so i'm sitting here talking to Rob, and these fire trucks race by with sirens are blaring out on route 7, per usual here in tysons. for some reason out of all the sirens we've heard since we started sharing an office i chose this time to explain to him how they are really loud and annoying considering we're 10 floors up and indoors. i was about to continue on about how it's interesting that i've never been in the office when anything's happened outside of our window. right before i said that, i looked out and in the corner of my eye i see this white truck flipped over and the aforementioned fire trucks circling it and throwing cones down. within minutes route 7 was blocked off.
sorry the picture is bad. it's my cell phone and it's on like 5x zoom.
anyways, i say "within minutes route 7 was blocked off" cause i think it's funny how firefighters always blast on the scene, engines roaring, sirens blaring, people driving across medians to move out of the way, and then when the get on the scene they sliiiiiiide out from the truck, throw the jacket on, open the back, walk the cones out and drop carefully them one by one.. haha.. i'm sure they know what they're doing, but still, it's just funny to me.
everyone seemed to be ok, but i couldn't really tell how the car got like that. if you look at the picture, the front of the flipped truck is facing us, and the red SUV parked to the left of the fire truck was involved, and it was barely damaged. thoughts?
in other news, right as i got in this morning i also decided to write to governor kaine about these ridiculous fees on the Civil Remedial Bill after reading this article from WTOP.com.
our exchange is as follows:
Governor,
The new Civil Remedial Bill which imposes hefty fines for driving offenses is unconstitutional and wrong. When will we encourage law enforcement to protect and serve rather than be a meter maid for the Commonwealth? There are a billion reasons why this is a mistake (only applies to VA residents, punishment doesn't fit the crime, innocently charged by police officer with reckless driving in one of the thousand ways you can get a "reckless" driving charge).. you name it. As of now, this issue is probably most important to me for the next election, so until you consider new ways to earn money for transportation that doesn't bankrupt the lower-class, I'm afraid I'll be voting for the other guy.
Thank you for your time,
Martin Hansen
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then his office responded with:
Dear Mr. Hansen :
Governor Kaine has asked me to thank you for and respond to your correspondence regarding abusive driver fees.
We understand and take your concerns seriously. We are monitoring the way these fees are implemented and will continue to work to improve this legislation. When the 2008 General Assembly convenes in January, we will have six months of real world experience and traffic safety data to help us understand the impact of these fees.
These fees are only assessed on Virginia residents. We have an implementation team, made up of executive, legislative and judicial branch experts, that is reviewing this component to determine if there is a way to assess these fees on out-of-state drivers.
Conviction-related abusive driver fees do not apply to the typical traffic violation such as failure to yield, or parking too near a fire hydrant, for example. Abusive driver fees will only apply to convictions for reckless driving, driving on a suspended or revoked license, driving under the influence, or other serious traffic offenses that occur after July 1, 2007. The fees are paid in installments over three years.
Demerit-point-related abusive driver fees apply to drivers who accumulate 8 or more demerit points. Abusive driver fees can not be imposed for demerit points related to offenses committed prior to July 1, 2007. No single traffic violation results in 8 demerits points and attending a driver improvement clinic will reduce the points on a driver's record. Bad drivers who accumulate and keep 8 or more demerit points will be charged a minimum of $100 fee and $75 for each additional demerit point.
Abusive driver fees will be used to address safety and operational issues on the existing highway system, and not to build new highways. Thank you again for your correspondence.
Sincerely,
Pierce R. Homer
Secretary of Transportation
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things in yellow are all the places i think he thought he was comforting me or making it all better when in reality he is just pissing me off more by making it sound like no big deal.
so then i responded:
I'm aware that you don't intend to do anything until you get a certain time period of results. I think the point is that if you are being unjust, there is no point in waiting a certain period of time to see how well the injustice pays.
I'm also aware that the laws don't apply to someone who someone who fails to yield, but there are many offenses that many people aren't aware constitute as reckless driving, or offenses that are considered "reckless" that even the most defensive of drivers can make from time to time. I think "no-mercy" fees are a slippery slope for revenue.
Laws should be in place to protect and serve motorists and residents of the Commonwealth, not solely to generate revenue and make it impossible for some people to drive.
Thank you for your response and I look forward to the governor's quick and decisive response to this issue.
Martin
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ahh well, at least i feel better now. on to friday part B!
martin
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