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randomnessFrom http://ourvalley.org/news.php?viewStory=831:
New traffic ‘civil remedial fees’ will wallop the wallets of traffic offenders"
"The civil fees will be on top of traffic fines courts impose, and are part of the new financial package to help fund Virginia's beleaguered highway department."
"Instead of direct taxes to fund transportation, some are calling the civil penalties “hidden fees.” They range from $250 to $3,000, depending on the traffic violation, and will be assessed on a variety of misdemeanor traffic violations including being a passenger in a hit and run or the failure to give a proper signal."
"Many of the civil fees do address alcohol as was the intent of the “Dangerous Driver Law” when it originated, but the fees also may be accessed for such daily traffic violations as rolling through a stop sign (a fee of $300), or impeding traffic--a charge that's possible when stopping in front of your mailbox to get the mail. The civil fee alone for a conviction on the latter is $300.
"Play an R or X rated movie on the van DVD player and if it is seen by someone in another vehicle, a driver can be charged and fined with having an obscene video image seen from outside the car. The civil fee is $300.
"The new law takes effect July 1."
"Those who have driving points on their record also will be assessed an additional $175 per point in civil fees for their previous record up to $700 if convicted of a new violation."
[The bit I find remarkable is this:]
"Drivers from out of state will not be penalized by the civil system of fees because “the state can not go beyond its borders to collect the (civil) fees,” said Moore. “These fees are for Virginia residents and those with a permit listing a Virginia address.”"
From http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/18/1818.asp:
Virginia Introduces $3550 Speeding Ticket
"Driving as little as 15 MPH over the limit on an interstate highway now brings six license demerit points, a fine of up to $2500, up to one year in jail, and a new mandatory $1050 tax. The 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). The conviction in this example remains on the record for five years.
"Other six-point convictions include "failing to give a proper signal," "passing a school bus" or "driving with an obstructed view." The same $1050 assessment applies, but the conviction remains on the record for eleven years.
"Although the amount of the tax can add up quickly, the law forbids judges from reducing or suspending it in any way."
[Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Texas all figured out it was silly to exempt out-of-state drivers from paying:]
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/03/362.asp
Driver Responsibility Programs Mean Steady Revenue for States
Four states turn minor and major driving offenses into billions in additional revenue.
"Michigan's program forces drivers who accumulate a certain point total to pay an extra $100-500 annual fee to maintain their license on top of any tickets and court fees already paid. For certain offenses such as DUI, the annual fee is $1000. In New York state, where the governor wants to introduce speed cameras, the extra payment kicks in if you are caught twice driving just 1 mile per hour over the speed limit.
"In most cases, failure to pay the yearly assessment on time results in license suspension. Re-instating a license in Michigan, for example, will cost another $125.
"Driver Responsibility programs mean big money for the states who have tried them. By 2006, Texas expects to earn $300 million from its program. New Jersey, which has assessed the extra fees since 1994, has generated over $1 billion in profit. More than half of the offenses charged were paperwork related, a third were related to driving offenses and just 12 percent were DUI-related. Florida considered creating a driver responsibility program after realizing that, in 2003, more than one out of every four drivers in the state (614,879) had 6 or more points on their license. Illinois, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island have also considered beginning their own programs."
[I'm sure other states will find this revenue source difficult to resist.]
(Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
vvalkyri for the original link.)
New traffic ‘civil remedial fees’ will wallop the wallets of traffic offenders"
"The civil fees will be on top of traffic fines courts impose, and are part of the new financial package to help fund Virginia's beleaguered highway department."
"Instead of direct taxes to fund transportation, some are calling the civil penalties “hidden fees.” They range from $250 to $3,000, depending on the traffic violation, and will be assessed on a variety of misdemeanor traffic violations including being a passenger in a hit and run or the failure to give a proper signal."
"Many of the civil fees do address alcohol as was the intent of the “Dangerous Driver Law” when it originated, but the fees also may be accessed for such daily traffic violations as rolling through a stop sign (a fee of $300), or impeding traffic--a charge that's possible when stopping in front of your mailbox to get the mail. The civil fee alone for a conviction on the latter is $300.
"Play an R or X rated movie on the van DVD player and if it is seen by someone in another vehicle, a driver can be charged and fined with having an obscene video image seen from outside the car. The civil fee is $300.
"The new law takes effect July 1."
"Those who have driving points on their record also will be assessed an additional $175 per point in civil fees for their previous record up to $700 if convicted of a new violation."
[The bit I find remarkable is this:]
"Drivers from out of state will not be penalized by the civil system of fees because “the state can not go beyond its borders to collect the (civil) fees,” said Moore. “These fees are for Virginia residents and those with a permit listing a Virginia address.”"
From http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/18/1818.asp:
Virginia Introduces $3550 Speeding Ticket
"Driving as little as 15 MPH over the limit on an interstate highway now brings six license demerit points, a fine of up to $2500, up to one year in jail, and a new mandatory $1050 tax. The 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). The conviction in this example remains on the record for five years.
"Other six-point convictions include "failing to give a proper signal," "passing a school bus" or "driving with an obstructed view." The same $1050 assessment applies, but the conviction remains on the record for eleven years.
"Although the amount of the tax can add up quickly, the law forbids judges from reducing or suspending it in any way."
[Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Texas all figured out it was silly to exempt out-of-state drivers from paying:]
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/03/362.asp
Driver Responsibility Programs Mean Steady Revenue for States
Four states turn minor and major driving offenses into billions in additional revenue.
"Michigan's program forces drivers who accumulate a certain point total to pay an extra $100-500 annual fee to maintain their license on top of any tickets and court fees already paid. For certain offenses such as DUI, the annual fee is $1000. In New York state, where the governor wants to introduce speed cameras, the extra payment kicks in if you are caught twice driving just 1 mile per hour over the speed limit.
"In most cases, failure to pay the yearly assessment on time results in license suspension. Re-instating a license in Michigan, for example, will cost another $125.
"Driver Responsibility programs mean big money for the states who have tried them. By 2006, Texas expects to earn $300 million from its program. New Jersey, which has assessed the extra fees since 1994, has generated over $1 billion in profit. More than half of the offenses charged were paperwork related, a third were related to driving offenses and just 12 percent were DUI-related. Florida considered creating a driver responsibility program after realizing that, in 2003, more than one out of every four drivers in the state (614,879) had 6 or more points on their license. Illinois, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island have also considered beginning their own programs."
[I'm sure other states will find this revenue source difficult to resist.]
(Thanks to
vvalkyri for the original link.)![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-23 12:02 am (UTC)Except the deer. I don't think anyone's feeding the deer, but on the other hand, no one's shooting them either, and they HAVE NO FEAR. One of them stood there in the middle of Curry Village with people walking around on either side, eating leaves in an island between pathways like we didn't exist. It was about three feet away from me at one point.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-23 12:38 am (UTC)That's the thinking in Singapore, sure:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,2763,824569,00.html
"the tiny south-east Asian island republic that is home to four million people has developed such a reputation over the past 30 years for penalising the smallest offences that it is known to many tourists as "Singapore: the fine city".
"One of the most popular souvenirs is a T-shirt with the above slogan on the front and pictures of the offences and penalties on the back.
"These include: selling or importing chewing gum S$1,000 (£370), dropping gum or litter S$1,000, dancing in public S$5,000, skateboarding S$500, smoking in most public places S$1,000, hawking without a licence S$500, vandalism S$5,000 and public speaking without a permit S$2,000.
"Jaywalking, indecent exposure and "unnatural sex" also risk punishment under the Public Environment Health Act.
"Many of these penalties are for first offences, unless it is very minor when the miscreant might escape with a warning."
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-23 01:27 am (UTC)The new fines seem colossally excessive, especially given how spotty enforcement can be. It does seem likely to arbitrarily ruin lives.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-23 04:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-23 01:02 am (UTC)I mean, if I'm facing a $3550 fine for speeding, it's certainly worth my spending $500 on legal fees to defend myself. (For comparison, I've never so far spent more than $50 on a lawyer in a traffic matter, and my record of having offenses reduced so that they wouldn't show up with points is almost perfect since I started contesting every ticket.)
The second article suggests that the new law may be useful to traffic lawyers.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-23 12:55 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-23 01:02 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-23 01:38 am (UTC)The Dems are so proud they got a transportation bill through, but harsh fines penalizing those least able (which essentially replace our sensibly progressive car tax the Republicans did away with) will make enemies *everywhere* if they're meted out like that.
Some retard will make the argument that this, like hyper expensive gas, is good because it discourages driving. The trouble is that you could make three multi thousand dollar mistakes in A DAY and you can't plan for them. Expensive gas is something you budget.
My stupid stupid state. And OBTW, my daughters will never have drivers licenses. Ever.