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According to today’s Washington Post, Virginia is planning on imposing a series of “civil remedial fees” on drivers who violate the commonwealth’s driving laws. The new fines, applicable only to Virginia residents, will be imposed beginning July 1.

About time.

Many of the driving laws on the books today, such as laws prohibiting speeding, are simply not effective because the penalties for violating the law are too low. Under the new Virginia system (New Jersey has a similar system, according to the Washington Post), the incentive not to violate the law will change dramatically. With potential costs for breaking the law increasing by several hundred percent, drivers would be wise to reconsider their driving habits.

As the Washington Post notes, the law will have a greater impact on poor drivers than on rich ones, since poor drivers will be less able to absorb the cost of the new fines. However, this argument is somewhat bankrupt, since it does not address the purpose of having the law: to punish inappropriate behavior. There will always be inequity; the law must find some way to deal with this. In this particular case, drivers are all equally capable of controlling their own driving behavior; since there is no logical connection between driving behavior and income, there is no reason to set fines to a level that accommodates the low-income driver at the cost of the law’s dissuasive effect.

Worst case scenario, the law will not make any differences in individual behavior. If this is the case, then there is no problem. Instead of having to increase taxes to pay for road maintenance or construction, the fines will pad the budget. Of course, budget increases have a negative side as well: they cause legislators (particularly ones trying to buy votes) to rely on a “projected” fee income and either cut taxes (unwise) or increase spending in unrelated areas (against the purpose of the fee). I have no doubt that the commonwealth of Virginia will see a substantial increase in revenue from these new fees; I just hope that they are not squandered.