Posted on 08/12/2007 4:30:08 PM PDT by RDTF
The labor pains were coming, so Jessica Hodges got going. The 26-year-old bank teller from Burke sped toward Inova Fairfax Hospital, but before she got there, the law got her -- 57 mph in a 35 zone. Reckless driving.
Hodges's labor pains subsided -- they turned out to be a false alarm -- but the agony from her ticket is mounting. She was found guilty of the July 3 offense and given a $1,050 civil fee on top of a judge-imposed $100 fine and court costs, making her one of the first to be hit with Virginia's new "abusive driver fees," which have been greeted by widespread public outrage.
-snip-
Anger and exasperation have been common sentiments recently in Fairfax General District Court, where fee-facing drivers such as Hodges have started to join the daily swarm of traffic offenders. After waiting hours to give their side of the story to judges -- several of whom seemed just as annoyed with the fees as defendants -- many nevertheless left owing enormous sums that they said would be difficult to pay.
-snip-
The fees, which range from $750 to $3,000, were passed by the General Assembly in the spring as part of a package aimed at funding scores of transportation projects. Backers said the fees would both raise money and improve highway safety by targeting the state's worst drivers -- those guilty of severe traffic offenses such as DUI, reckless driving and driving on a suspended license.
But the fees have since been vilified by an angry public (more than 170,000 people have signed an online petition to repeal them), denounced by lawmakers who once supported them and ruled unconstitutional by judges in two localities who said they violate equal protection rights guaranteed under the 14th Amendment.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Hasn’t anyone in Virginia ever heard of prosecutorial discretion? This is meant to help fix roads, not promote abortion.
Fellow Virginian’s, welcome to Tim Kaines world. Thanks alot, liberals. Hope you get a chance to pay your portion.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Again, this is the first I’ve heard that we all get to evaluate the speed limit and decide if it’s appropriate or not.
Nevertheless, 57 mph in a 35 mph zone seems like a problem even if it’s “not important” (in your view, at least) to drive 35 there. Plus, what else was the driver doing to indicate that she was speeding because of a perceived medical emergency? Was she using her hazards? Flashing her lights? Or was she just zipping along without alerting any unsuspecting drivers who were, well, expecting the traffic to be around 35 mph?
Thanks, Jose’.
BTW, this woman wasn’t in “active labor” either. Her little visit to Inova quickly turned out to be a false alarm.
Hmm.
Politicians ARE above the law.
Does anyone who’s ever been to traffic court honestly believe that if this woman had been in labor, or had ended up having some sort of medical emergency, that she would not have walked away from court-—or, more likely, that little conference with the prosecutor out in the hallway-—with something less than this ticket and fine?
Please. She was pregnant and got picked up speeding somewhere in the vicinity of the hospital. End of story.
Now we’ll be hearing the “it’s a woman thing,” except . . . oh, never mind.
I have a lawyer friend who told me "Speed limits are only suggestions".
A couple of days later she called me from her car phone in a fury. A police car chased her right into her parking space at her condo, and the guy wrote her up right in front of her neighbors.
heheh
I glad I’m not a resident of VA., I understand non-residents are not subject to the new penalties. I guess it is a residence fine. Wow.
Taxes bear no relation to ANY offense.
ALL fines become state revenue, whatever the reason they are assessed. Do you honestly believe that speeding tickets were not a source of state revenue BEFORE these new fines were enacted?
Further, you are quite wrong that these fines bear “NO relation to the nature of the offense.” A fine is a fine is a fine. You are simple disputing the reasonableness of the amount of the fine. Okay, knock yourself out. But if it’s reasonable to get fined $5.00 for speeding, there’s no way to say it’s not reasonable to get fined $500.00 for speeding.
The point of the fine is to (1) deter the conduct, and (2) make people who remain undeterred PAY.
That is accomplished here.
Moreover, traffic violations COST taxpayers millions and millions and millions of dollars-—flat out money, not just the human cost. Emergency services, lost revenue when roads are shut down, medical expenses, litigation expenses and awards and judicial time, re-engineering trouble spots, safety measures (signage, lights, rumble strips, reflectors, shoulders, drainage) . . . the list goes on.
One ding-dong driving crazy needlessly causes an accident that shuts down one lane of I-95 at the afternoon rush hour and that automatically costs you and me WAY more than any one of these fines even begins to recoup.
Every time a rescue vehicle pulls out of the station and responds to the scene of an accident it’s upwards of $25,000 (according to my firefighter friend). Yep, you saw those zeroes correctly!
So in my view it’s smart, not dumb, to make those causing the problems first to pony up.
Good. She deserved it.
With a legal mind like that one, that’s one incompetent “officer of the court.”
So you’re glad you’re not a resident of VA.
Hmm. It sounds like you know you drive stupid and are set on driving stupid.
Otherwise, why would you be concerned about fines for driving stupid?
This is being corrected little by little in primaries and through infirmity and old age. Sometimes, even, one of these guys dies and things move even faster.
The Governor is a fascist though ~ he loves this stuff and traded away all sorts of things to the RINOs to get this law into place.
Do you live in Virginia? You are continually posting excuses for these outrageous fines. No one is arguing that traffic laws are to be obeyed and there should be a consequence if not. These fines are ridiculously high and only effect the people that are the taxpayer and voter residents.
And how do you know with pure certainty that the woman didn’t actually think she was in labor?
Could you explain to me how this law is an example of “fascism”?
Some here have said this law is bad because it, basically, is a stealth tax-—albeit one that does not apply to everyone, only to those who engage in illegal conduct.
Let’s stipulate that the state is going to raise money for transportation projects (or whatever). Would you agree with those who say it would have been better to raise taxes on everybody than raise fines on violators?
She had some pains and was well within her 9th, maybe even 10th month.
We were in bumper to bumper traffic inching North away from the Pentagon toward the entrances to Memorial Bridge and no one would let me in.
It was rush hour.
A NPS patrolman on horseback waved us over and wrote a ticket. I told him my wife was pregnant, having pains and could he open the traffic lanes so we could get through to get to GW.
Unbelievably he did so. He didn't take back the ticket.
Our eldest was born the next day ~ after an enormous amount of walking around the hospital ~ hour after hour after endless hour ~
I finally got a chance to call the NPS headquarters where there top guy just happened to be waiting for me. He said the ticket was canceled, and then he asked "How is the baby".
Yes, he thought about it a bit ~ and he was right to do so because if there'd been anything wrong with the baby who knows what I would have done.
Carl Rowen and William Raspberry used to call the "reaction" a "white riot". Fur Shur, knowing federal regulations and procedures the way I do that NPS guy'd still be living a live of regulatory hell ~
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.