HOV Rules

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   Juli,  Here is a POC at the state police:

	

	 

	Lieutenant Colonel E.A. Stockton, Director of the Bureau of Field Operations for the Virginia State Police asked that I thank you for and respond to your e-mail of March 2, 2004 concerning HOV violations.

	 

	We certainly understand your concerns regarding those motorists who flagrantly violate the HOV laws on a continual basis. Our Department continually addresses these concerns with increased enforcement and issues hundreds of tickets each year for these violations. 

	 

	It may interest you to know that during 2003 troopers issued 19,042 summonses for HOV violations. You may be assured that we will continue to address the problems you identified and ensure our available resources are effectively and efficiently utilized. 

	 

	Following the attack at the Pentagon additional enforcement and security responsibilities have impacted on manpower and our immediate priorities and patrol activities. 

	 

	Please be assured we are using every resource we have available to effectively address HOV violations on our roads and enforce the other laws we are charged with enforcing.

	 

	We recently began a program to increase enforcement and visibility on the HOV lanes to address those violators who routinely use the HOV lanes for their commute.

	 

	With regards to funds, all revenue collected by the courts as a result of a traffic summons goes into the state literary fund. This fund is primarily used to support capital improvement projects for schools throughout Virginia.  No funds are returned to the state police.

	 

	I am also forwarding a copy of your e-mail to Captain G.M. Counts our Division Commander in Fairfax to make him aware of your concerns and for appropriate action. 

	 

	Thank you for your concern for highway safety. 

	 

	Bud Cox 

	Management Analyst 

	Virginia State Police 

	804-674-2127 

	bcox@vsp.state.va.us

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SlugBuddy Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 21 May 2003 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote SlugBuddy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 02 Mar 2004 at 3:36pm
	Juli, Here is a POC at the state police: Lieutenant Colonel E.A. Stockton, Director of the Bureau of Field Operations for the Virginia State Police asked that I thank you for and respond to your e-mail of March 2, 2004 concerning HOV violations. We certainly understand your concerns regarding those motorists who flagrantly violate the HOV laws on a continual basis. Our Department continually addresses these concerns with increased enforcement and issues hundreds of tickets each year for these violations. It may interest you to know that during 2003 troopers issued 19,042 summonses for HOV violations. You may be assured that we will continue to address the problems you identified and ensure our available resources are effectively and efficiently utilized. Following the attack at the Pentagon additional enforcement and security responsibilities have impacted on manpower and our immediate priorities and patrol activities. Please be assured we are using every resource we have available to effectively address HOV violations on our roads and enforce the other laws we are charged with enforcing. We recently began a program to increase enforcement and visibility on the HOV lanes to address those violators who routinely use the HOV lanes for their commute. With regards to funds, all revenue collected by the courts as a result of a traffic summons goes into the state literary fund. This fund is primarily used to support capital improvement projects for schools throughout Virginia. No funds are returned to the state police. I am also forwarding a copy of your e-mail to Captain G.M. Counts our Division Commander in Fairfax to make him aware of your concerns and for appropriate action. Thank you for your concern for highway safety. Bud Cox Management Analyst Virginia State Police 804-674-2127 bcox@vsp.state.va.us

Juli Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 23 May 2003 Location: va Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Juli Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 03 Mar 2004 at 12:42pm
	Outstanding! Thank you sooooo much for the info! :)

SlugBuddy Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 21 May 2003 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote SlugBuddy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 03 Mar 2004 at 12:54pm
	No problem, let me know what they say in response to you. I think if enough people complain, they will do something more about it. It appears that the money that is made from the fines goes to a state literary fund for the schools but that still means the more they ticket, the more money for a good cause.

Max_28756 Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Location: Va Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Max_28756 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 May 2004 at 12:22pm
	I was looking for a subject that already existed that was close to what I wanted to vent about since I didn't want to start another subject. Being a slug from Fredericksburg, I usually use my morning commute to continue my sleep time, but today was different. I knew my "scraper" so we were talking as I sat in the back of his F-150 extended cab (not much room), and I was able to see into the cars on the HOV clearly. So here's my complaint. There are WAY too many violators on the HOV! Besides the Hybrid cars with only one person (another subject on this site) there were a great deal of violators. Bravo to the State Police who had the mercedes sport coupe (2 seater) pulled over, but in my little area of the HOV, there must have been 3 or 4 others that passed him. Raise the fine and use it to offset the price of the State Police who use their resources and waste their time having to pull over people daily who play the odds. HOV-3 means just that, 3 people or more per vehicle (with exceptions).

glacier Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 11 Dec 2002 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote glacier Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 May 2004 at 1:21pm
	Preaching to the choir my friend. I often think that if the troopers hired a few new "HOV Cops" that they would more than pay for themselves with all the tickets written, if the fines paid were funneled that way. By the way, I was LOL when I saw the sport coupe this morning. Cheers, Glacier

vabigblue Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 16 Jul 2003 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote vabigblue Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 May 2004 at 1:22pm
	I agree. There were several cheaters this morning between 6:15 and 6:40. The car I was in followed a 300ZX all the way to the Pentagon. Several others north of Lorton. Law enforcement must have been engaged in some other activity this morning.

mirangus Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 28 Aug 2002 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote mirangus Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 May 2004 at 1:33pm
	Something interesting I noticed...Whenever the weather is unfavorable or there are accidents on the main lanes (like this morning), there are many more cheaters than average. I guess they figure that the cops are too tied up or don't want to play in the rain. Unfortunately for us, it appears that they are right. It sure would be nice to have some dedicated HOV cops, rain or shine.

vabigblue Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 16 Jul 2003 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote vabigblue Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 May 2004 at 1:38pm
	quote: Originally posted by vabigblue [br]I agree. There were several cheaters this morning between 6:15 and 6:40. The car I was in followed a 300ZX all the way to the Pentagon. Several others north of Lorton. Law enforcement must have been engaged in some other activity this morning. In this post I meant to say "Several others got off the HOV lanes north of Lorton. I agree Mirangus, a person can almost judge when the police are going to be there. Weather is the prime factor I believe.

glacier Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 11 Dec 2002 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote glacier Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 May 2004 at 2:04pm
	Best thing to do is keep calling the troopers. They seem to respond to phone calls well. Cheers, Glacier

USA Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 06 Jun 2002 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote USA Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 May 2004 at 2:45pm
	Last Thursday I took I-66 to the Dulles exit to go to a reception at Tysons (yes, I had a passenger). There were, of course, scads of violators; it was around 6:00 and HOV ends at 6:30 on I-66. There were about four cop cars set up at the spot where the Dulles Toll Road splits from the Dulles Access Road (the Chain Bridge Road overpass) just pulling them over, one after another. [:D][:D][:D][:D][:D] What was really amusing was to see all the brake lights and people diving to the left to get on the Access Road--remember you can legally go non-HOV if you're going to the airport. I wonder if one of the cops was radioing license numbers to someone out near the airport to nail anyone who tried to do the "airport U-turn." (The solution to that is to buy one gallon of gas at the airport gas station, if it's still there--that constitutes "airport business.")