Paullin Law Blog

New Virginia laws take effect July 1

Monday, June 27, 2011
Nearly 900 bills passed in the Virginia General Assembly during this year's winter session, and most of them take effect this Friday. The new laws address a range of topics from foreign adoptions to Chinese drywall, but the measures that will affect the greatest number of Virginia citizens may be those related to Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Starting Friday, Virginia law will require harsher penalties for violators of ABC regulations. Teens who drink and drive, for example, will face higher fines and lose their driver's license for a full year. Under the "old" law, an underage driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.02 percent or higher would lose his or her license for six months and face fines of a maximum of $500. As of July 1, anyone under the age of 21 found driving with a BAC of 0.02 percent or higher will lose his or her license for a year and face either a minimum $500 fine or 50 hours of community service.

The changes also address Virginians over the age of 21 who facilitate underage drinking. As of July 1, the law states that "anyone who purchases alcoholic beverages for or otherwise helps someone they know or have reason to believe is younger than 21 obtain or consume alcohol is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor," punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine. The current law does not address facilitating consumption or include "reason to believe" that an individual is underage.

For more information about DUI or alcohol and traffic-related offenses, or to request representation, contact the attorneys at Paullin Law Firm at (804) 423-7423.


The information and materials on this web site are intended to be used for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Individuals should not act upon information provided on the site without seeking professional legal counsel, as situations and facts vary with each case. In addition, Paullin Law Firm does not endorse or sponsor any content accessed through links to other web sites. All statements and information are current as of the posted date.

Is that text message worth $250?

Wednesday, May 04, 2011
In July 2009, Virginia joined a burgeoning number of states passing legislation to crack down on distracted driving. In Section 46.2-1078.1, the House and Senate outlined regulations for the use of “handheld personal communications devices” in motor vehicles, most notably prohibiting drivers from reading or sending text messages from their mobile phones.

The law states that it is unlawful for the driver of a moving vehicle to enter text in a handheld device for the purpose of communication, or to read any email, text message, or other information stored within, aside from names, numbers, and caller identification information. Drivers who are “lawfully parked or stopped,” who are using a call phone to report an emergency, or are operating an on-duty emergency vehicle are the only exceptions.


According to the 2009 law, an officer must have cause to stop a driver for another violation in order to issue a citation for texting while driving. But Virginia drivers shouldn’t see this secondary offense clause as a loophole. In areas such as Fairfax County, state and local police have cracked down on distracted drivers using older laws that require drivers to “pay full time and attention” to the road. These laws allow police to stop a driver for texting, eating, applying makeup, or playing DJ as a primary offense. Fines for failure to pay full time and attention can reach up to $250 – quite a jump from $20 for a first offense and $50 for each subsequent citation under the new law.


Virginia is one of 19 states that currently have “texting laws” on the books. 16 of those have been passed in the last two years thanks to an outpouring of results from recent distracted driving studies. Delegates who presented the Virginia bill cited statistics that show distracted driving accounts for approximately 80 percent of traffic accidents in Virginia. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute adds that dialing a phone while driving a car more than doubles the risk of crash. The statistics for trucks or heavy vehicles are even more powerful: the risk of crash is nearly 6 times as high while dialing and more than 23 times as high while texting.

 

The VT report states that texting “has the potential to create a true crash epidemic if texting-type tasks continue to grow in popularity and as the generation of frequent text-message senders reach driving age in large numbers.” At Paullin Law Firm we ask that you drive responsibly. Avoid distracted driving, and if you must send a text message, find a safe place to pull over and park.

 

For more information about Virginia’s texting law or to seek representation, call the experienced attorneys at Paullin Law Firm at (804) 423-7423.

The information and materials on this web site are intended to be used for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Individuals should not act upon information provided on the site without seeking professional legal counsel, as situations and facts vary with each case. In addition, Paullin Law Firm does not endorse or sponsor any content accessed through links to other web sites. All statements and information are current as of the posted date.

Rules of the road for motorists and bikes remain unchanged

Wednesday, February 23, 2011
A House Transportation Subcommittee put the brakes on Virginia Senate bill 928, a measure that would increase required clearance from 2 feet to 3 feet when motor vehicles pass bicycles on the road. The bill, introduced by Sen. Ryan T. McDougle (R-Hanover), was intended to make Virginia’s roads safer by strengthening regulations on following too closely and passing other vehicles.

In addition to automobiles, the bill included provisions to ensure that drivers pass at a reasonable speed and distance when overtaking “a bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, moped, animal, or animal-drawn vehicle.” Section § 46.2-839 of the Code of Virginia currently requires drivers to pass no less than 2 feet to the left a bicyclist; the new bill would increase this distance to three feet. SB 928 passed the Senate but met a 3-3 roadblock in the House.

In order to “share the road” safely, both parties must drive—and ride—responsibly. Virginia law currently assigns bicyclists the same “rights and duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle.” The law requires bicyclists to follow the same traffic regulations as motorists and to respect all traffic signs, signals, lights, and markings.

The full text of SB 928 can be found HERE.

Rules of the road for bikers and pedestrians are available from VDOT, HERE.

The information and materials on this web site are intended to be used for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Individuals should not act upon information provided on the site without seeking professional legal counsel, as situations and facts vary with each case. In addition, Paullin Law Firm does not endorse or sponsor any content accessed through links to other web sites. All statements and information are current as of the posted date.

Virginia Supreme Court appoints first female chief justice

Tuesday, February 08, 2011
On Wednesday, the investiture of Justice Cynthia Dinah Fannon Kinser will mark a historic moment in Virginia history. Justice Kinser is the first female chief justice of the Virginia Supreme Court.

Appointed to the Supreme Court by former Governor George Allen in 1997, Kinser was elected chief justice in August 2010 and will formally assume the post this week. She succeeds Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell, Sr.

Kinser's investiture will take place Wednesday afternoon at the Supreme Court Building in Richmond, Virginia. As chief justice, Kinser will supervise the administration of the state's court system and the assignment of circuit court judges.

To view the Associated Press article:  http://tbd.ly/hldNdn