have a database of every person in your district who got an excessive fine- and regardless of party affiliation, once you fine someone a few thousand for speeding they aren't going to vote for you anymore. 

Hope everyone has good retirement plans ready!  This goes into effect on July 1st. 
I can't wait!

Comments

[GinterParked]

Ben, you're absolutely right -- this bill is a travesty. And here's why.

Every year, I represent dozens of people charged with driving on a suspended license - many with multiple prior convictions. I think my personal record was a guy with 11 priors. Any traffic attorney on here can say the same or worse.

Why are their licenses suspended? Because they can't pay traffic fines. Why do they drive? Because the baby needs food. What happens? They get more fines, and go to jail.

Now many will say that people who violate the law get what they deserve. Well, when you're caught in an endless, undischargeable cycle of state debt, unable to maintain employment without risking jail, you have two choices: drive and risk it, or sit and go hungry.

This system is the most regressive tax out there, and self-defeating to boot. Albo - and every Democrat who voted for this for that matter - ought to be ashamed.

[Capt. Obvious]

This is ridiculous. Including not giving judges descression to reduce or negate the fine/tax?

I've heard of judges legislating from the bench, but never legislators judging from the chamber?

I hope Albo gets pulled over, multiple times, for one of these and more.

Is this retro-active? What about point balances on driving records from incidents that occurred before this new law?

Is this a fucking joke?

[Officer Quota]

It is not a joke.

The kicker is that the extra "Abuser Fees" only apply to VIRGINIA DRIVERS.

So - if someone from Maryland gets the SAME TICKET - they don't have to pay the extra $1,000 of abuser fees.

[Albo Must Go]

The best part is that every now has about 1000 reasons ($$) to pay Del. Albo big bucks to defend them on that traffic ticket.

You all are all SO late to the party. Does no one read Albo Must Go???

6/20/06 AMG - Will Albo Condemn a Republican Road Abuser
http://albomustgo.blogspot.com/2007/06/will-albo.html

4/15/07 AMG - Cash, Booze & the Albo Cycle
http://albomustgo.blogspot.com/2007/04/cash-booze-and-albo-cycle.html

3/24/07 AMG - The Albo & Oblon PLLC Abuser Fee Plan Part II
http://albomustgo.blogspot.com/2007/03/albo-oblon-pllc-abuser-fee-plan-part-ii.html

4/19/06 AMG - The Albo & Oblon PLLC Abuser Fee Plan
http://albomustgo.blogspot.com/2006/04/albo-oblon-llc-abuser-fees-plan.html

[Not Jack Herrity]

The $3,550 "traffic ticket" is only for a felony traffic conviction. I don't know about you, but I have no problem popping a convicted felon for an additional fine.

The lesser fines are all for "serious" misdemeanor offenses such as DUI, leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving, etc.

As best I can tell, no one will get "thousands" for a simple speeding ticket unless they are a habitual offender or a felon.

Let's also remember that convicted felons can't vote in Virginia, so that knocks the $3,550 people out of contention right away. :)

NJH

[Not John McCain]

Nope, no one reads Albo Must Go. Nobody apparently runs against him either.

[GinterParked]

Capt. Obvious: No, it's not retroactive - it applies to charges filed after 7/1.

The Executive Office of the Virginia Supreme Court has issued a helpful memo which explains the system, including a comprehensive fine schedule.

In twenty years of practice, I can't point to another time when the EO of the SCt prepared such a consumer-oriented memo. Do you suspsect that someone on the bench is ticked that courts will be clogged, that jails will be further overcrowded and that court administrators, judges and prosecutors are made the unwilling assistants of Virginia's revenue agencies?

For this state to make the decision - openly and without shame - to turn the judicial system into a tax collection agency is remarkable.

Boss Hogg would be proud.

[Not Harry F. Byrd, Sr.]

NJH:

Reckless Driving conviction - according to this guy and this Supreme Court document he attached, you can get it doing 15 over.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/2007/va-drivertax.pdf

Reckless Max Fine $2500
Abuser Fee Year One $350
Abuser Fee Year Two $350
Abuser Fee Year Three $350

That adds up to um... $3550 for misdemeanor reckless driving or for that matter speeding 15 over?!?

Misdemeanor DWI has 3 payments of $750 - that's an extra $2,250 of "Abuser Fees") or what, $4,750 of potential fines?

Driving on a Suspended costs $250/yr. for 3 years.

I'm not seeing your math.

"Why are their licenses suspended? Because they can't pay traffic fines."

And why did they have traffic fines in the first place? Because they drove like idiots!

I'm no Albo fan, but I for one am sick and tired of being surrounded by a--holes when I am on the roads. Maybe the new fine structure will actually serve as a DETERRANT for people to start respecting the traffic laws.

[GinterParked]

8:30 - You're right - there are plenty of lousy drivers out there. And there are plenty of serious penalties available for drivers who cause accidents or endanger others. Virginia has one of the nation's most punitive sentencing structures for reckless driving. Driving 81 in a 65 can get you 12 months and a $2500 fine.

And, reckless driving is a Class 1 misdemeanor - a serious, reportable criminal offense - as is driving on a suspended license.

My point is that people ought to be criminally punished for the offense - not because they owe the state a debt. In the past, fines and court costs were bad enough. This law will increase average fines for DSOL three or more times. If you don't pay fines promptly, your license is suspended.

On your third DSOL conviction, the judge is required to impose at least ten days in jail. Depending on the locality, you may be looking at more.

Each day in jail costs us - the taxpayers - a schload.

So, who's doing the math?

[Not Harry F. Byrd, Sr.]

They're not a-holes, they're just having problems seeing around the hay growing in the median.

http://notlarrysabato.typepad.com/doh/2007/05/cash_for_grass.html

It's very confusing.

[Not Jack Herrity]

NHFB, read the article carefully. It says 15 over on certain Interstates. That's because in Virginia going over 80 mph is automatically reckless driving (46.2-862). In every other zone, 20 mph over is considered reckless (but can be reduced by the judge).

You might also read carefully what I said. I said that no one will get this for a simple speeding ticket. Again, reckless driving is a Class 1 misdemeanor or a Class 6 felony and typically results in jail time. It's not your average traffic ticket. And any judge can reduce the charge to a simple speeding ticket if the charge exceeds his view of the facts.

Your math only holds if the maximum fines are levied for the underlying offense, which somehow I doubt will happen very often given our lenient traffic court judges in Virginia.

As I said before, I don't really have any sympathy for the guy who gets popped for DUI, leaves an accident scene, or commits a felony. Let him (or her) pay the fine. It'll certainly make people think twice before doing it again.

NJH

[Not Harry F. Byrd, Sr.]

Fair points NJH, but I challenge you to find another jurisdiction in the United States of America where the Government has given someone the authority to levy $3,550 in fines and "taxes" or whatever these are for going 15 over the speed limit.

I would think that any true small government conservative (I'm not sure if you consider yourself that or not) would find this scheme offensive. I bet by the time they're done doing all the work to collect this stuff, they won't even net 50% of the revenue.

[Not Jack Herrity]

My view on this issue is what I call a gut reflex. I drive on Northern Virginia's roads and I see the whackos who need to have a little sense driven into them. This will do the trick. If you think otherwise and you drive on our roads up here, maybe you're one of the whackos. :)

NJH

[GinterParked]

NJH: Are you from NOVA? Because I practice in Central Virginia. On occaision, I've been pleased to travel to court in NOVA to assist a client willing to pay, ummm, extra, and I've found the courts there to be accomodating.

To generalize a bit, in metro Richmond, if you are charged with more than 85 on a 65 mph highway, you will leave court with an RD conviction absent a perfect record or a good lawyer (references available on request).

In the past, on 86, you might get away with a fine of, say, $200 and no license suspension. Now, you can add another $1050 to the mix.

Have you ever accidentally hit 86 mph between Richmond and Williamsburg?

[Not Jack Herrity]

No. My car might be a bit rickety but it has this neat contraption called "cruise control." It also has a "speedometer" that tells me roughly how fast I'm going. Between those two devices I typically don't go above 74.

You might not notice if you're going 86 in Northern Virginia, but on I-64 heading toward Hampton Roads, which is a routine trip for me since I have frequent business down there, 86 means you're passing almost every other car on the road.

NJH

[Not Larry Sabato]

NJH (if you are who I think you are), in 2000 I was going down to Richmond and you passed me on I-95 and you WERE over 80. I wasn't poking along myself and you blew by me.

I'm sorry, but I can't let that pass.

[Not Jack Herrity]

Trust me, it wasn't me. But that's funny.

NJH

[GinterParked]

NJH: Gee that brings back fond memories. Every modern car has cruise control. And everyone I represent uses it. Surprising how that works.

86 on 64 is a drop in the bucket. No offense intended to the troopers, the prosecutor or the judge, all of who I respect very highly, but I-64 is a tremendous revenue source for New Kent County.

The difference is this: In the past, the system has been able to fairly deal with people who had a lapse in judgment. Now, unless current standards are relaxed, that momentary lapse in judgment will cost you a mortgage payment.

In central Virginia anyway. Mortgages are smaller here.

Most of these charges as they relate to big-time speeding (80+) and DWI/DUI don't bother me a bit. But this is crazy:

A ticket for failing to properly signal will cost $350 per year.

I'm obsessive about using my signal but that just seems over-the-top.

[Not Harry F. Byrd, Sr.]

I'm very unhappy that there's an abuser fee for driving with a smoke screen (see the list here http://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/2007/va-drivertax.pdf).

I've been using it very effectively, but now it looks like I'll have to cut back.

[Diogenes]

Does anyone know the total amount of imposed fines that have not been collected? Find it and then next year see how much it has increased. Many have not paid the fines already allowed and imposed so why do you think it will not increase next year? Most do not pay now and they will not pay in the future. And if they are locked up, what are they to pay with?

It was a smoke and mirror money raising scheme that will neither raise the funds claimed nor deter the driving offenses listed.

[Capt. Obvious]

Why have law enforcement agencies not strictly enforced the speed limits that we have? To the exact mph?

If I'm going 66mph in a 65mph zone, why am I not pulled over? Instead a society has been created, by law enforcement, that has allowed 66mph to become 68mph, then pushed to 70mph, now 75mph. Why has the line been pushed back? Why is it so inconsistant? And then why am I for going 70mph, to blame?

I am sure all of us have at one time or another passed a cop running radar going 5-7mph over the limit and not been stopped. Only to be pulled over for that same speed, on that same road, by another cop a month later.

If the LIMIT is 25, 35, 45, 55, 65mph- then enforce the friggin limit. Period. End of story. Then people won't speed.

Sorry, I know that's a bit of a side-topic. The 'tax' issue is pure bullshit. Pure and smelly bullshit.

NJH and GinterParked; Lets not forget folks with large fines can set up payment plans with the various courts as well. Some as little as $5 a month. (Those plans do acrue interest though).

This means less guilty pleas and more attorney's fees. YEEEEEHAAAAWWW!