Americans for Limited Government Foundation poll finds Virginians support motorist-friendly reforms

 

Fairfax, Va. – A new poll of Virginia voters commissioned by Americans for Limited Government Foundation found strong support for motorist-friendly reforms and strong opposition to predatory towing and policing for profit.

With more than six million drivers in the Commonwealth of Virginia, motorist advocates are putting politicians on notices that voters will be looking closely at their attitudes toward predatory policies that impact drivers.

“I think what this poll shows is that Virginia voters, from across the political spectrum, are overwhelmingly opposed to taxation by citation schemes. This poll also contains very bad news for two groups of crony capitalists: predatory towing companies and red light and speed camera companies. Candidates would be wise to take note and immediately get to work on finding solutions to address these voters’ concerns.” – Richard McCarty, Founder, Coalition for Motorist Rights

“Virginians clearly are overwhelmingly opposed by the automated vehicle tax cameras which have little utility except to act as speed traps. Not surprisingly, the car tax is particularly reviled in the state. The next governor should reform Virginia’s laws to reflect the concerns of drivers that the existing system is punitive with little redeeming value on the safety side.” Richard Manning, President, Americans for Limited Government Foundation

Key findings:

Predatory towing

73.7 percent support reform to curb abuses
52.4 percent strongly support reform

Traffic ticket quotas

81.9 percent support banning them
65.6 percent strongly support a quota ban

Speed cameras

72.3 percent support banning them
52 percent strongly support a ban

Red light cameras

75.1 percent support banning them
51.4 percent strongly support a ban

Speed trap towns

77.6 percent support state laws to rein in speed trap towns
60.3 percent strongly support such legislation

Mandatory annual vehicle inspections

68.4 percent support a change in state law to only require inspections every two
years, rather than annually

Annual car tax

80.5 percent support abolishing the tax
61.4 percent strongly support abolishing the tax

Hypermetrics conducted the poll by phone between May 3-6 with 855 Virginians statewide responding. The margin of error was 3 percent.

For media availability, contact Richard McCarty at 202-656-2653 or email rlmcca@yahoo.com.