for the civil fines. Something like this would be great:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L66LR44Sg70
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGR7Bu47mLQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ-XZcqYjR8

Americans just don't know how to protest. The great thing about this is it's hard to tell (except for the very front of the line), who's protesting and who's just caught up in the protest.

Remember to use your turn signals and come to a complete stop before entering a highway (both are reckless tickets with $1,000+ fines). And in Virginia, pretty much everything is a highway .


""Highway" means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel in the Commonwealth, including the streets and alleys, and, for law-enforcement purposes, (i) the entire width between the boundary lines of all private roads or private streets that have been specifically designated "highways" by an ordinance adopted by the governing body of the county, city, or town in which such private roads or streets are located and (ii) the entire width between the boundary lines of every way or place used for purposes of vehicular travel on any property owned, leased, or controlled by the United States government and located in the Commonwealth." http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+46.2-100

I like how that cop was trying to stop the cars on foot and they kept driving away from him!!!!LOL

Are you saying people should drive by Albos office and blow their horns non stop?

To say the least!!!!

Can we please give this topic a rest? Some of you just keep going on and on and on about this "atrocity."

Trogdor, failing to use your signal and failing to yield prior to entering a highway always have fallen under the reckless driving code. Nothing is new there. Have you or anyone you know ever received a ticket for either? I doubt it since both of those charges are mostly utilized for accidents. Go to the Virginia state courts website and do a docket search for any given day and see how many of each of those charges are on the docket on that given day. I'm willing to bet that you'll be hard-pressed to find many at all.

Please, can we move on to another topic? I think we get your point.

Thanks.

Well, on the ticket search, "signals required" turned up:

Searched for: Offense: SIGNALS REQUIRED
1350 matches found, up to first 500 displayed

and a search for Fail to stop (FAIL STOP PRIOR ENT HWY FRM PRV RD) turned up:

And Searched for: Offense: FAIL STOP PRIOR
2495 matches found, up to first 500 displayed

and on the first page of both, many 2007's

Why dont you send your ticket back with a form letter reading, "I respectfully decline to pay" that would be protest enough

THIS TOWN NEEDS AN ENEMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

trogdor! Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, on the ticket search, "signals required"
> turned up:
>
> Searched for: Offense: SIGNALS REQUIRED
> 1350 matches found, up to first 500 displayed
>
> and a search for Fail to stop (FAIL STOP PRIOR ENT
> HWY FRM PRV RD) turned up:
>
> And Searched for: Offense: FAIL STOP PRIOR
> 2495 matches found, up to first 500 displayed
>
> and on the first page of both, many 2007's



And some of those date all the way back to 2001!

Fairfax County has a population of over 1 million people and tens of thousands more who commute or pass through it's confines on the East Coast's main north-south artery - Interstate 95 - on a daily basis. I'd say the results you found are actually quite miniscule when compared with the amount of traffic that actually passes through this county on a daily basis.

Let's take a look at the "failing to signal" offense. The FCPD alone has over 1,400 officers. You found 1,350 results, many of which date back several years. On AVERAGE that means that each police officer would have written LESS than one of these tickets a year! Hardly what the media and other alarmists would have you believe. Take that 1,350 result and compare that with the number of motorists you witness each and every day failing to signal and I think you'll see that the police aren't sitting around running "turn signal traps" or anything else as sinister as people would like to believe. As I've mentioned earlier, that charge is mostly utilized during an accident investigation when an at fault driver and charge MUST be decided- that's it.

The bottom line is this - yes, many people don't like the new fees. Many police officers may not care for them as well but they still have to do their job. I hope you'll agree that it certainly doesn't appear as though this violation of law is charged on a frequent basis, because I think I've just proven the contrary. The police just aren't sitting around waiting for people failing to signal, they haven't in the past - we can see that - and don't look for them to start in the future.

My two cents...

I hope you'll agree that it certainly doesn't appear as though this violation of law is charged on a frequent basis, because I think I've just proven the contrary.

I agree, it's probably not that common, but that was never my point. My point was/is that those two violations are not exactly the type of ticket most people think fall under the new law. Most people think that the new fines only apply to people who are excessively speeding. In fact, rolling through a stop sign or not using your turn signal can get you a $1,000+ ticket. And I would be willing to bet that 98% of all drivers do not come to a complete stop and/or use their turn signal as required on a weekly basis.

Now, on to the next point about using past ticketing to predict future ticketing. I cannot predict that PDs will not begin enforcing these laws to generate revenue. Where does the money go that's collected? Does it go to the localities?

They don't write tickets to "generate revenue" I can assure you. Most police officers couldn't care less. Many probably don't even know. I'll bet that if you asked one they might tell you something quite similar.

The money from most of the fines just goes to the general fund, not anywhere specific. A portion goes to the state and a portion goes to the locality. I'm not certain of the percentage. In the case of seat belt tickets, 100% of the $25 fine goes to the state literacy fund and buys children school books.

In the case of the new civil fees that money is supposedly going to road projects throughout the state.

In the case of the new civil fees that money is supposedly going to road projects throughout the state.

So in other words, they are writing tickets to generate revenue.

TheMeeper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So in other words, they are writing tickets to
> generate revenue.

Uggggh....I give up.

I'm of the opinion that the turn signal charge is simply something an officer with a mind to can use to slap a misdemeanor charge on just about anyone with a driver's license.

Except me. Since I use my turn signals.

Besides the whole "If I'm not from VA, I don't have to worry about these fees" thing, the biggest POS about this whole side of the transportation improvement bill is the fact that these administrative fines are to generate revenue (yes, Hank, to make money) for the transportation improvements throughout VA and to improve driving safety - linking the two is counterproductive!

Imagine: All us Virginians get uber nervous about getting slapped with these fees and toe the straight and narrow - all of a sudden there is hardly any coin in the coffers to upgrade transportation in the state.

or conversely:

We all say FU to Albo and the state legislature that passed this and drive like bats out of hell and fill up those same coffers. YAY! New roads and other transportation improvements but there all deadly to drive on because of all those VA drivers so eager to contribute!