Virginia Lawmakers Repeal Abusive Driver Fees
posted 10:03 pm Mon March 10, 2008 - RICHMOND, Va.
The legislation repeals fees for speeding more than 20 miles per hour, over the limit. The law, was enacted last year, was designed to improve safety on Virginia highways and raise revenue by fining reckless drivers $750 to $3,000 a ticket.
When Virginians discovered last spring that nonresidents were not subject to the "civil remedial fees" that were generally $1,000 each and up, they were outraged.
"It's just difficult to go, this is illegal for you but it's not illegal for you," said John Dunlevy, "It is what it is, either you are speeding or you're not."
Joseph Saldana is excited about the repeal, "[The law] was pretty ridculous in general, especially because it was targeted just to residents in the area. It doesn't really seem like an equal application of the law to me." Despite backlash to the law, the legislation's original sponsors still support it, while others say they'll have to find some source of revenue to pay for construction to ease Northern Virginia's desperately congested roads.
The problem now is figuring out how to refund the money to those people who paid in fines while the fees were still on the books.
Latest Comment on Virginia Lawmakers Repeal Abusive Driver Fees
neely
8:00 am on 03/11/08
Maybe if people stopped driving like maniacs (you know who you are!) then lawmakers wouldn't feel like they have to do something to curb it. Seems like one shouldn't be too upset by this if said driver were responsible on the roads. Having said that, the punishments were a bit steep for the crime. Just my humble opinion.
Not a member yet? Click Here to sign up.
Please leave your comments below:
Messages that harass, abuse or threaten other members; have obscene or otherwise objectionable content; have spam, commercial or
advertising content or inappropriate links may be removed and may result in the loss of your posting privileges.
Please do not post any private information unless you want it to be available publicly.
Never assume that you are completely anonymous and cannot be identified by your posts.
© 2008 WJLA-TV
© 2008 The Associated Press
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The 'RUNNING MAN' icon is a registered trademark of America Online, Inc.
ABC 7 News to leave comments on news stories.