# 1000 + speeding tickets **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 16, 2007, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1000-speeding-tickets/411921 "2007-07-16T01:37:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1000-speeding-tickets/411921/1 "2007-07-16T01:37:45Z")
Well if you love the idea of cutting taxes because you think the government will go away ,think again. > **[The Taxman Hits, in the Guise of a Traffic Cop (Published 2007)](https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/weekinreview/15vittelo.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin)** > > As states look to make money without raising the ire of taxpayers, Virginia recently unveiled the nation’s first $1,050 speeding ticket. Yep, 1000 to 3000 dollars if you fight the ticket. Why would you dare to fight them.? Because the ticket can be wrong. No we make it so expensive that you would not dare to fight them. Did you think that they would just downsize. Hell no. They will find a new way to finance their jobs. Be fun driving in total fear wont it. Wonder how far up they will jack serious offenses. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1000-speeding-tickets/411921/2 "2007-07-16T01:41:04Z")
Quote part of the story for someone who doesn’t want to register ? As for cutting taxes shrinking government, of course that won’t work. It’ll do something the Right likes just as much; move more and more of the government’s funding onto fines and fees that hit the common people harder than the aristocracy. ---
**Author:** ![Cowboy8467](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Cowboy8467](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowboy8467)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1000-speeding-tickets/411921/3 "2007-07-16T02:51:00Z")
There was quite the outrage around here when people found out about it. So much so that now they are being [reassessed](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/12/AR2007071202054.html)… > [@](#): > > Virginia Republican leaders, faced with growing opposition to the “abusive driver” fees that went into effect July 1, said Thursday that they will consider scrapping some of them when the General Assembly convenes in January. > > The fees, some of which exceed $1,000 per infraction, were part of a transportation plan that lawmakers approved this year. They were designed to raise millions of dollars each year for road and transit projects by imposing surcharges onto the fines for Virginia motorists convicted of serious traffic offenses, such as driving under the influence. > > But because of what legislators call an “error” and a “mistake,” the fees also can be assessed on motorists who are convicted of less serious offenses. The surcharges did not receive much attention when lawmakers approved them Feb. 24., but the reaction has been overwhelmingly negative since Virginia residents learned about the fees this month. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1000-speeding-tickets/411921/4 "2007-07-16T05:44:49Z")
So they will cut it to 800 and we will feel good. Can you imagine the stress of driving around with huge fines possible and the cops are after revenue. Can you picture how many will run before allowing themselves to be pulled over. They are determined to make money to make up for tax cuts. ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@matt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1000-speeding-tickets/411921/5 "2007-07-16T08:12:52Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] Quote part of the story for someone who doesn’t want to register . [/QUOTE] Try [this one](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/weekinreview/15vittelo.html?ex=1342152000&en=5bbd01c62c215eea&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss). ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1000-speeding-tickets/411921/6 "2007-07-16T08:23:50Z")
[QUOTE=matt] Try [this one](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/weekinreview/15vittelo.html?ex=1342152000&en=5bbd01c62c215eea&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss). [/QUOTE] Thanks. I pretty much agree with what the fellow at the end of the story said; taxes **will** go up in the end. We want things from the government; those things have to be paid for; and taxes are the practical means of getting them. Americans have just developed an aversion towards paying for what they want. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1000-speeding-tickets/411921/7 "2007-07-16T10:57:39Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] Can you imagine the stress of driving around with huge fines possible and the cops are after revenue. [/QUOTE] It won’t be an issue in Northern Virginia - they’ve approved every residential development near I-95 on the grounds that I-95 had plenty of capacity, and now there are spots between Richmond and D.C. that only reach the speed limit for a few hours a day. I-66 isn’t much better. You’d think the property taxes from that expansion would count for something, wouldn’t you? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1000-speeding-tickets/411921/8 "2007-07-16T15:44:40Z")
In construction areas they double fines. Real money maker there. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1000-speeding-tickets/411921/9 "2007-07-16T16:29:20Z")
And I believe they still levy the double fine whether there are workers present or not. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1000-speeding-tickets/411921/10 "2007-07-16T16:31:15Z")
I live in Virginia, and I have a huge respect for the State Police- They do a great job. With that said, I don’t like the idea of the people who are supposed to “protect and serve”, turning into tax collectors. At first glance, it seems a good idea- targeting dangerous driving. Then the gears in your head start to turn, and you realize that there are an awful lot of roads in Virginia that jump from 55 mph, to 35 mph with little signage. hmmmmmm.