Scary to get a ticket in Virginia

Bastards! All I have to say is check out www.beatmyspeedingticket.com

 

I guess VA figured out how well their rape and pilage civil fee was working attached to other more serious traffic related offences. Why not attach it to summary offences too! Heck that's how I ended up with my '04! I bought it from a guy who posted up here and had to have a bit of a clearing house due to the VA Civil fee attached to then only certain violations. Back then it was the ones that were prefixed by "wreckless or careless"! One question will the fee be applied to all operators who are cited or just VA operators who are cited?

 

Well, the statute wasn't passed by plebiscite; but it was passed in the general assembly, elected by the people. Historically, the Virginia legislature is known for more forward thinking than this bit of disconnected nonsense.
I guess we should hold them to a higher standard in future.
I can only wonder what fmr Gov. Patrick Henry would've said!

 

The astronomical fines are bad enough but how would you like to be a Virginia resident and pay that crazy annual point tax, it's almost like a monthly motorcycle payment depending on your offense

 

As much as I agree that $3500 for a ticket is insane, running from the police is even more insane. I'm a police officer (not in VA), I usually don't post that information because of the reception LEO'S sometime receive but its irresponsible to endanger yourself, the officer and every other citizen on the road over a speeding ticket. Keep in mind, this is for violations for 20 mph and above over the limit. You know when you're exceeding the limit by that much (and we all have done it) but if you are aware of the law and you make the choice to drive 80 in a 60 zone then suffer the consequences of you choice responsibly. Keep in mind in most states its a felony to flee police in or on a motor vehicle. That means atleast a year in prison. I won't give up a year with my kids for $3500, much less risk my life or others for the price of a ticket. I've saw guy's die, others loose limbs and some kill innocent persons and spend a good portion of their life in prison over a $110 speeding ticket. It's crazy. I agree this law and fines are crazy but it doesn't warrant lawlessness. Handle it the right way, vote out the idiots that introduced it and passed it into law.

Again, this law apparently applies only to those drivers doing 20+ mph over. You're gonna know when you're going that much over. The problem with our society today is too many people fail to accept responsibility for their actions and want to blame someone else or pay a high price lawyer to find a technical loophole to let them walk away with no consequences to pay for their actions. It seems at some point in time , dad's quit having that " you made the choice son, now deal with the punishment" speech.

I'll get off my soapbox now.:blah:

 

You know, I hate when cops get all preachy about the "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time" speech. I've been driving for over 12 years and I speed just about every day. And the speeding isn't just a little over, it's more like 20 or more over. Guess how many accidents I've been in? One and I wasn't even IN the car! My car was parked and a guy backed into it. That was it!

Yes, I'm going to use legal loopholes because I'm not endangering anyone. One time I got a speeding ticket at 2 in the morning on a country road in the middle of nowhere and I was the only car on the road for over 20 miles! Who am I endangering? And the cop who pulled me over gave me a little speech about going too fast and how people like me are a danger to the roads. Gimme a break! He got his when I went to court and I got my case thrown out. He he!

One way to think about this is the smart ones who figure out legal loopholes generally are smart speeders. They're not going 100 mph in school zones, you know? As for the dumbasses who feel like it's a great idea to scream down streets where kids play they just don't have the smarts anyway to find the legal loopholes.

 

Thanks for proving my point about not accepting responsibility for your actions and choices!

 

HOLY CRAP!!!! $3500 for speeding??

I don't quite understand why a misdemenor fine can carry such a heavy fine for a first time offender. What has caused this anyways? I know there is a lot of speeding in most states and those who speed recklessly should be punished and more for the repeat offenders.

Back in the 80's, I did lose my license from too many speeding tickets and I had to foot it for a year. Getting my license back, I had to get insurance uder the SR-22 form for 3 years. Those insurance rates were outrageously high. Since then I have learn a lesson.

If Virgina uses that speeding tax as a way to generate revenue, then something is seriously wrong with that state. People will be over crowding the court systems trying to get a reduction of the fine/tax so they wont have to take a third mortgage out on their home to pay it. I also see a lot more fleeing from the law because of this.

What is really appauling about this, is the U.S. is about ready to get hammer with a economic recession if things don't change soon. I wonder how long this tax will last before the people (voters) had enough of it?

 

Ah yes, SPEEDING! Of all criminal acts that one can commit, the most vile, cowardly, vicious, and just plain naughty. If it wasn't for the revenue collected, by the government entities and the insurance companies after the fact, we might actually have to focus our attention on all the low-performance drivers that seem to proliferate on a daily basis.

Sing along with me; "Somewhere, over the rainbow..."

Sorry. I feel better now.

 

Let me start by reminding everyone that I think the fines discussed here are excessive, but I have something to say about the general feeling here of the officers who enforce these laws, and not the people who actually create the laws.

As a police officer, I don't expect most of you to understand why we enforce laws like speeding, which seem silly and useless to you. I don't expect you to understand what it's like to see the twisted metal, the dead bodies and the crying mothers when we have to notify them their child died in a car accident, and the cause of the accident was speed. It happens, and it happens far more than it should.

I know your answer... "Well those are the people that the law should be enforced upon, not me. Even though I drive 20 miles an hour over the limit, I do it safely." Obviously we can't pick and choose who we enforce the law upon; my radar does not have a teenager setting on it. And regardless how safe you think you are driving, and how lucky you may have been all these years, you don't know what will happen tomorrow.

Laws are there to protect us, sometimes from ourselves. It's our job to enforce those for your safety and the safety of the people around you. My job is no different than yours, I have a boss and a book, and they tell me what to do. The only difference is I don't follow you to your job and complain to your boss, the papers, and everyone I meet when I think you made a wrong decision.

It's times like this that remind me why I don't post much and just quietly lurk.

For those who think it's their right to speed, man up and accept your fine when you break the law. For those who do their best to obey the laws, I thank you.

And, for those that feel the need to flame me, go ahead, you can’t hurt my feel bads.

 

for a very serious post, I didn't expect that ending. I re-read it a couple times, then chucled....that's funny. :biggrin:

Thanks for the post lawman.

 

I'm not a total Richard Cranium. I was just trying to make a point, and MAYBE, just maybe make a few people stop and think.

 

You made a good point and I agree with you. Just remember, just because a person or two on this forum makes a harsh statement/opinion, doesn't mean we all think that way. Of course there are a few bad cops, but they are more bad people around with mostly good cops. You should post more often and give us tips on where you and your buddies have speedtraps so we can avoid them...hahaha!

Also, you only enforce the laws, you don't make them....this post is one reason that I will never live in the state of Virginia!

 

On that same note, VFRstar, understand that my gripe truly is with the low-performance drivers, not law enforcement. Low-performance drivers, from my perspective, include those that choose to speed in unsafe conditions, those who operate a vehicle beyond their capacity to control, those that obstruct traffic, and those who use drugs of any kind before they drive.

Poor drivers, motorcyclists included, should be the focal point in an effort to make a bad situation better (collisions, injuries, death, etc.). If an individual is exceeding the posted speed limit posing no threat to anybody but themselves, it just doesn’t seem to be much of an issue to me. The excessive fines are ridiculous, and are certainly not commensurate with the crime.

When I willingly violate a statute (that NONE of us ever voted on), I recognize and accept that there are law enforcement personnel who have their job to do. I can only hope that they are elsewhere, busily pulling over somebody in a large SUV who was talking on a cell phone, crossing over the double line, and going 15MPH under the posted speed limit.

On the other hand, I do realize that if I was part of the clean-up crew, I might not be of the same opinion. So I guess we’re all in the same boat, more or less. Never an easy answer…

 

That's basically my thoughts on speeding too. You know how Allstate has the accident-free reward system for their auto insurance system? It would be awesome if there was something like that for speed limits and licenses. With my accident-free 12 years of driving I should be entitled to going as fast as I reasonably can. Can you believe I've never filed an insurance claim ever?

That would make things much more fair. I shouldn't have to crawl the road just because I gotta share the same speed limit as grandmas in caddies who don't even know what day it is.

With this accident reward system you could have a system where for every year you are not in an accident you can legally go 10 MPH over the posted speed limit with a limit at 40 mph over. Even I'm not that crazy to go 40 over in a residential neighborhood.

But that'll never happen and I can only dream. The big problem is that it would cost a lot of money to implement that system and it's just simpler and cheaper to just use a one-size-fits-all approach.

 

My Dad told me a long time ago "never Drive through Virginia" :wink: (we traveled a lot).
Never do anything that you can't fix yourself.
That 2nd part being said, I've always taken to heart that I'm responsible for my actions.
So YES I do speed, I am careful, & if I get caught it's my fault.

Remember be it a cage or bike, it's a privilege, not a right to drive on public roads.

I to know how to work the loopholes & will do my damndest to get out of something I'm caught for(& usually do as growing up in SoCal has taught me well :biggrin: ), but if I don't get out of it, I understand I put myself in that position, not the guy or gal that says sign here .

If you want to bitch, don't bitch @ the officer, he's just doing his/her job & if you have a good attitude may even catch a break.
To bitch, contact your legislatures & vote, things don't change from saying it's just me there not going to Liston or change.
Well if 100 to 10,000, or more "it's just Me's" do something, guess what!


Oh & nothing is going to stop me from flying @ VIR when I'm there for R2SL, everywhere else there is someone else can drive not me !:wink: .

 

Im totally up for this points gig.
In RI if it has been more than three years since your last offense, you can get out of the ticket. You just cant use the "get out of jail free" card for another three years.
That is a great policy, cause lets face it, we all speed at one time or another, but if you arent a goof, chances are good you will only get caught once in a long while, and it is nice to get out of it if you are mostly a safe person.
When I DO go too fast on the bike, I am far more afraid of a cop trying to pull me over than I am of crashing or anything else. I have a lot to lose if I get the cuffs... scary.

That being said, I have also had an officer just come up beside me and give me the "slow down" hand. That guy was awesome. If I was a cop, I would do that. That simple show of respect, be it a reprimand, made me ACTUALLY slow down, not just get pissed and take off again as soon as he was gone.
Im glad the police are out there, I just wish they would pull over the 10 million morons instead of me! (hah i know thats impossible!!!)

Here is another idea. What if we could accumulate good driver points. I know someone can call in and report you and you can get in trouble, what if you could also get calls if you let someone go, or if you weren't being a douche and traveling in the passing lane? Then when you get pulled over, you could choose to use your points (back to zero) or get the ticket (if it isnt too bad). And if you had zero points already (or negative) you would have to take the ticket.

I think that would be awesome.

 

As Lgn001 said about those " low performance drivers", we call them "squids", and they give all of us motorcyclists a bad rap when it comes to law enforcement. Common Sense seems to go out the door when some of these people want to look cool pullin a 10 o'clock wheelie down main st at noon or blaze saddles down a residential street where kids play. Theres a time and place for everything. I think the " Dive Bomber" hit it on the head, use it, thats what its there for.