Thanks for the reminder.

Ten years or so ago I got stuck behind a dozen or so semis side by side on I-81 for 20 or 30 miles. When they finally got out of the way I blew by them (was driving a mustang at the time). The state trooper told me he clocked me at 89. I am positive I was well above that part of the time. I got a good @$$ chewing and ended up with a ticket for 79 in a 65 zone. The fact I was active duty at the time and polite maybe helped him have some mercy. It was still a very expensive lesson.

 

I'd seen another post about having gotten a ticket for >80 in Virginia just before I happened to travel to Virginia. Probably saved my bacon, as I tend to creep above 80 when I'm travelling.

 

Yeah, I'm hoping some people will see this thread in the same way and avoid a very costly mistake.

 

I think that this was the law even back in 70 when I got my first DL way before the 55mph thing. Not that it makes any diff. When I am doing 75 on 81 and out of state folks go flying by me I always am amazed because they can really bust your ***** if so inclined.

 

I just found a list put out by Road & Track that talked about this issue. Most states have no such thresholds at all. Most that do have a specified number of MPH over the posted speed limit. That number varies from 20 on the low end to 35 on the upper end. A couple states say that 100 MPH is excessive or reckless or "excessive" but that doesn't seem too unreasonable.

I only saw 2 states that I would compare to Virginia. The first is Hawaii which says that 80 MPH is excessive. But the highest speed limit in HI is 60, so that's 20 over anyway.

The other is, surprisingly to me, Arizona. In AZ, 85 is excessive and AZ has some 75 mph speed limits, so 10 over, like VA.

 

I hear about this every so often. I do a road trip to SC every year so I am very careful when going through VA. I believe Jalopnik (I dont read that site anymore) recently had an article where a guy was testing a car, went over 80, and literally got thrown in jail as a result of this law. It is no joke, drive slow through VA folks....

 

Virginia has a history of traffic laws that are a special kind of stupid. They thrive to get every last bit of money from their own people. Quick historical snapshot...they're constantly doing this.

1999
2009
2013

 

I live in Va. There are spots that troopers lurk. On I95, be careful around Petersburg Va heading into NC. They love to tag speeders on about a 50mile stetch of I95. If you are on I81, they hangout around Woodstock for about 20 miles either direction.

 

Yeah, and when I'm in Virginia, I have to pass by Woodstock to get to Strasburg.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I was down that way a couple of weeks ago heading to the Smoky's. I usually keep it around 80 on the highway. Sure could ruin a good trip and a clean record.