93 in a 55 in Rural Virginia

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  • August 5, 2014 at 8:19 pm #915705
    83b
    Participant

    An automotive journalist who lives in DC just finished serving a weekend in lockup for doing 93mph in a 55mph on Route 211 (Lee Highway!) near Culpeper while road testing the new tuned Camero. Based on his writing, which is a marvelous example of people being able to go through an intense experience while learning absolutely nothing from it, he should consider an alternate career. Hopefully his new insurance rates will make that a necessity very soon.

    What’s really galling though are all the comments defending someone going 180% of a posted speed limit.

    Never Speed In Virginia: Lessons From My Three Days In Jail
    By: Patrick George
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]6373[/ATTACH]

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  • August 5, 2014 at 8:40 pm #1007528
    ShawnoftheDread
    Participant

    He should have served an extra day because Chevy.

    August 5, 2014 at 8:40 pm #1007529
    TwoWheelsDC
    Participant

    @83(b) 92016 wrote:

    An automotive journalist who lives in DC just finished serving a weekend in lockup for doing 93mph in a 55mph on Route 211 (Lee Highway!) near Culpeper while road testing the new tuned Camero. Based on his writing, which is a marvelous example of people being able to go through an intense experience while learning absolutely nothing from it, he should consider an alternate career. Hopefully his new insurance rates will make that a necessity very soon.

    What’s really galling though are all the comments defending someone going 180% of a posted speed limit.

    Never Speed In Virginia: Lessons From My Three Days In Jail
    By: Patrick George
    [ATTACH=CONFIG]6373[/ATTACH]

    Of course it’s Patrick George. I read Jalopnik regularly, and the auto-dudebro-ness makes me enjoy it less and less…but his articles seems to be the auto-douchiest of them all.

    August 5, 2014 at 8:48 pm #1007531
    lordofthemark
    Participant

    Really, really crazy. Speed limits are set absurdly low, 45 mph on some highways. Radar detectors are illegal, and cops have devices to detect them. And if you get caught going over 80 mph at all, that’s automatically a reckless driving charge.

    Actually we have freeways with with limits as high as 70MPH, and loads and loads of rural roads with limits of 55 (like the one he was on) which is in line with most states. 45MPH are usually suburban arterials or parkways or have other reasons for not being 55. In fact, IIUC the Commonwealth does not allow localities to set limits below 25MPH even on local streets in residential areas, and it virtually makes speed cameras illegal. And IIUC he is incorrect that going 80 MPH on an interstate would automatically get a reckless driving charge. But 93, on a non-interstate posted at 55?

    What a first class jerk.

    August 5, 2014 at 9:09 pm #1007532
    DismalScientist
    Participant

    Undoubtedly, it was on the four lane divided highway west of Warrenton. Any auto writer worth his salt should know that road is notorious for speed enforcement.

    August 5, 2014 at 10:45 pm #1007536
    Oldtowner
    Participant

    80+ is automatic reckless in VA. See Paragraph (iv) below:

    Virginia Code Section 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 where the applicable speed limit is thirty miles per hour or less, (ii) at a speed of sixty miles per hour or more where the applicable maximum speed limit is thirty-five miles per hour, (iii) at a speed of twenty miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limits where the applicable maximum speed limit is forty miles per hour or more, or (iv) in excess of eighty miles per hour regardless of the applicable maximum speed limit).

    August 5, 2014 at 11:03 pm #1007538
    mstone
    Participant

    Sympathy: none

    August 6, 2014 at 3:01 am #1007547
    PotomacCyclist
    Participant

    Reminds me of the guy (a Georgetown law student) who was caught driving 126 mph on the GW Parkway in 2006.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/11/AR2006051101829.html

    According to the article, two motorcyclists were clocked in 2005 at 160 mph on the parkway! They were never caught. (Have to wonder if they didn’t end up killing themselves in crashes since that time.)

    Then there’s these people boasting about driving at 100 mph+ on the parkway, also in 2006.

    http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/archive/index.php?t-645829.html

    August 6, 2014 at 12:05 pm #1007549
    dplasters
    Participant

    My favorite is from the comments

    but not going faster than 80 on 495 or 95 is down right impossible most places.

    Yep.. you just can’t possibly do less than 80 on 495. I’m thinking to myself, you’re lucky if you can do 30 on 495 during large parts of the day…

    August 6, 2014 at 12:08 pm #1007550
    mstone
    Participant

    I love the motorists who claim that they’re too scared to slow down because someone might hit them. I’m thinking, “wtf do you have to be afraid of? paint scratches?”

    August 6, 2014 at 12:35 pm #1007552
    lordofthemark
    Participant

    @Oldtowner 92026 wrote:

    80+ is automatic reckless in VA. See Paragraph (iv) below:

    Virginia Code Section 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 where the applicable speed limit is thirty miles per hour or less, (ii) at a speed of sixty miles per hour or more where the applicable maximum speed limit is thirty-five miles per hour, (iii) at a speed of twenty miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limits where the applicable maximum speed limit is forty miles per hour or more, or (iv) in excess of eighty miles per hour regardless of the applicable maximum speed limit).

    My understanding is that that is at the discretion of the police officer, and they will often not give a reckless driving citation to someone doing say 81 in a 65 zone. So I guess it depends what you mean by “automatic”.

    August 6, 2014 at 1:13 pm #1007555
    83b
    Participant

    @lordofthemark 92046 wrote:

    My understanding is that that is at the discretion of the police officer, and they will often not give a reckless driving citation to someone doing say 81 in a 65 zone. So I guess it depends what you mean by “automatic”.

    I’m embarrassed to admit this, but my experience was different. I got ticketed doing (according to the officer) 82mph in a 70mph zone on Highway 85 in Dinwiddie County. It was labor day weekend and I was driving with friends back from a wedding in NC. Traffic had slowed to a crawl for several miles due to a broken down vehicle. Immediately after we passed the stalled car and everyone was accelerating back up to highway speeds and sorting into the two lanes according to speed, we passed an officer camped out in the median. He managed to pull over five of us simultaneously!

    I only got out of the ticket without a horrendous fee because the local traffic attorney (dinwiddietrafficlawyer.com) took pity on a broke law student after I spent about a half hour on the phone with him reminiscing about his days at UVA. I learned my lesson. Even with all of DC’s automated enforcement that remains my only ticket.

    Back to your point, the officer led me to believe his hands were tied in writing the ticket and the lawyer said that they always go for the reckless charge if it’s available because it means significantly more revenue for the county.

    August 6, 2014 at 1:34 pm #1007556
    DismalScientist
    Participant

    Isn’t “R&P” the speed limit for bikes on the W&OD?:rolleyes:

    August 6, 2014 at 1:37 pm #1007557
    Subby
    Participant

    Three days in jail is excessive for what he did. Any jail time is excessive if it was his first offense. Pay a huge fine, move on.

    August 6, 2014 at 1:52 pm #1007559
    thucydides
    Participant

    @Subby 92052 wrote:

    Three days in jail is excessive for what he did. Any jail time is excessive if it was his first offense. Pay a huge fine, move on.

    I had the exact opposite reaction. Driving 93 MPH on those roads is something akin to attempted murder in my book. Three days in jail and a year’s suspended license would have been more like it.

    August 6, 2014 at 2:03 pm #1007563
    mstone
    Participant

    @Subby 92052 wrote:

    Three days in jail is excessive for what he did. Any jail time is excessive if it was his first offense. Pay a huge fine, move on.

    I half agree. No jail, but no car either.

    Unfortunately, we live in a society which considers not having a car worse than jail.

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