Seeing the squad car’s blues and reds in your rearview is going to cost a lot more come September. City Council approved a $200 minimum fine for speeding on three roads: Old Lynchburg Road, Avon Street and Altavista Avenue.
At its July 2 meeting, Council temporarily increased minimum fines after a survey showed 15 percent of the cars speeding on the three roads were doing 20 mph over the posted limit, which is considered reckless driving. After a six-month trial period, Council will review the fine-hike’s effectiveness.
City Councilor Kevin Lynch managed to offend the police chief by admonishing him for not catching more speeders.
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That effectiveness depends on police enforcement, something Councilor Kevin Lynch questioned at the meeting. After looking at the number of 2006 speeding tickets (2,381) and the 15 percent of reckless-driving speeders on the three roads, he told police Chief Timothy J. Longo: “Catching speeders in Charlottesville ought to be like shooting fish in a barrel.”
Council soon discovered what a police chief looks like when he bristles. Longo pointed out he only has three full-time officers doing traffic enforcement, saying, “I think they’re doing a pretty remarkable job,” and that implying anything less was an “insult” to his department. From there Mayor David Brown jumped in as peacemaker, steering the discussion back to the fine. Council cooed over the fairness of raising the penalty while not setting a potentially bankrupting fine (though the state has set such a fine for reckless driving: Those going 20 or over face a $1,050 fee on top of the city’s $200).
But Lynch hadn’t yet tapped his aphorismic reserve. Musing on draconian punishments, he said, “In Saudi Arabia you can be stoned for adultery, but people still do it.” To which Brown shook his head and replied, “Kevin, we’re going to miss you on Council.”
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