Virginia's new $3,550 speeding ticket

[jonnythan]

I Know it won't.

It might "reform" one or two broke people. The vast majority.... No.

If you haven't had the pleasure, take a trip up I-81, north or south. I would like you to kindly notice that you are going 80 out of self preservation, (last I checked limit was still 65, and since i'm presumably riding to maryland next week, i'll make a point to look again.) and still being passed with alarming regularity.

May I also suggest I-95. Same experience. Even more traffic.


I think speeders are going to speed, whether you charge them 3500 a ticket. 7 grand a ticket, give them ana probes with rusty pliers per ticket, or take their car away from them with every ticket. A person may be a logical, peaceful, law abiding citizen normally. Unfortunately a lot of the time, if you put them behind the wheel of 3000lb's of metal capable of going 130 mph, they become 12 years old. If they want to make speeding stop, they need to put speed limiting devices on the machines themselves.

You can legislate, and charge people money, and threaten, and harass, and generally aggravate the living hell out of people, and they Won't Stop doing what they want to do. Don't believe me? Look at new orleans. Or anyone that lives in a flood plain. farmers in the midwest in tornado land, Californians with earthquakes, drugs, the 60's, prohibition, hell look at the middle east.

I'm from New Orleans, so be careful what you say.

In any case, nothing whatsoever has anything to do with the topic at hand. It's not even worth addressing any of it.

[scan]

I think I get his point though, possible insults aside. People do what they do with or without warnings. And although speeding down the highway at 20 over is not the same as living on a cliff on the California coast, both are measured risks. As is living in a city below sea level near a gulf where hurricanes are known to strike. You decide the place you want to live is gorgeous, or the weather is fantastic, or the view is great, or maybe even your family has always lived there, and last but not least, maybe you don't have the means to move. Still the threat being so great and the years of warnings did not move the smartest of people, or even those with money to live anywhere they want. So warnings do little to deter behavior, most of the time. Even when the warning is loss of everything you own.

For example, if you feel the law is overly protective of others, and yourself, and feel you can easily operate your vehicle safely at a higher speed, and you feel the road is engineered for a speed that is well over the posted limit, you might decide to take the risk and assume you won't get caught. Many, many people seem to take that opinion. You can't fight the law, realistically, so they figure the odds are in their favor they won't get caught. After all, as mentioned above, there are more people speeding than obeying the law, so all it takes is a little extra push and you are now in excess of 20 MPH over the posted speed.

I know I do exceed the posted speed to what is safe for keeping me in a safety-zone. That means sometimes getting in front of a group of faster moving cars, it means sometimes going way slower than a group to not get boxed in, and it sometimes means getting off the road for a few to keep away for a group of dangerous drivers. But if I get a ticket, I pay it and I don't belly ache.

I personally would think twice or more in VA though now. But I just think of how many people would not even be aware until they got the ticket that it was so excessive. That is part of what I think is uncool. For repeat offenders, it might make sense to turn up the cost, but 20 over sounds like a lot more than it really is on freeways I've been on, and if they nail 10 people a day for a month they collect over a million dollars. Quite the enterprise they have going there I think. It sounds a little crooked to me.

And then this is where someone says, "well it is the law, and they broke the law - if they weren't speeding, they wouldn't have that problem.". Yeah, I hear that, but just because a law exists, doesn't make it right. And fighting these laws is impossible. I hope they truely do only dole this one out for the most extreme cases.

[matthew5656]

And then this is where someone says, "well it is the law, and they broke the law - if they weren't speeding, they wouldn't have that problem.". Yeah, I hear that, but just because a law exists, doesn't make it right. And fighting these laws is impossible.

You are exactly right! Listening to people repeatedly give in to the law of our land really makes me sick sometimes. Just because something is passed into law does not make it right or legitimately correct by any means.

I don't understand why these fines are enforced upon a speeding ticket. I would think a reckless or careless driving violation would have much greater reason to accrue such outrageous fines. Of course many cases of reckless driving is due to speeding, but there are plenty of people who speed safely on the highways. "Safely" is a loose term because 75 mph could be very dangerous. But when you think about it, the rate of 55 mph could be just as hazardous! I don't think it depends on the driver's desired speed, but instead the way they are driving.

And whoever mentioned the idea of limiting a car's capability of high speeds brought a terrible idea. Whether driving a car or riding a bike, we can avoid hazardous situations by increasing our speed more often than one would think.

[matthew5656]

[Nibblet99]

If they really felt that driving at those speeds was such a danger to incur those kinds of tickets, what they would actually do is rip your driving license up on the spot, and tighten up the laws on unlicensed drivers caught behind the wheel.

Fining that amount of money is just stupid, as to some people, $3000 is nothing, to others its everything.


Whereas having your license removed, and the threat of jail time for driving without a license affects all equally

[scan]

If they really felt that driving at those speeds was such a danger to incur those kinds of tickets, what they would actually do is rip your driving license up on the spot, and tighten up the laws on unlicensed drivers caught behind the wheel.

Fining that amount of money is just stupid, as to some people, $3000 is nothing, to others its everything.


Whereas having your license removed, and the threat of jail time for driving without a license affects all equally

AMEN! That is exactly the best point of all.

[jonnythan]

Whereas having your license removed, and the threat of jail time for driving without a license affects all equally

The threat of jail might (to some degree), but having your license removed won't affect the person to whom $3000 is nothing.

$3000 will buy a lot of chauffeured rides.

[scan]

Whereas having your license removed, and the threat of jail time for driving without a license affects all equally

The threat of jail might (to some degree), but having your license removed won't affect the person to whom $3000 is nothing.

$3000 will buy a lot of chauffeured rides.

I know why you think that, but I think it is incorrect. If you want to drive yourself, having someone drive you is no substitute. Losing your right to drive and/or jail time is stronger stuff and sends the message that we don't want them to drive. If they get a chauffer, then we all are safer anyway. I agree the fine does not send the message of fixing the problem, only collecting money. Some yoyos in legislature figured no one would fight it since who wants to defend the scoflaws breaking the law. In the end it is simply easy money, and is not legit.

[Skel3tor1]

One twist that has Virginia drivers enraged is that the state can't charge fees on out-of-state drivers or revoke their licenses. For now, the fees apply only to residents.

I don't know why everyone is so bent out of shape about this. The only people who should be pitching a fit is the VA residents themselves.

[matthew5656]

One twist that has Virginia drivers enraged is that the state can't charge fees on out-of-state drivers or revoke their licenses. For now, the fees apply only to residents.

I don't know why everyone is so bent out of shape about this. The only people who should be pitching a fit is the VA residents themselves.

What if other state governments decide to adopt such expensive penalties for speeding violations? I think anyone from any location should put a word in for a law as stupid and unfair as this..