Va. Bad-Driver Fees Could Snag Officials

Those leading the charge to repeal the penalties completely -- including Bryan Ault, a software tester from Alexandria, whose online petition against the fees has drawn more than 174,000 signatures -- said the legislation is too far-reaching.

"Pregnant women rushing to the hospital, Navy veterans -- the people that are getting these fees are not the most dangerous drivers," Ault said, referring to individuals featured in recent news accounts, some of whom had been found guilty of reckless driving. Ault said he has gotten speeding tickets in New York and New Jersey in the past six years but none in Virginia.

Several Northern Virginia lawmakers have received fee-worthy or close to fee-worthy tickets in past years.

Del. Vivian E. Watts (D-Fairfax) was convicted of reckless driving in 1998 for going 20 mph over the limit. Del. Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria) paid a fine for driving 77 in a 55 mph zone in 2000, although he was charged only with speeding. Ebbin was charged with reckless driving in 2003, but that case was dropped by the prosecution, according to court records.

Del. Thomas Davis Rust (R-Fairfax), who proposed the fees in 2005, was caught speeding in 1996, going 70 in a 55 mph zone. Del. Albert C. Eisenberg (D-Arlington) got a ticket for doing 73 in a 55 mph zone in 2000, and Sen. H. Russell Potts Jr. (R-Winchester) was stopped for going 71 in a 55 mph zone in 1994. In 1990, Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax) received a ticket for driving 70 to 74 mph where the speed limit was 55. Del. Mark D. Sickles (D-Fairfax) was ticketed for going 50 to 54 in a 35 mph zone in 1992.

In April, all voted for the final version of the transportation bill that included the fees, although several have articulated varying positions on the fees themselves. The lawmakers confirmed the offenses, many saying that they simply weren't "paying attention" or that they had "no excuse" for their citations.

Del. Dave W. Marsden (D-Fairfax), nabbed going 50 to 54 mph in a 35 mph zone in 1994, said: "We're the ones that voted on this stuff. Our stuff should be on the record."

A lawmaker who voted against the transportation bill, Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), was convicted of speeding in 1997 for going 60 mph in a 45 mph zone, records show. Another who opposed the legislation, Jeff M. Frederick (R-Prince William), did not return telephone messages to discuss his driving record.

Although years removed, several lawmakers remembered their incidents vividly.

Senate Minority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) said of his 2001 reckless-driving charge: "It was late in the morning. . . . I was on my way to Newport News shipyard, and there was nobody on that damn highway except me and that state trooper."

The charge was lowered to speeding, and Saslaw said he attended traffic school afterward. "I never at any time said I was a state senator, never tried to get out of anything. . . . I just knew I'd screwed up. I hit the brake and pulled over as fast as I could." Saslaw voted against the fees bill.

Nonetheless, Ault said he thinks the fees are unfair partly because lawmakers might receive special treatment in court, given their stature in the commonwealth.

"Legislators have connections within the court system -- they have legal connections, they have name recognition," Ault said. "Just because these legislators can get their tickets reduced doesn't mean the average Virginia citizen can."

Ault also said he thinks reckless driving is "defined way too broadly" in Virginia, a concern lawmakers such as Saslaw seem to share.

"I've seen people coming by me where I'm maybe doing 50, and I know damn full well they're going faster than 65," he said. "Is it reckless? By our definition it is, but realistically? Maybe. I don't know . . . but it's the law."

Michael Curry, one of the first Virginians hit with the fees for a reckless driving ticket he received July 2 while coming home late from work in Baltimore, said he was not surprised to hear of the lawmakers' offenses.

"You can't target the worst drivers if everybody once in a while speeds," said Curry, 21, of Gainesville, who paid the first $350 of his $1,050 fee on Aug. 7 after being found guilty of going 82 in a 55 mph zone. He is appealing the verdict.