During the General Assembly’s short session beginning January 11th State Senator Scott Surovell, (D-Fairfax) will propose a law banning the use of cell phones while driving unless a hands free device is used. The law would also cover cell phones being used for navigation unless mounted to the vehicle. There are 14 states and Washington DC that ban cell phone use while driving.
Also being proposed is a law that would require drivers to use their emergency flashers when stopped for a school bus picking up or dropping off students.
A bill has been proposed that would stop double taxes on auto repairs that require mechanics to charge taxes on all items and supplies used to repair a vehicle when they have already paid taxes on those items when they bought them from a parts dealer such as NAPA auto parts.
Another bill proposed would increase vehicle registration by $1.25 from 2017 through 2026 with the money going to the state police.
We have previously reported on Delegate Dave LaRock’s very important bill to protect unborn children here.Â
See more proposed new laws here.  More on the bill to ban the use of cell phones in vehicles here.Â
10 comments
I’m torn on texting and driving.
On the one hand, I’m a Libertarian who believes in personal responsibility, believes that people have the right to do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t harm others, and that people will choose to be responsible to insure they aren’t hurting others.
On the other hand, I constantly see otherwise well meaning people texting while driving, some so brazenly that the people behind them have to honk in order to get them to move through a green light, that they swerve back and forth across lines on the highway, even have to stomp on the brake when they look up while moving and see someone has stopped in front of them.
This is the kind of situation where people who hate Libertarianism will claim we are all ideologues who want to abolish the government’s role in inspecting meat to make sure it isn’t tainted, that we want to let people get away with crime without justice, etc, and claim that we are all purists who believe in anarchy, which isn’t true.
Though my desire is that everyone have liberty and the freedom to make bad choices, in this situation drives are, as a whole, being too irresponsible, and some minimal laws protecting the public MIGHT be necessary. I don’t know that outlawing texting while driving would do anything more than act as a public awareness effort, because I seriously doubt anyone is going to actually stop texting while driving just because there’s a law about it, they would probably rather keep texting while driving and just pay the ticket if they get one, so I don’t know that passing a law is the right way forward. I’m also not the type to say, well, it’s better than nothing, because we are trading liberty for it, it isn’t free, so if it isn’t doing enough to justify the loss of liberty, well, I’m totally against it.
Personally I’d rather we wait a little longer and let the awareness programs play out. It takes time to change behavior, and this is a relatively new behavior, for all we know people will correct themselves in time. The commonwealth also has awareness programs encouraging people to be more responsible, those too need time to work. I think we should adopt a wait and see attitude on this, because I don’t think texting and driving has become such a huge problem yet that it justifies passing laws to make doing it illegal. Let’s let it go another few year and see what happens, and figure out if passing a law is actually going to change anything for the better, or if it will just be another fine, another law on the books making yet more human activity illegal.
Do I want to use the stick of government to beat my fellow citizens who are being irresponsible by driving and texting ? No, not really. I’d rather my fellow citizens just stop being dumba**es, and stop texting while driving on their own.
I’m ok with people checking their phones at a red light. The one light I have to go through out here in the country is 3 minutes per cycle, and yes, I have been known to check my phone during that time or send a quick text. I am NOT ok with people texting while driving because they swerve they could be swerving into me or my kids.
Texting and driving is arguably the most dangerous thing happening on our roadways today. More dangerous because it is much more prevalent than drinking and driving. I hope that the GA will make all hand held use of a cell phone illegal by drivers.
It is the chief mischief of men that they will propose ‘good’ laws in order to enslave. And the people will applaud the ‘good’ law while surrendering themselves over to the proposition that the state exists to regulate. Many, many, ‘good’ laws will be passed to even greater applause until the people look around and see nothing but oceans of regulation forged of the iron of ‘law.’
Folks, how do you think we got to where we all are now, never a twist or turn made but some law bars our regulated pathway? How has it come that we have reached such impasse of suffocation if it were not for some busy body of a legislator or another passing some ‘good’ law?
Paraphrasing, no one is safe when the legislature is in session.
I guess NOW would be a good time to begin asking/reminding people to go to the tea party Action Center page and sign up for legislative alerts.
http://www.vtppf.org/2016/12/26/announcing-our-legislative-action-center/
1000% agree!^^ C’mon folks – let’s keep tabs on our representatives! #accountabilty
Tabs on Reps . Republicans also , I show no quarter to either !
I am not bound by a party nor beholden to one , I believe in the rule of law.
This is great, thank you! I have signed up!
Tea party accountability? Eric that is a gross misrepresentation . The TEA party will hold protest on Bridges all across the Commonwealth to protest minimal numbers of immigrant children coming here, The same Tea Party remains unspoken about Republican bill SB483 . this bill is designed solely to make it illegal for inter-departmental communication on unlicensed Contracting, employee misclassification and illegal employment .IE; the employment of illegal aliens and criminals as unlicensed contractors.In remaining unspoken it appears the TEA Party welcomes millions of illegal immigrants to be illegally employed in Virginia. A hint to the Tea Party “action center” should ask your Republican Senator , Tidewater Builders Ass. Director and author Bill DeSteph ; How many cases of contractors violating the law , conspiring with unlicensed contractors in the delivery of Contracting Services ? next question ; How many of these unlicensed contractors have Virginia Employment Commission accounts so as to be compliant with the Va. Employment Compensation Act. inaction by Republicans and the Tea Party (which are both the same) will only provide sanctuary in Virginia to drug dealers , rapist, child molesters and import gang violence furthermore you will not be able to make the erroneous claim that no illegal immigrants are working on state jobs.
Trump must build the wall to help shield us from the complicit conservative who does not enforce law in their own backyard.
Eric , remain unspoken and unwilling to combat this issue and you are doing nothing but helping to undermine Virginia’s legal Workforce, Virginia’s general fund, National Security , public safety and most of all President Trump’s Administration.