DATE: Monday, November 10, 1997             TAG: 9711080002

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Letter 

                                            LENGTH:  101 lines

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

UNCLOGGING COURTS

Stop frivolous suits,

make the loser pay

Lawsuits today have become a popular form of retaliation or threat to those being sued. It is normal for the defendant to pay off the suit, as it would be much more expensive to fight it out in court. This is not the way to run a legal system.

I propose that civil litigation laws be altered to cause the loser of any suit to pay all court, lawyer (both defending and prosecuting) and subsequent costs to the winner or court. This proposal is not new. It has been entered as a bill on both state and federal levels. Our politicians (who are mostly lawyers) reject this proposal because there will be fewer lawsuits actually filed; therefore, less money for them.

Such changes will reduce the burden on the civil court system and put a stop to the many frivolous lawsuits that exist today.

A. William Outten

Retired police lieutenant

Portsmouth, Oct. 27, 1997

DINING OUT

Here's a tip:

Leave a tip

In response to Kerry Dougherty's Oct. 25 column, ``Here's a tip: Don't tell us how thankful to be,'' consider the other side of this issue: ``Here's a tip: Tell us why to be thankful.''

Restaurant patrons may not be aware that the wait staff receives less than half ($2.06) of the minimum hourly wage and must pay 15 percent of these wages at each pay period, further reducing the hourly wage to $1.75. So wait staff must receive gratuity in order to recover the shortage in hourly pay.

The solution to this disparity seems simple - restaurant owners may increase wait-staff wages. But if wages increase, then meal prices increase, and the cost of dining out becomes too costly for patrons.

The next time you enter a restaurant, notice the little things that matter to your dining pleasure: clean tables and seating, clean floors, neatly placed tableware and napkins, sugar and other condiments at your fingertips, a decorative table display to enhance the atmosphere. The wait staff provides these amenities, delivers the food and beverages, then picks up after you.

Before you leave the restaurant, remember that your needs and wants have not been provided by your mother; but if your mother has been your waitress, don't forget she is working to earn a living, so leave a tip.

Barbara Simmons

Norfolk, Oct. 26, 1997

HIGHWAYS

Open HOV lanes to all

I can't believe the gall of the people who think it is not only a good idea but fair to ask if we would pay to use the HOV lanes when alone in our cars.

I believe the taxpayers of Virginia have already paid for those lanes; they should never have been so designated. What we needed were more lanes, not lanes with restrictions.

An immediate remedy, where the lane is not used in both directions, is to remove the HOV designation now. We don't have a Pentagon where 30,000 people go every day; at the naval base, ships have different schedules.

Stop the waste of taxpayer money on Routes 64 and 264 for lightly used lanes, and let everyone use the lanes.

Jon Campbell

Virginia Beach, Oct. 18, 1997

Road rage incited

by TV series

Road rage is rampant. I believe that a TV series called ``Road Rebels'' contributes to road rage with its in-your-face approach to chastising bad drivers. Viewers pick up the challenge-the-offender mentality and copy it when they are behind the wheel.

We need a pro-active program to address this issue, but running people down and screaming in their face sends the wrong message; not to mention that it may result in tragedy.

Ease up, Road Rebels.

Verne Smith

Virginia Beach, Oct. 24, 1997

HIGHWAY PERILS

Dabbling drivers make

for a close shave

I strongly agree with Pamela M. Lonce's Oct. 24 letter about ``rude adult drivers.''

On a recent morning, driving from Greenbrier Parkway to Route 44, I observed a lady driving a Ford station wagon while applying make-up and smoking a cigarette, and a man driving a Jeep Cherokee, shaving and using a cellular phone.

The follow is a scenario of what could have been in the The Pilot's next edition:

10-CAR PILE-UP ON I-64.

``Investigators found a lady driving a station wagon had a mascara wand embedded in her eye. The driver of a Jeep died from injuries caused by cellular phone being forced down his throat after hitting a steering wheel. Also, a razor was found embedded in his cheek.''

And all because the lady could not apply makeup in the privacy of her home. And the man did not shave at home and could not wait to get to work to make his phone call.

Virginia L. Meyer

Chesapeake, Oct. 27, 1997

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