Jalopnik: never speed in virginia...3 days in jail...

That first statement I don't think is quite "you", LS. The second one however? Entirely plausible!

gp

 

I've heard and seen some strange things running around on the roads late at night in MD. It could be one of us in a Can Am car headed to the local grocery store!



LS

 

I've driven a lot of miles, most in my home state of Virginia. For some reason, all of my tickets have occurred in other states when I haven't been driving recklessly. The worst ever was Plattsburgh, New York (lashss was there with me). We came upon Plattsburgh on our way home from the Canadian GP, it was a beautiful day with the top off. We came over a hill and saw a Jag XJR pulled over (incidentally I'd just been talking with the same driver at a gas station once we went over the border). For the next several miles we had the V1 pinging off continuously as we went past speed trap after speed trap at 63 mph in a 65 to ensure we wouldn't get a ticket. Then we got one last hit and the officer was going the other way on I95, did his u-turn and gave me a ticket for 83 in a 65. I was so livid that a few weeks later I actually went up to fight the case. In the end I settled for a "failure to obey a traffic device" (which I guess was a speed limit sign?). Talk about a place I PROMISE to never give a dollar to -- Plattsburgh, NY.

I've received two tickets within an hour in Montana, one in North Dakota, and one other in North Carolina. My first was in Maryland at one of those already referenced "traps" where they pulled over about 5 of us in a row by standing in the left lane of the overpass from 210 to 295.

But never in Virginia. The closest was a campus police officer who pulled me over just a few blocks from my house and admitted that he didn't have radar on me and was just admiring the car but did think I was speeding, so he asked me what my speed was. I promised him I never sped near the college campus, to which he replied "You looked awfully fast from the side."

 

105 in 55...

 

Seems VA is still out of step with other jurisdictions and hasn't deemed fit to adjust its' draconian position.

CW

 

I've gotten ticketed in NY near Lake George on the Northway for 108/55 drag racing another car at 2am. We were the only 2 cars on the road (well, except for the officer). Long story short I didn't get any points on my license and got to donate several hundred $$ to the local officials in the form of fines and court costs. No jail time, didn't get arrested, car impounded, nothing. Just got yelled at, ticketed and sent on my merry way.

I've done most of my driving in NY and have gotten caught doing some very stupid things, but never spent more than an hour or so at the station. In my opinion VA is just insane with motor vehicle penalties.

 

I don't know, I did some pretty stupid things years ago at very high rates of speed here in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The VSP and a bunch of some localities in southern Virginia gave me nice invitations to court. The only one that did not get reduced significantly was an HOV violation in Old Towne Alexandria, which while technically correct was kind of BS as I was in the lane for a block and a half to merge from a turn, rather than merging within the first block. But, being a Fairfax County resident at the time, and not the City of Alexandria, the judge took all the money he could, but still suspended the points. Be polite, contrite, but cheerful, and it is incredible what you can get away with.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, that car looks awfully fast *STANDING STILL*!!



gp

 

Learned that 18 year old nephew was sentenced yesterday to one day in Fairfux County jail for speeding. Only speeding, no accident or nothing. Officer was demanding 30 days, only hiring a lawyer got it reduced to just 1 day. Locking up youth w/ hardcore criminals, that will teach them........probably worse things.

 

The officer does not get to demand crap, the DA on the other hand can ask. He won't be locked up with hard core criminals, he will be locked up in the jail with some drunks, court date skippers, and other speeders.

 

It was supposed to be 24 hours. For some reason, they kept him longer and after 24 hours the procedure at Fairfax is, strip naked, get into the orange jumpsuit and was sent upstairs w/ the hardcore prisoners. 18 year old church goodie-goodie that has been 90+ in his shifterkart since before he was a teen. Not condoning speeding on the street, just saying punishment is harsher than I remember when I was growing up.

 

Jason Werth showed up for jail this week:

Nats outfielder Jayson Werth reports to jail - WTOP

WASHINGTON – Washington Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth arrived at a Farifax County jail Friday night to begin the first of several weekends behind bars. He starts serving a five-day jail sentence for reckless driving, ABC 7 reports.

Werth pleaded guilty to a reckless driving charge on Thursday in Circuit Court and received the five- day sentence for driving 105 mph on the Capital Beltway in the McLean, Virginia area during a Sunday morning last July.

The judge agreed to allow Werth to serve his sentence on weekends to minimize any disruption to his rehabilitation following shoulder surgery.

.

 

You can bet the quota makers were out last weekend from DC to the NC line with that last 45 miles being the worst. Der Gestapo would ticket Joe Duh southbound to Florida, then run 110 MPH to the next turn around, do a 180 slide and hit a north bounder. We watched and laughed at the stupidest cops on earth making quota while violating the law worse than anyone they ticketed. When they kill somebody we'll enjoy the baggie pipes playing Amazing whatever.

 

The crazy part about that story is that he got on at Georgetown Pike and was getting off on GW Parkway when he got nabbed at something like 7am on a Sunday. That's only about 1/4 of a mile between the two. I'm guessing there was no traffic at that time and he just gave it a quick squirt between exits... probably only hit that speed for a second at most given the amount of time he was on 495. Not condoning his actions, but 5 days in jail seems crazy. It's not like he was lapping the beltway at that speed.

 

Plenty of traffic on the beltway 24/7. We'd be singing a different tune about the length of punishment time if he had injured or killed himself or someone else giving it just a "Quick Squirt". I'm sure he didn't miss a minute of the Super Bowl.

 

I personally agree, penalty seems pretty damn disproportionate and stiff. But lucky for him he is a ball playing baller.

If his employment was reliant upon a security clearance (or potentially even barrister's or securities license or what have you), as so many are in this area; with the misdemeanor classification he'd be looking at bye bye job and any future similar employment prospects and pretty much end of life as you know it.

Happens every single day to people convicted of speeding in VA.

And I do believe that if a criminal misdemeanor conviction is a gating factor to your employment status, even if you're not a VA resident, with linked MVA / criminal databases and state and regulatory reciprocity laws (not to mention binding standards of full self disclosure), you're still screwed no matter where it is you do live.

I think the penalties are pretty far out of line with the probabilities of the potential harm of the conduct, but its the legislative intent. And quite clearly a lot of people want it that way, else this controlling function we have called a voting democracy would change it.

Part that really irks me is, if your true intent is to maximize public safety, and you're perfectly willing to completely ruin the lives of people exhibiting some level of arguably negligent road-way behavior, at least be even handed and remotely based in logic about it. What's more dangerous, a guy going 90mph for an exit or two in his F12 at dawn on a Sunday, or some schmuck in rush hour with busted struts, bad ball joints and bald chord-showing tires inflated to 10 psi just waiting to blowout? One your life is potentially totally ruined, the other you get a no-appearance-necessary repair citation - typically w/ no impound and a nominal $ fine.

I'm not a statistical data vault, but I'd bet big $$, look up DOT / NTSB stat.s, faulty equipment has way more of record as a deadly road-way public safety hazard than excess speed.

But even if you don't agree ideologically - as I personally pretty much do not - don't speed in VA and you shouldn't have a problem. And that's exactly what they want. And as much as I hate to admit it, I think it is working pretty damn well.

 

I've had it with VA. We bought a Small Cessna last year. I can fly it all day long at 120mph and it costs less than the Mondial in every way except fuel burn. And, I'm fighting back against the ridiculously low speed limits. I now drive exactly the speed limit. Pisses everybody off even the cops when they get stuck behind me. But, If we all drove the speed limit we would gridlock and shut down Northern Virginia. They rely on speeding to make the inadequate roads work. Who's with me?

Dave

 

Agreed. Growing up right off Georgetown Pike, I floored the family station wagon many a time doing that short distance to get on the parkway. I don't think I got the old wagon above 64mph though, floored the entire distance.

That section is pretty clear that early in the morning unless they are doing construction on the bridge.

This punishment does not match the "crime".