Deaths Up In Virginia, Despite Abusive-Driver Fees
posted 1:43 pm Mon December 31, 2007 -
In 2007, Virginia surpassed 1,000 traffic fatalities for the first time since 1990.
The abusive-driver fees were intended to target drivers convicted of such serious offenses as reckless driving and drunken driving, but they also apply to many lesser offenses. They were passed by the General Assembly primarily to raise money for transportation, but proponents also said the steep fees would deter bad driving.
Incoming state Sen. J. Chapman "Chap" Petersen, D-Fairfax, said the increased death toll "just underscores the fact that this legislation did not make our highways more safe, which, as I recall, was one of the primary reasons ... articulated for the abuser fees."
House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said it can take up to 18 months for a new law to demonstrate deterrent effects.
"Even with all the press the abuser fees have gotten, it takes time for people to really feel and realize" what the new penalties are, Griffith said.
Gordon Hickey, a spokesman for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, said it's too early to draw conclusions on the effects of the fees. "It's only six months of data," he said. "It's worthwhile data, but it's not definitive."
Kaine strongly defended the fees this summer but has since said they "should at least be changed, maybe eliminated."
Opponents of the fees said they were not surprised at the apparent lack of impact on road deaths.
"There's some questionable issues about whether it's even really addressing any dangerous activity," said Corinne J. Magee, a McLean lawyer who has argued that the fees are unconstitutional.
"A lot of these fees go to things that really have nothing to do with dangerousness. Operating a motor vehicle without a valid operator's license has nothing to do with dangerous driving behavior. If my license has expired and I forgot to renew it, that doesn't mean I'm a bad driver."
Information from: The Washington Post
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