Posted on 07/16/2007 5:52:36 PM PDT by MosesKnows
July 14, 2007
By Seth McLaughlin
The first paragraph
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has no plans to call a special General Assembly session to consider repealing new fees against bad drivers, despite public outrage, a potential lawsuit and a lawmaker's demand that he do so.
The last paragraph
The governor's office estimated the new law would affect only about 2 percent of Virginians.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
The other way to look at this is that the good people of Virginia have the Government the elected and, presumably, the Government they want. After all, Kaine has never minced much about his political ideology.
Wow. A Democrat Governor deciding to flip the bird at the citizens in the face of getting more money to spend. Who’d believe it? This state is feeling more and more like Massachusetts.
They’re penalizing crappy drivers by hitting them where it hurts - the wallet.
I must be missing something here. From what little I’ve gleened we need to do this in Texas too.
isn’t that what due process and fines are for? If the state has identified someone as this bad a driver, and my family member is injured, I’m going to wonder why the state didn’t get him off the road.
That's most likely a phony number since if a son/daughter, husband/wife, etc. get some huge $3000 fine, it WILL affect those around them.
Ummm...because their driving sucks?
Is this really a tax, or a fine? I mean, honestly, do you think it's a tax when you get a ticket? If we could just lower everyone income tax rates and make the whole thing revenue neutral, this scheme would be perfect.
Crappy drivers can either give up their cars and ride the Metro, or else pay the price for repeatedly endangering everyone on the road. It's their choice whether they want to pay -- they can stop driving any time they want.
What some of you are missing is that the many dangerous drivers who are from out-of-state are exempt from the “abuser fees.” Similarly, “undocumented residents” (also known as illegal immigrants) are also exempt.
Thanks. Give me a moment while I act surprised.
Yes, but these fines are applied only to Virginia citizens... You live in Maryland and want to go 90 through I-81: you'll get picked up for speeding and a $200-300 fine. If you're a Virginian, the cop has the lattitude to make it $3,000. Now maybe you think that's fine... You can also get one of the egregious fines for failing to use your turn-signal... but only if you're a resident. People from Maryland, DC, WVA need not worry.
Governor Kaine must feel that this will pass long before he needs to find another job in the state, so he can ignore it, because it will only impact perhaps 2% of the population, but this kind of selective taxation really is just another galling practice emerging from liberal legislators (whether Democrat or Republican).
You're missing a whole heck of a lot.
You've got a Texas drivers license, you can be as crappy a driver as you wish on Virginia roads and these fines will not apply to you.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I should never have bothered going through all the hassle to transfer my Delawae DL to a Virginia DL.
"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
The big fuss is about that the new fines are only applicable against Virginia drivers. They don’t apply to out of state drivers. Kaine line item vetoed all references to out of state drivers, from what I have been told.
There are lots of illegals in Northern Virginia, and they are some of the most dangerous drivers around.
Making the new fees (Note, not fines - fees) applicable to all would hurt tourism. Mustnt do that. Major campaign contributors wouldnt like it.
I'm considering buying property in West Virginia & claiming it as my primary residence.
but would you have had problems with not switching to VA plates and don’t your plates have to match the license? i know the cops were always on the lookout for people trying to avoid VA plates etc. bc of the personal property tax.
Can’t the guv do the math? “Only 2%” is a huge number of people.
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