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Driving In Virginia, AKA The Statewide Speedtrap!

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December 12, 2018, 01:45 PM
PASig
Driving In Virginia, AKA The Statewide Speedtrap!
I had to travel from PA to VA for work this week and this is how my driving went:

Pennsylvania: speed limit sign says 70, I go 80 and there are still people flying by me like I'm standing still

Maryland: speed limit sign says 65, I go 75 and I'm keeping up with traffic

Virginia: speed limit sign says 55, I go 54.999 mph and few people are going much faster.

Virginia, your cops are a bunch of ticketing bastards Confused Talking with a guy at my VA location and he tells me he was pulled over and threatened with "felony reckless endangerment" and when he began to object, the cop told him "would you like me to pull all your luggage out and search it because you are running your mouth?" The guy was headed to vacation with his wife and kids.

I hate driving in VA to be honest and feel a big sense of relief when I see the Welcome to MD and then Welcome to PA signs. Cops should not be ticketing people for going a couple miles over the limit in my opinion.


December 12, 2018, 02:01 PM
UTsig
I remember VA being this way back in the '70s. I drove through to FL a couple of times and Richmond at least twice, we knew to Slow Down!


________________________________

"Nature scares me" a quote by my friend Bob after a rough day at sea.
December 12, 2018, 02:02 PM
RHINOWSO
They're not speeding tickets, they are 'ad hoc taxes'.

Don't forget they are also the only state to outlaw the ability for anyone to scan the electromagnetic spectrum for radar signals.

I used to drive there a lot, but mostly I was south of there. I hated seeing the VA signs and putting my Radar Detector in the glove box.

Fraking jackboots, they are! Big Grin Big Grin Big Grin
December 12, 2018, 02:18 PM
egregore
IIRC, 80 mph is considered reckless driving, period, in VA, even on a 70 mph interstate. I have traveled there from time to time and not personally encountered any speed traps, but not everyone is so lucky.
December 12, 2018, 02:23 PM
PASig
quote:
Originally posted by egregore:
IIRC, 80 mph is considered reckless driving, period, in VA, even on a 70 mph interstate. I have traveled there from time to time and not personally encountered any speed traps, but not everyone is so lucky.


Damn. In PA, it's considered "keeping up with traffic so you don't get run off the road" Big Grin


December 12, 2018, 02:31 PM
sigmonkey
quote:
Originally posted by egregore:
IIRC, 80 mph is considered reckless driving, period, in VA....


In Florida it's considered a "consultation flag" violation.




"the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב!
December 12, 2018, 03:08 PM
h2oys
You might recall one of my previous posts wherein my daughter was nailed doing 82 in a 70 zone. Anything over 80 on the highway, or 10mph over in other roads, is reckless driving and a criminal offense similar to DUI..

It cost us about $1k court costs, lawyer fees, drivers education, etc. to get is reduced. That is as long as she is not caught speeding again.
December 12, 2018, 03:17 PM
Leemur
Anything over 80 is reckless regardless the posted speed limit. Any other spot it’s reckless if you’re 15 over the posted speed limit. VA cops love out of state drivers FYI so watch your ass unless you’re in a vehicle with VA tags.
December 12, 2018, 05:01 PM
lowflash
In decades past, as in the previous century I95 Ladysmith VA was a real bitch on speed enforcement
December 12, 2018, 06:05 PM
Bulldog7972
Don't take it personal, even other cops don't like the VSP. IIRC, they stopped a convoy of NYPD who were returning to NY after helping out during Katrina.
December 12, 2018, 06:09 PM
mcrimm
We just drove from Montana to Florida via Idaho, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama.

In Montana, Idaho and Utah, Interstate speed limits are 80 MPH. Needless to say, 85 is a normal Interstate cruising speed. In these states, you'll hardly ever see a Highway Patrol. In some of these other states, enforcement is everywhere. I just put the cruise control on 2 under and mindlessly pass through as fast - or slow - as possible.



I'm sorry if I hurt you feelings when I called you stupid - I thought you already knew - Unknown
...................................
When you have no future, you live in the past. " Sycamore Row" by John Grisham
December 12, 2018, 06:54 PM
NK402
I have been driving here in Virginia for over 60 years. Never once had an issue with the state patrol. Can't say the same for out of state drivers. Smile
December 12, 2018, 07:49 PM
calugo
I obey the speed limit in VA to avoid giving the state any of my hard earned money. With that said I'm driving from PA to Tucson and passed through VA without incident. When I crossed into TN on I81 and throughout the entire length of I40 to Memphis I must have seen over 2 dozen TN state cops either waiting to pull you over or already pulled someone over. Bastards must be short FY18 quotas so they were playing catch up today. Fortunately I was in my Tundra hauling my motorcycle so I kept my speed to only 5 over.
December 12, 2018, 08:01 PM
ASKSmith
Where did this happen?

I've noticed in the past few times I've been in VA, if you want to pass traffic, you need to be in the right hand lane.

Between Fredericksburg and Petersburg on I-95, traffic is about 80mph in the right lane, but 55 in the left. I dread driving that stretch of road...


-----------------
I apologize now...
December 12, 2018, 08:09 PM
KDR
Most of my VA driving is on I77 and I’ve never had an issue going 3-5 over staying with the flow of traffic

If I enter VA through Emporia on I-95 I will not be doing more than 1-2 below the speed limit. I’ve never been through there without seeing troopers pulling people over.


____________________
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December 12, 2018, 09:49 PM
Skins2881
quote:
Originally posted by Leemur:
Anything over 80 is reckless regardless the posted speed limit. Any other spot it’s reckless if you’re 15 over the posted speed limit. VA cops love out of state drivers FYI so watch your ass unless you’re in a vehicle with VA tags.


It is 20 MPH over.



Jesse

Sic Semper Tyrannis
December 12, 2018, 10:08 PM
RHINOWSO
Yeah, VA is one of those states which unless you know the roads well or are a local, it's best to transit at Speed Limit +5mph tops. Just not worth the trouble, even when everyone else is blowing by you like you are standing still. WAZE can help, but still it depends on your level of risk.

And lots of stateys hang out at the borders looking to pick off out of staters, because they know none of them are going to fight the ticket. You'll just pay the piper and send them a check.

Another reason I never accept a rental car with out of state tags when traveling. Never.
December 13, 2018, 12:45 AM
Rey HRH
Drove through VA twice sometime in October on the way to Maine and back from Maine with CA plates.

On the way back, it was night time, I really wasn't expecting to drive through Virginia but I did. Only saw it at the border and that's when my radar started beeping. I broke off a tab on the radar holder as I pulled it off my windshield and unplugged it.

Other than VA, I loved driving on the straight freeways with little or no traffic, driving fairly fast.



"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
December 13, 2018, 08:08 AM
Perception
It has long been a hope of mine that when California falls off the left coast, Virginia will fall off the right to balance the country out so it doesn't flip over like Guam.




"The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people."
"Odd," said Arthur, "I thought you said it was a democracy."
"I did," said Ford, "it is."
"So," said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't the people get rid of the lizards?"
"It honestly doesn't occur to them. They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they've voted in more or less approximates the government they want."
"You mean they actually vote for the lizards."
"Oh yes," said Ford with a shrug, "of course."
"But," said Arthur, going for the big one again, "why?"
"Because if they didn't vote for a lizard, then the wrong lizard might get in."
December 13, 2018, 08:08 AM
Leemur
quote:
Originally posted by Skins2881:
quote:
Originally posted by Leemur:
Anything over 80 is reckless regardless the posted speed limit. Any other spot it’s reckless if you’re 15 over the posted speed limit. VA cops love out of state drivers FYI so watch your ass unless you’re in a vehicle with VA tags.


It is 20 MPH over.


Got a site for that? I’d swear it’s 15 but I’ve been wrong once before.