Changes to Abusive Driver Fees

Hot off the presses…

Speaker Howell and Majority Leader Stosch Detail Legislative Changes to Abusive Driver Fees

– House and Senate Leaders Affirm Commitment to Equitably Apply Fees to Out-of-State Offenders –

– Other Changes Proposed to Ensure Fees Apply Only to Most Serious and Repeat Offenders –

– Reckless Driving and Speeding Citations Down in First Full Month of New Safety Measure –

RICHMOND, VA – At a news briefing today, Virginia House of Delegates Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) and Senate Majority Leader Walter A. Stosch (R-Henrico) affirmed the commitment of their respective caucuses to make changes that would apply Virginia’s recently enacted abusive driver fees to out-of-state drivers. In addition, the legislative leaders announced modifications to the safety and road maintenance revenue measure that would expressly limit the fees to the most serious offenses and provide greater discretion for judges in applying the fees under certain circumstances.

“When Senator Stosch and I stood with Governor Kaine a month ago in support of this year’s bipartisan compromise on transportation, we pledged to make the abusive driver fees apply equally to out-of-state and Virginia drivers, just as they were when HB 3202 was approved by the General Assembly in February,” noted Speaker Howell. “Our resolve to make that change has only strengthened since that July 19 news conference. Now, we are prepared to detail legislative modifications that will ensure that these fees are clearly limited to those drivers committing the most serious offenses and those who repeatedly violate the rules of the road.”

“According to U.S. Department of Transportation figures released this week, Virginia recorded one of the largest increases nationwide in drunk-driving deaths last year,” said Senator Stosch. “Three hundred people were killed on Virginia roads in drunk-driving crashes in 2006, a sharp 7.5 increase over the prior year. Only nine states recorded higher increases. When you see statistics like that, and you consider the long-term reduction in roadway fatalities in other states that have enacted similar increased penalties for drunk and other abusive drivers, you begin to understand why road safety advocates like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and others to strongly support this law and the changes announced today. Contrary to those who advocate repealing this measure outright, we, along with the Governor, want to fix it. We must not abandon this critical safety measure, but join the ranks of other states that are successfully taking action and avoiding this tragic trend.”

Michigan and New Jersey have experienced reductions in the number of traffic fatalities of 12% and 16% respectively since they implemented their individual abusive driver programs. In contrast, prior to this year, Virginia overall highway fatality rates have been increasing. In fact, Virginia’s fatality rate rose faster than the national average, according to a recent analysis by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Preliminary Virginia State Police enforcement data obtained through the Office of the Virginia Secretary of Public Safety indicates that Virginia’s new abusive driver fees already may be having a positive impact on driver behavior in the Commonwealth. Comparing July 2006 to July 2007, reckless driving citations dropped 23% and speeding violations were reduced by 11%.

At a July 19 news conference, Governor Timothy M. Kaine, Howell, and Stosch declared their support for changes to the law that would apply the abusive driver fees to out-of-state residents. While the version of HB 3202 that was approved by the General Assembly in February included this provision, Governor Kaine’s amended version of the bill did not.

In addition to applying the abuser fees to licensed out-of-state drivers, Howell and Stosch endorsed several other changes to the law, including:

• Eliminating the abuser fees for Class Three and Class Four misdemeanors, such as failure to report an accident and driving an uninsured vehicle, among other lesser offenses;
• Reevaluating the remaining higher offenses for their seriousness;
• Reassessing Virginia’s reckless driving statute (not changed by HB 3202) – through possible graduated punishments so a person who gets a ticket, for example, doing 78 mph in a 55 mph zone does not get the same fee as someone who is ticketed, for example, doing 90 mph – to ensure the speeds resulting in such charges reflect current speed limits;
• Giving judges greater discretion to waive the abuser fees for those subjected to them for driving on a suspended license where the suspension was solely due to failure to pay a fine or fee.

The first two changes will leave only the most serious offenses that are punishable by 6 months or 12 months in jail, and felonies which range from one year to 20 years in prison. The leaders also indicated their intent to apply these changes retroactively to July 1, 2007, ensuring that any Virginia motorists previously subjected to a repealed provision would be exempted from the fee.

Abusive driver fees represent one component of the Comprehensive Transportation Funding and Reform Act of 2007. This landmark transportation plan was approved by overwhelming bipartisan majorities in both houses of the General Assembly during this year’s session. The plan includes more than $3 billion in new funding for roads, railways and mass transit, accountability and efficiency reforms for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), and empowers local government with more tools to combat sprawl and curtail runaway development. Already, long-overdue construction projects across Virginia have been jump started since the enactment of HB 3202.

“It was the intent of the General Assembly to apply these fees equally to out-of-state and Virginia drivers, and to ensure that only those who flagrantly or regularly violate the rules of our road are subjected to them,” said Stosch. “The changes we have outlined today will accomplish that. We will send the Governor a stand-alone bill next January which I believe he will find hard-pressed to reject.”

“Governing effectively means solving problems,” declared Howell. “It requires leadership, not partisanship. There’s a good reason that a Governor who belongs to one party and a Speaker and Majority Leader who belong to another found agreement on the same comprehensive transportation bill. We all saw the need to invest in our state’s transportation infrastructure and bring relief to commuters without socking it to working families and law-abiding Virginians. We were committed to putting results ahead of partisan advantage. It’s a clear sign that we’ve been working where it counts, not at the extremes, but in between the extremes, working with the Governor across party lines to really get things done.”