Peter Galuszka has tackled the issue of abuser fees for the Road to Ruin project in his article, “Abuser Fees or Abusive Fees?” While he covers some of the same ground as the Mainstream Media — primarily the fact that the fees don’t apply to out-of-state drivers — he also hones in on an aspect of the unfolding debate that continues to go under-reported: The unintended consequences.
We know the intended consequences. Abuser fees for dangerous driving is supposed to raise about $50 million for transportation funding. It is also supposed to make drivers think twice before engaging in reckless behavior, with the hoped-for benefit of reducing the number of traffic accidents. Because traffic accidents are a major contributor to traffic congestion, the abuser fees should reduce congestion.
Fortunately, it should be easy to find out if the intended consequences transpire or not. Will the incidence of speeding, DUI and other forms of reckless driving decline? Will the number of traffic accidents fall? The numbers are readily available.
But it’s the unintended consequences that concern me. Will more motorists decide to contest their tickets in traffic court? Will traffic courts get more crowded? Will more drivers fail to pay their out-sized fines? Will more Virginians be driving on suspended licenses? Will more of those drivers get arrested and thrown in jail? I suspect that those numbers may be difficult to come by.
Let’s assume that the abuser fees raise the full $50 million they are postulated to raise. How much will it cost in additional court costs and state trooper time to process an increased number of disputed tickets? How much will it cost to house people in jail when they’ve been arrested for driving on a suspended license? And, assuming that many of those people are not like Paris Hilton with rich daddies to fall back upon, who will support their families? How much money will the state spend on welfare?
Add up all those ancillary costs, and how much will abuser fees cost the state in ways that nobody’s counting? Will the sum amount to more than the $50 million raised for transportation? Will the Commonwealth, in effect, be robbing Peter to pay Paul — mugging Virginia motorists along the way? We’ll never know because no one is tracking the data.
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