Are Virginia Cops and Traffic Laws REALLY this Strict???
 

My brother is a Delaware resident, and he was recently driving through Virginia in his Viper GTS when he was pulled over for doing 83 in a 65. He was handcuffed and hauled off to the local jail for reckless driving!:eek: Fortunately he was with a friend, so she was able to bail him out and the Viper didn't have to be towed. This seems very excessive to me, to say the least. I'm guessing if he was driving a 4-door sedan the officer would have let him on his way with just a ticket. Thoughts anyone? Is this an anomaly or just business as usual?

I'd question his behavior if he got handcuffed and hauled into jail.

20 over the speed limit or any speed over 80mph is reckless driving. Reckless driving in VA typically does not result in being taken to jail. Although I have no experience with how they treat out of state people.

Now, if he was doing over 90 that is a different story. Over 90 will often be charged intent to maim or kill in VA, and as a rule of thumb expect at least 1 day in jail per mph over 90.

In VA speeds over 80 mph or 20 mph over the posted limit is reckless driving, for which you can get arrested. :yesnod:

A law like that (along with radar detectors being illegal) is enough to keep me from ever wanting to visit...

I know a guy who stopped before entering VA, completely removed his radar detector, suction cup, and wire feed, placed them in the trunk, but when stopped, of course they wanted to search the car, found the detector, gave him a ticket. No detector allowed, anyplace in the vehicle, disconnected, or otherwise. :crazy:

I hate the traffic laws in VA. They suck...Period. Its the single worst part of living here.

Im always paranoid when a cop gets behind me, b/c you have no idea what they will decide to pull you over for.

In Virginia, it's up to the officer's discretion as to whether to charge you with reckless or simply speeding. Just because you're going over 80 (or 20 over the limit) doesn't mean that they have to slap you with reckless. On DMV's web site, you can see the points for various offenses. There's a listing for reckless, but there's a separate listing for Speeding 20+.

Here are the 4 most common situations:
Officer gives the driver a simple speeding ticket for 20+ over (or whatever is appropriate).
Driver wasn't only driving too fast (i.e. he was driving like a tool) and gets a reckless ticket.
Driver is a d-bag to the officer and gets a reckless ticket.
Officer is a jerk/in a bad mood and hands out a reckless ticket.

Here's the relevant statute if it's a speed-based reckless charge:
§ 46.2-862. Exceeding speed limit.

A person shall be guilty of reckless driving who drives a motor vehicle on the highways in the Commonwealth (i) at a speed of twenty miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limit or (ii) in excess of eighty miles per hour regardless of the applicable maximum speed limit.

Because reckless driving is a Class 1 Misdemeanor (as close to a Felony as you can get) and carries a maximum penalty of 1 year in jail and a $2,500 fine, the officer can, if he so chooses, most certainly take you to jail.

The courts tend to be more lenient if you're charged under the reckless driving general rule, which is § 46.2-852. But if he was charged under 46.2-862, that's not so good. :willy:

:cheers:

Edit: I've never actually heard of anyone going to jail for that level of speeding, assuming that they were only speeding and were nice to the officer. So I'm wondering if your friend copped an attitude or was weaving/cutting/racing/etc.? :confused:

I have a lot of cop friends here in Va and most of them will just give you a ticket. But like the others have posted if he was doing somthing stupid then yes he could be jailed. I have been told that some of the cops will pull you over just to talk about your car so not all cops here are bad.

I was stopped for tint years ago and the cop saw the radar detector on the passenger's seat (not driving the C5). The officer said they cannot be in the cabin, so he had me put it in the trunk and he gave me a warning for the tint and the radar detector.

Where in VA was this?

Everybody should watch this before they drive in VA,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-JZtPQh0FQ

Haha, yeah, seen that one before. He was probably in that area to the north or south of the Bay Bridge-Tunnel.


Doubtful that he was weaving or cutting; that doesn't sound like him. And if he was racing, he'd probably be going a LOT faster than 83 ;)

...copped an attitude is definitely a possibility though.

This happen to my cousin a couple years ago, he was doing 81 on 66 West in his Porsche and got pulled over and hauled into jail. I know so because I was in the passenger seat.....at the hearing they gave him 30 days in jail with 20 of them suspended so he had to do about a week in county.

Just an fyi, this was his first offense of any kind....I'm assuming they gave him hard time because he's hispanic and had a yellow 911.

I wouldn't think that they could not search your trunk without probable cause unless you give them permission.

Second, if the radar detector is in the trunk disconnected, I don't see how in the world they could confiscate it. It's legal in all the other states and if your just passing through, what are you supposed to do? :willy:

I got to my sister's in Richmond a lot and always have my detector with me. Unplugged and locked in the glove box while in VA. But then again, I don't give them a reason to stop me. ;)

I've lived my whole life in Va and never heard of anyone getting hauled to jail for reckless. I would say that is definitely the exception rather than the rule. I keep my speed at 74 in 65 zones on the interstates and have been doing it for more than 20 years and never gotten a ticket doing it.

Anybody dumb enough to consent to a search learns a lesson from the experience.

At best, you'll spend the rest of the officer's shift watching him/her toss your car...after which you'll get to put it all back together.

At worst, they'll find some trivial malum prohibitum type offense like your pal got.

Repeat after me: "I do not consent to any search, am I free to go?"

The state is hurting for money so they are trying to balance the budget on the backs of drivers.

I recently got a speeding ticket for 40 in a 25. However the cop had his radar set up right where the speed limit changes from 25 to 35. The fine is $6 for every mph over the limit.....plus $65 court fee.

I'm going to fight it. I'll probably lose, but I won't go down without a fight! :smash: :lol:

They have twice as many cops in Va.Beach for the [tourist season ] HA! tourist don,t
get tickets they spend their money here.So we the locals pay their wages with the BS
tickets they write year round.
Stay away from this money grubing resort town .

Enough about Virginia
 

I am a Virginia native and love my state. I have had a total of three speeding and one reckless driving ticket in fifty years of driving. Never went to jail on any account. To me the key to the whole thing is your attitude when you get stopped. Always repect the officer, remembering he or she is only doing their job. Ask if any consideration could be extended usually gets a positve responce. When you go to court wear a suit and be on time. Don't, I repeat Don't, be stupid and offer silly excuses. Remember these patrol cars have the best equiptment money can buy and all the "officer not properly trained" excuses have been used. Confess your sins and ask for forgiveness. This works for me here in Virginia. The one ticket I got in North Carolina 58/55 cost me big and I had to drive over 100 miles to pay it. So enough about Virginia.

:cheers:
Earl

No it's not! If these laws are true Virgina is truly an insane state, and you would have to be insane to live there!

Except for the laws on detectors, Virginia's laws are pretty standard for the U.S.