New Fees for Virginia Drivers
In what appears to be an attempt at a cash grab by Virginia legislature, starting July 1st, 2007, Virginia drivers will be hit with rather large “civil fees” in addition to normal fines and court costs when convicted of traffic violations. These additional fees range anywhere from $750 to $3,000 depending on the offense, and are required payable in three annual payments.
I live in Virginia, so this hits home with me, but I would perk up at this even if it were another state, because if it can happen here it can happen anywhere. Let’s face it, once a politician finds a way to collect loads more money from the folk, other politicians will not want to be left out. I bet you will see more and more states jumping on the bandwagon, all in the name of safety. They’ll heartily deny that it’s a cash grab, saying it’s for safety and in Virginia’s case, funding for road maintenance. I think we all know the truth on this score.
One odd thing, at least it seems odd to me, is that this only applies to Virginia residents. That means that if someone gets convicted of a traffic violation while passing through from another state, they don’t get hit with the same fees! What!? That just doesn’t sound right. It will be interesting to see how this plays out as time goes on, I have read about people already threatening to challenge this in court.
In case you are interested, I have a listing of what I call the “Virginia Civil Fee Schedule“, which is mainly a list of offenses and what the payment will be. Make sure you keep that in mind when looking at the list. The dollar figure shown is the payment, not the total. The total fee is three times that amount! Personally, I think these fees are, for the most part, excessive and over the top, but what do I know.
