If there’s any District revenue-collection program which shows no signs of slowing down, it’s the one which fines drivers for using a cell phone while driving, ticketing for which hit a record pace in 2010. Given the frequency with which D.C. drivers are ticketed, and considering the city’s dire financial straits, perhaps the Council should take a cue from Virginia Delegate Vivian Watts of Annandale: Watts has introduced a bill which would criminalize all use of a phone while driving in Virginia — yes, even with the use of a hands-free device — and would ramp up the fines for chatting while behind to wheel to upwards of $500. Drivers, of course, aren’t too pleased about the whole “not even with a Bluetooth?” aspect of the proposal, but there wasn’t anyone cited in ABC7’s report complaining about the increased monetary penalties. Currently, the District levies $100 fines to those that are caught yaking away without a headset while driving (and when the police actually enforce the law, of course), but think about it: by adopting the kind of fines that Watts is proposing, the District would be able to pay for Vince Gray and Kwame Brown’s Navigators after only eight citations!