WASHINGTON – Besides a free gym, free airport parking and free junkets to foreign countries, members of Congress can add voided traffic tickets to their list of perks.
Sen. Robert Byrd, a stuffy, silver-haired Democrat from West Virginia who loves the traditions of Congress, got a break last week when he caused an expensive traffic accident – and his summons for following too closely was torn up.
“The senator never raised a stink. He was all ready to go to court,” insisted Tom Gavin, a spokesman for the seven-term senator.
But when Fairfax County police told him about an obscure legal provision giving any member of Congress a “get out of jail free” pass on all but the most serious crimes, Byrd jumped at the chance, Gavin conceded.
The law says congressmen can be arrested only for “treason, felony and breach of peace.”
It all started May 7, when Byrd was driving his wife, Erma, in a rented Cadillac from his home in McLean, Va., to Taylor County, W. Va., for a weekend Mother’s Day event.
On Route 50, the Byrds were passing through the community of Fair Oaks when a van in front of them, driven by Chris Lee, a house painter, came to a sudden stop.
Byrd’s Cadillac slammed into the back of the van, causing $7,000 in damage to the Caddy and $700 to the van.
Gavin insists Byrd never mentioned the seldom-invoked law and was all set to show up in court July 19 to face charges of following too closely.
“He had a court date all picked out,” Gavin said.
But as the couple was leaving the police station, an officer – who reportedly had consulted with the local Fairfax County prosecutor – ran out after them and told Byrd the department had changed its mind and would tear up the ticket.