STARTING next month, drivers could be hit with hefty fines even if they aren’t behind the wheel thanks to a new law.
Virginia lawmakers passed a bill that would charge the vehicle owner with a Class 1 misdemeanor to stop unlicensed minors from driving.
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Also, no one is allowed to let a minor with a learner’s permit drive a car if they know the minor is planning on breaking the law.
“It’s another tool that law enforcement would have to hold parents responsible,” W. Chad Green, a member of the state’s House of Delegates, told the Virginia Mercury before the bill was passed.
“Maybe with this change in law, parents and adults will say, ‘hey, we’re not going to let this happen,’ and it could end up saving some lives.”
With the new law, vehicle owners could face a one-year jail sentence and a $2,500 fine.
If there is a car crash — fatal or not — the driver will be hit with a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Tammy McGee, whose son died in a 2019 car crash involving an underage teen driver, has been working with lawmakers to create accountability for parents.
She founded the Gweedo Memorial Foundation in honor of her son, Joseph Conner Williams Guido — affectionately known as “Gweedo” — and has been advocating for teen driving education in the state.
She helped pass a bill in 2021 that addressed safety in school parking lots and another in 2022 that required parental involvement in teen driver education.
McGee also launched a website that allows people to anonymously report unsafe driving, illegal activities, and bullying.
Back in December, she told the Virginia Mercury that she hopes the bill being passed would ensure that all students would have in-car driving education.
Some families can’t afford a private driving instructor, which means they lack a behind-the-wheel education.
According to McGee, this makes teen drivers more likely to drive without a license.
“That gives our parents a peace of mind about the quality of education and the safety of their child when you think about these driving schools,” she told the outlet.
She added that she wouldn’t have been in this position were it not for her son’s death.
“I wouldn’t be passionate about driving and safety,” she said.
“But what I do know is that what happened to me shouldn’t have happened.
“My baby’s aspirations to play collegiate soccer were wiped away by an innocent act of stepping into a vehicle, and anybody should be able to hop into another vehicle and know that that teen is licensed, and that wasn’t the case.”
Penalities for violating new Virignia law
If you violate the new law, which goes into effect on July 1, you will face a Class 1 misdemeanor.
In Virginia, a Class 1 misdemeanor is the most serious kind of misdemeanor offense.
It carries the possibility of up to 12 months in jail and/or a fine of $2,500.
Examples of a Class 1 misdemeanor include:
- Driving under the influence
- Reckless driving
- Assault and battery
- Tresspassing
Source: VirginiaRules.org
The law goes into effect starting on July 1, along with two other laws.
Lawmakers signed a law that has penalties for making threats against public areas, such as spreading rumors or threatening to shoot, bomb, burn, or destroy any building or public place.
Violators will be charged with a Class 5 felony; however, those under the age of 18 will be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Also, it will now be a Class 6 felony for anyone who hides, damages, defrauds, or steals someone’s mail.
People will receive the same charge if they buy or receive someone else’s mail, knowing that it was unlawfully taken.
