Issues

Red light and speed cameras

Many people believe these cameras are installed for financial reasons rather than safety. These camera systems also deprive motorists of their constitutional right to confront their accusers in court. Red light cameras have even been shown to increase the number of accidents at intersections. Furthermore, there are plenty of alternatives to these cameras. For example, yellow lights can be lengthened, police officers can be assigned to patrol problem areas, etc. Of course, those solutions don’t generate as much revenue for governments and the traffic camera companies.

Motorist Advocate Service

A Motorist Advocate Service should be created at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Last year, a woman, who had just moved to Virginia, had to make four trips to a DMV office to find out how much she owed in car taxes. When she mentioned this to a DMV employee, she was informed that it sometimes takes five or six trips to sort things out. This is unacceptable.

When DMV representatives and managers are unable to answer complex questions, customers should be able to turn to the knowledgeable staff of the Motorist Advocate Service. These staffers should also assist DMV employees when DMV management is unable to determine the answer to a customer’s question. Each year, the Motorist Advocate should submit reports to legislators and the governor detailing problems motorists are facing so that they can be addressed.

The Motorist Advocate Service should hire policy experts, such as knowledgeable DMV employees, former legislative staffers, and lawyers. Ideally, there would be a Service staffer in every DMV office; but, at a minimum, the Service should be available by phone and email.

Tolls

Because tolls are regressive and contribute to traffic congestion, they should be reasonable and only applied sparingly. Tolls should only be used for the construction and maintenance of the roads they are collected on or for alternate routes that might help reduce congestion on tolled roads. In short, there’s no excuse for $40 tolls for passenger vehicles traveling a few miles on the highway.

Predatory Towing

Each year, hundreds of thousands of vehicles are towed for parking illegally. Typically, these cars are not towed far, but the companies still demand outrageous towing and storage fees to release vehicles back to their owners. While there are some cases in which vehicles must be towed, there are many other instances in which politicians and business leaders should work together to solve parking problems preventing unnecessary tows.

One point that seems overlooked in the debate over predatory towing is that people are literally dying as a result of the current system. Because of predatory towing, motorists and tow truck company employees are often put into unnecessary, high-stress situations, and some of them handle it poorly. When these incidents turn violent, towing company employees or motorists can wind up injured or killed, and then their families and society have to deal with the consequences.

Mandatory Vehicle Inspection Programs

Vehicle inspection programs are relics of the past, and the remaining inspection programs should be repealed as soon as possible. Only 15 states still have mandatory vehicle inspections; even fewer have annual inspections; and few accidents are caused by defective equipment. Of the 16 states that once required inspections but have repealed them since the 1970s, not a single one has reinstated its inspection program. Most importantly, study after study has failed to show that vehicle inspections save lives, and the burden that mandatory inspections impose on the poor is indisputable.

Traffic Ticket Quotas

Traffic ticket quotas should be banned as 21 states have already done. Public safety should drive traffic enforcement decisions, not arbitrary ticket quotas or local revenue needs. Police officers should be free to use their best judgment to determine whether a traffic stop is necessary and whether a ticket or a warning is the more appropriate course of action.