Mr. Cole:
I think the Washington Post may have misled you on the application of the
so-called "abuser fees." I spoke at length with the reporter who wrote the
Post story to give him the facts, and he chose not only to ignore what I
told him, but he wrote a story that had was long on hype and short on facts.
I have attached an article I wrote on the subject this week that may help to
clarify the facts. There is additional information available on my web site
at: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.tomrust.org/press.room.php">http://www.tomrust.org/press.room.php</a><!-- m -->.
Also, please allow me to provide a couple notes specific to the concerns you
raised in your e-mail that are not addressed in my article:
1. Generally drivers are not cited if they honestly forget their driver's
license, unless the arresting officer cannot discern the driver's true
identity to his or her satisfaction. The true intent of the driving without
a license ordinance is to apply to those individuals who truly do not have a
valid driver's license. It mostly applies to illegal aliens. Most judges
will dismiss the case or reduce the conviction if you can produce a driver's
license in court. If you do happen to get a conviction under this section,
the abuser fee would be the least of your worries since a conviction is a
Class 2 criminal misdemeanor with the possibility of jail time.
2. You are correct that failure to signal is technically reckless driving.
It is one of the quirks of the law in Virginia. However, I have been unable
to find any case where a driver was convicted of reckless driving for simply
forgetting to signal. Generally, there are other violations involved or the
violation resulted in an accident. This may be a section of Code that we
revisit next year to ensure that people are not obtaining reckless driving
convictions if that truly is their only offense. Reckless driving is a
Class 1 criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail, a $2,500
fine, and license suspension. Again, for most people the punishment for the
offense is more of a concern than the abuser fee.
I hope you will read the attached article. I just want to emphasize that
the fees will NOT apply to minor traffic infractions, unless you happen to
get a whole bunch of them in a very short time. This law is intended to go
after those who commit misdemeanor and felony crimes on our roadways or who
are habitual offenders. This is not intended to apply to regular drivers
who have the misfortune of getting a ticket or two for speeding.
I hope this information helps. If you are still concerned and want to
discuss the issue with me further, I am happy to take your call personally.
My business office is (703) 449-6700.
Thank you for taking the time to contact me about this issue.
Sincerely,
Thomas Davis Rust
I'm formulating a response along the lines of not needing laws that aren't enforced, or not consistantly not enforced.
