Speeding costs you more in Va. than in Md.

According to Battle, some judges apply a formula that adds two days in jail for every mile over 90 mph, with a bonus 30 days for breaking the 100-mph barrier. That means, he writes, that if you're convicted of driving 94 mph in a 65 mph zone, you would be eligible for eight days behind bars in addition to six points and whatever fine the judge chose to pile on for reckless driving.

In Maryland, at 94 mph, you're looking at a speeding ticket worth a maximum of $290 and five points. Considering that anyone driving above 90 on a public highway has decided other lives are expendable, Virginia's approach seems reasonable to me.

Now Battle is a lawyer who specializes in getting out-of-staters off the hook for reckless driving, so naturally he urges people to hire an attorney when facing such charges. Vested interest aside, that's probably good advice. Prosecutors don't like to cut bargains with nonlawyers.

An even better plan would be to slow down in Virginia and confine one's high-speed hijinks to Maryland - the land of lenient legislators and wrist-slapping judges.

Assembly update

A bill before the General Assembly that would have established a mandatory 3-foot buffer zone when motorists pass bicycles died a quiet death last week - smothered in a subcommittee of the House Environmental Matters Committee.

Because it died in subcommittee, there was no recorded vote. Bicyclists who value their lives can register their unhappiness with the panel's chairman, Del. James E. Malone Jr. The Democrat represents the Arbutus and Elkridge areas.

MARC alert

MARC riders who think this column has shown too little sympathy for their plight can look for me on the Penn Line tomorrow. Feel free to vent, but bring a sense of humor.