Bad Driving in Maryland May Become More Costly

[dliferising]

I know alot of people on this forum are from maryland.

Bad Driving in Maryland May Become More Costly

By BETH PARKER/myfoxdc

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Do something wrong behind the wheel in Maryland and you'll pay. And maybe pay and pay. Money is tight as the state is battling a $1.4 billion budget gap.

One way Governor Martin O'Malley wants to make up the difference is to boost fees paid by some Maryland drivers. It won't necessarily be popular.

"It's not a budget that anybody is celebrating, that anybody is applauding. These are the sort of things we need to do during these tough times," said O'Malley.

Here is how it would work. If you already have five points on your driver's license, then you would be among those who pay $100 dollars for each point over five points. For example, if you have seven points, you'd pay an extra $200 a year.

Just to give you an idea of what particular offenses cost you in the state of Maryland, if you run a red light, that's two points on your license. Failure to stop for a school bus will get you two points. If you're caught going 20 miles per hour over the speed limit, that's five points on your license.

Sam Arora is a delegate from Montgomery County. He said he hasn't made up his mind yet. He wants to hear from more constituents. Arora said he is generally "suspicious of fees," but thinks it would make Maryland roads safer.

"We're talking about drivers who already have five or more points on their license, so this is a narrow group of people, about 14,000 people in this state. This is a group of people most likely to cause accidents," said Arora.


http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/traffic/bad-driving-in-maryland-may-become-more-costly-in-governors-proposal-020711#

[knix20]

this might be a nationwide thing. in nyc bloomberg is proposing that individuals pay emergency response teams for accidents. I forget the exact numbers, but a car that results in no injury 300, a car that catches fire 800, a car that result in injury 500. Some people are complaining this is double taxation because taxpayers already pay for emergency services and they think it is wrong to have emergency services people worry about collecting money.

nyc is doing it to make more money to help support its horrible budgeting.

i think more states will start doing this. it's poor taste in my opinion.

[dliferising]

this might be a nationwide thing. in nyc bloomberg is proposing that individuals pay emergency response teams for accidents. I forget the exact numbers, but a car that results in no injury 300, a car that catches fire 800, a car that result in injury 500. Some people are complaining this is double taxation because taxpayers already pay for emergency services and they think it is wrong to have emergency services people worry about collecting money.

nyc is doing it to make more money to help support its horrible budgeting.

i think more states will start doing this. it's poor taste in my opinion.

Wow, I'm actually surprise that Maryland hasn't done this yet .