VA - 6996 Traffic tickets in one weekend!!!

General General Discussion
1

Let’s try really hard not to make this thread anti-police officer, it’s not intended to be. I’m still digging up more info on this but for now I can honestly say the politicians and this bullshit in VA is way out of hand! http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/virginia-state-police-help-with-budget-crunch/

A federally funded ticketing blitz in the state of Virginia landed a total of 6996 traffic tickets this weekend. The blitz, dubbed “Operation Air, Land & Speed” coincided with frantic efforts by state officials to close a$2.2 billion budget deficit. Supervisors ordered state troopers to saturate Interstates 81 and 95 to issue as many tickets as humanly possible over the space of two days.

“The safety of Virginia’s highways begins the minute a vehicle is put in ‘drive,’” Virginia State Police Superintendent W. Steven Flaherty said in a statement. “Those split second decisions to choose not to drive drunk, to choose to wear a seat belt and to choose not to speed or drive aggressively really do make a difference in preventing and/or surviving a crash.”

Officers had no trouble delivering the requested number of speeding tickets with a total of 3536 ordinary speeding citations written. In addition, another 717 “reckless driving” tickets were filed, although these most often are simple speeding tickets that happen to carry a fine of up to $2500. Driving as little as 10 to 15 MPH over the limit can qualify for this enhanced punishment. On the other end of the scale, some 310 tickets were handed to drivers who either forgot to wear their seatbelts or made a choice not to do so.

Activists with the National Motorists Association pointed out that enforcement efforts may have concentrated on areas where speed limits are expected to rise to 70 MPH following Governor Bob McDonnell’s signature on legislation raising the state’s maximum speed limit (view law). This would mean a significant number of tickets were issued for conduct that will be perfectly legal in a matter of months. The group also indicated that state police tactics may run afoul of state law.

“All officers making arrests incident to the enforcement of this title shall be paid fixed salaries for their services and shall have no interest in, nor be permitted by law to accept the benefit of, any fine or fee resulting from the arrest or conviction of an offender against any provision of this title,” Virginia Code Section 46.2-102 states.

Under the federal grant application process, state officials explained that they would pay officers overtime — at least one-and-a-half times their normal salary — to participate. This special reward for ticketing operation participants appears to violate the spirit of state law.

Since 2006, a total of twenty-three ticketing blitzes have taken place, generating 120,977 traffic tickets.

2

http://www.businessinsider.com/virginia-hands-out-6996-traffic-tickets-in-one-weekend-in-an-effort-to-raise-revenue-for-the-state-government-2010-3

In the old days, police officers wrote traffic tickers primarily to keep people safe and to prevent citizens from breaking the traffic laws.

But in the new Amerika, all of that has changed. Now traffic tickets are primarily viewed as a revenue raising tool for state and local governments. For example, a federally funded ticketing blitz in the state of Virginia resulted in a total of 6996 traffic tickets being handed out this past weekend. This most recent ticketing blitz is part of a campaign code-named “Operation Air, Land & Speed”. Last Saturday and Sunday state troopers were ordered to absolutely saturate Interstate 95 and Interstate 81 and to issue as many traffic tickets as humanly possible during those two days. Why? Well, it turns out that the state of Virginia has a 2.2 billion dollar budget deficit that they are trying to deal with, and so they need to find some quick sources of cash.

You see, state and local governments all over the nation are massively jacking up traffic fines and are starting to write a lot more tickets in an attempt to “enhance” their streams of revenue.

In other words, state and local governments across the U.S. are broke and so they need some suckers to prey on.

Not that it was ever a good idea to break the traffic laws. But now even a minor violation can put a massive hole in your wallet. For instance, driving as little as 15 miles an hour over the speed limit in Virginia can get you a reckless driving charge that can carry a fine of up to $2500.

So why the hefty fines?

Well, the law increasing the traffic fines in Virginia clearly admitted why they are so high…

“The purpose of the civil remedial fees imposed in this section is to generate revenue.” (Virginia Code 46.2-206.1)

Are you starting to get the picture?

But this kind of thing is not just happening in Virginia.

“Sobriety checkpoints” in the state of California are increasingly bring used as revenue raising operations. It turns out that these sobriety checkpoints are far more likely to seize cars from unlicensed motorists than they are to catch drunk drivers.

So how profitable are these “sobriety” checkpoints?

Well, research done by the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley with California Watch discovered that impounds at “sobriety” checkpoints in 2009 alone generated approximately 40 million dollars in towing fees and police fines.

That is what you call a source of revenue.

In Detroit, even the police admit that the fundamental nature of police work is changing. Just consider the following quote from from Police Chief Michael Reaves of Utica, Michigan…

“When I first started in this job 30 years ago, police work was never about revenue enhancement, but if you’re a chief now, you have to look at whether your department produces revenues.”

Sgt. Richard Lyons of Trenton, Michigan is even more blunt about what is happening in his community…

“They’re trying to use police officers to balance the budget on the backs of drivers, and it’s too bad. The people we count on to support us and help us when we’re on the road are the ones who end up paying the bills, and they’re ticked off about it. We might as well just go door to door and tell people, ‘Slide us $100 now since your 16-year-old is going to end up paying us anyway when he starts driving.’ You can’t blame people for getting upset.”

But some localities are converting to even more automated ways of making money from drivers.

For example, “red-light cameras” have become huge revenue raising tools in many areas of the country. In Los Angeles, revenue from red-light cameras has doubled from $200,000 a month in 2007 to $400,000 a month at the end of 2009.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants cities and counties in his state to take things even farther. He wants them to install speed sensors on existing red-light cameras. Speeders caught by these sensors would face fines ranging from $225 to $325.

Don’t all of us wish we could start a business that could make so much money from each customer?

California state officials believe that these speed sensors would raise more than 300 million dollars for the state of California by the end of 2011.

All of this is enough to make one want to drive like a grandmother.

Except then they would get you for going too slow.

Seriously.

The reality is that you have to be very, very careful out there now because the nature of driving in America has fundamentally changed.

Whether it is rapidly increasing traffic fines or all of the toll roads going in everywhere, American drivers are increasingly being viewed as a big fat revenue source.

And as the current economic collapse gets even worse, drivers are going to be preyed upon even more by state and local governments.

If you have not already done so, now is the time to change the way that you drive. Don’t give state and local governments an excuse to take even more of your hard-earned money from you than they are already.

3

http://www.wcyb.com/2010/03/09/Operation-Air--Land---Speed-Wraps-Up-Again/6531090

The Virginia State Police stopped thousands of speeders and reckless drivers during a two-day enforcement effort on Interstates 81 and 95.

The weekend initiative dubbed “Operation Air, Land and Speed” netted 3,536 speeders, 717 reckless drivers and 20 drunken drivers.

More than 300 safety belt violations were also recorded. In all, the operation rung up just over 7,000 summonses and arrests.

The weekend enforcement effort was the 13th conducted on the two interstates since “Operation Air, Land and Speed” launched in 2006.

4

Boycott their efforts. Drive lawfully

5

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/18/1818.asp

Virginia Introduces $3550 Speeding Ticket
Virginia legislator introduces new speeding ticket tax that boosts penalties beyond $3550, driving business to his traffic law firm.

Virginia motorists convicted of minor traffic violations will face a new, multi-year tax beginning July 1. Led by state Delegate David B. Albo (R-Springfield), lawmakers slipped a driver responsibility tax into a larger transportation funding bill signed by Governor Tim Kaine (D) in April. Albo, a senior partner in the Albo & Oblon, LLP traffic law firm, can expect to see a significant increase in business as motorists seek to protect their wallet from traffic tickets that come with assessments of up to $3000 in addition to an annual point tax that tops out at $700 a year for as long as the points remain.

“The purpose of the civil remedial fees imposed in this section is to generate revenue,” the new law states. (Virginia Code 46.2-206.1)

Driving as little as 15 MPH over the limit on an interstate highway now brings six license demerit points, a fine of up to $2500, up to one year in jail, and a new mandatory $1050 tax. The law also imposes an additional annual fee of up to $100 if a prior conviction leaves the motorist with a balance of eight demerit points, plus $75 for each additional point (up to $700 a year). The conviction in this example remains on the record for five years.

Other six-point convictions include “failing to give a proper signal,” “passing a school bus” or “driving with an obstructed view.” The same $1050 assessment applies, but the conviction remains on the record for eleven years.

Although the amount of the tax can add up quickly, the law forbids judges from reducing or suspending it in any way. The tax applies only to Virginia residents, so that out-of-state motorists only need to pay the regular ticket amount. Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Texas also impose a somewhat more modest driver responsibility tax which they apply to out-of-state residents.

The Virginia Supreme Court provides a full explanation of the new penalties for each traffic infraction in the 34k PDF file at the source link below. Update: View which legislators support a repeal, link to online petition.

Source: Civil Remedial Fees (Executive Secretary, Virginia Supreme Court, 6/21/2007)

6

You’ve obviously missed the point. They have orders to ticket any and everyone for any minor infraction. I call bullshit on the whole thing.

7

How can a thread like this NOT be anti-police?

They are accomplices in this f-ing strong arm robbery. If they had any integrity, they would all come down with a massive case of blue flu.

8

I just wanted to spread the news, not have a pissing contest about cops, again. The whole thing seems pretty hypocritical when I see officers breaking all sorts of traffic laws, all the time. There, it’s been said and now hopefully we can drop that angle.

9

They saturated every news source with their intent. Newspapers, TV and Cable TV.

They gave extensive interviews stating it was going to happen, what they were going to ticket - everything - and why.

The wife and I were both coming back from different places south, that required a full trip from the southern border of VA to NoVA. We were both aware of their efforts that day, and both avoided tickets.

Just south of Richmond there were 15 State Troopers sitting in one median, and as I passed at 55mph, all but two of them lit out on violators. Was a sight to behold.

10

don’t drive in virginia…inform everyone you know about what is going on…when you stop driving or frequenting that state and boycott it from any vacation plans, they tend to see the light…an empty beach, empty hotels, empty amusement parks, empty state parks and golf courses…easy to combat these type things…

if they jack up the price of gas any more, i will stay home and not vacation again this year…put the money in the savings account and hope for better times next year…i’ve been pretty happy over the past several years with the “staycation”, i’ve been doing it before it became cool to do…

keep your money in your pocket…

11

A Police Officer must ask himself if he signed up to be a Police Officer, a Revenue agent or a pimp for the city. IMHO, if your partaking in things like this you are either a revenue Agent or a pimp but certainly not a Police Officer. And I say that as a 30 year veteran Police Officer.

12

As soon as this stupid blitz is over traffic in Virginia will go right back to 75 plus.

Traffic laws and traffic enforcement in the USA are a pathetic joke.

13

This was struck down by the courts as a violation of the 14th Amendment, as the fines only applied to people who lived in Virginia.

Regardless, open revenue generation attempts like these place the police squarely as adversaries to the public they are supposed to protect and serve.

We can’t allow ourselves to forget who put them in that position.

14

Montana used to have the best daytime driving laws, a safe speed was determined by prevailing conditions. Outside of a city or populated area I see no reason to have an arbitrary number, aka speed limit, used for creating revenue.

Incidentally, the safest period of driving was prior to them reinstating a speed limit in 2000. Many reports back up the fact that setting an artificially low speed limit increases accidents.

15

All I know is I REALLY REALLY miss driving in Germany. There you get tickets for things that actually affect safety. Come back to the USA after almost 4 years of being overseas, and what they ticket you here for is things that have little to no affect on safety.

Here in TX…DPS will ticket you for 75 in a 70 while driving a “sports car” with a lot better braking and handling ability than almost anything else on the road, and yet let an old van go by tail gaiting and weaving through traffic because they are only going 68 in a 70. The US’s traffic laws are all about revenue.

But I guess I’ve gotten lucky in just over 3 years of driving my 350Z I have yet to be pulled over…:cool:

16

I think this thread has run its cousre but thats just my opinion . . .

17

I wondered what was going on. I haven’t had a TV hooked up since the move, but all last week the State guys were all over the place.

18

And some wonder how the adversarial relationship develops between “LE” and the community. Defacto revenue generation officers focusing on victimless administrative crimes… Makes me quite happy with the idea of a rapid downsize of the dept.

Maybe when working as a firefighter/paramedic… I should have fined people for being overweight, smoking, etc.

19

While I hate writing tickets, if you dont want one; dont break the law. Its not like they made up a bunch of new laws and immediately started enforcing them.

Guess I dont understand the issue since I’m part of the tyranny da Man is imposing on people.

20

I think it proves the point just how broad state statutes can be, how much discretion LE uses on a daily basis and just how bad people really do drive. But hey, LE bashing is a much easier conclusion to arrive at, as it fits the desire of beating ones chest. :rolleyes: