In Virginia, law enforcement officers have been placing tickets on cars with expired inspection stickers as the cars sat at the shop awaiting inspection. The whole thing was absurd, but luckily, the The Washington Post reports, the nonsense has come to an end.
Last fall, we told you the story of Bruce Redwine, the shop owner who grew tired of officials ticketing his customers’ cars as they awaited inspection. He grew so tired, in fact, that he snatched a ticket out of an officer’s hand, an action for which he was arrested and booked. It was a big mess, but one that hopefully will never happen again thanks to a new bill.
The bill, proposed by state delegate James M. LeMunyon late last year, was signed on Wednesday by governor Terry McAuliffe, and included a clause banning authorities from ticketing vehicles awaiting inspection. Here’s the relevant passage from the bill (emphasis mine):
The following shall be exempt from inspection as required by § 46.2-1157:...12. Motor vehicles, trailers, or semitrailers, after the expiration of a period fixed for the inspection thereof, operated over the most direct route between the place where such vehicle is kept or garaged and an official inspection station or (ii) parked on a highway and that have been submitted for a motor vehicle safety inspection to an official inspection station, for the purpose of having the same inspected pursuant to a prior appointment with such station.
So finally some common sense driving laws coming out of Virginia, a state known as one of the worst for drivers.
I went to college in the “state for lovers,” and I racked up so many speeding tickets, I am now ineligible for classic car insurance (something that would be nice in Michigan, the state with the highest premiums in the country). Our Patrick George even spent some time behind bars after speeding there.
It’s a tough place to own and enjoy cars, but hey, it looks like this new bill is a step in the right direction.