Fight it, fight it, fight it – with a lawyer.

Here’s a link to the Bill language:

http://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/2007/va-drivertax.pdf

That case could be fought and won by an amateur lawyer.
Charges could be recovered using a good lawyer.
Pain and suffering charges could be recovered using a great lawyer.

Ridiculous.

according to http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/21/2170.asp :
“A judge agreed with Officer Evans and now Cornish must either pay the fee
or hire a traffic attorney and fight his case before a circuit court in
February. State Delegate Dave Albo (R-Springfield), the architect of the
fees — and a traffic attorney — says he is surprised that a judge would
apply them to a bicyclist. ”

Mr. Cornish went to court, as you say, and all charges were upheld and enforced. Isn’t anyone else outraged by this?

I am a bike commuter in the next town over from Newport News. I don’t own a car and am very wary of getting ticketed for running traffic lights after waiting through several cycles where the demand is not tripped by my bike, or even as it seems here for biking where a police officer does not want to see me travelling without paying for car insurance or gasoline.

There are many legal issues being run against bicyclists, and for us to defend charging someone for reckelss driving for merely properly operating a bicycle is abhorent. Not only does it put a hefty fine on a responsible young man, it makes it difficult for all of us bike commuters who fear being stopped merely for bicycling in traffic. Does anyone know any attorneys who can help Mr. Cornish fight this fine & get the officer and judge some training on transportation?

A reckless cyclist blowing through red lights, stop signs, riding against traffic flow, etc., can easily endanger the near public. Automobiles, pedestrians, and other cyclists panicking to evade an accident can be a very dangerous situation and a fine this large may be justified.

I assume, according to the news blurb and Kajuan’s statements, this particular situation does not justify the violation given. Take it to court and all charges will most likely be dropped. If the circumstances are as clear as they sound, a retaliatory charge, to compensate for your legal expense, may be pursued and the officer reprimanded for the abuse of power.

Otherwise, we should however, never exclude ourselves, as cyclists, from our obligation to not endanger those around us, regardless of what our specific local laws state.

& yes, Virginians are about to get the law repealed.

From the look of the article at http://www.dailypress.com/bikefine the bicyclist did nothing other than ride his bike in traffic. The police officer said he was going too fast, according to the cyclist in the linked video. Perhaps he looked suspicious as a young black male riding his bike fast?

Having said that, I know one guy that ran a red light in front of a cop. The cop said out the window to the rest of us, “Your friend is going to get a ticket.” Of course the cop was stuck in traffic, and my friend had already returned to work and was inside the building. The cop never found him.

I brought the DUI thing up as an aside and example of laws/situations, an addition to the Virginia law, that are wrong in my eyes.