Background: A speed limit + 10 rule?
Source: WTOP.
There was an article today on the local news-radio website (WTOP) regarding speeding in school zones. I took note, because I routinely drive through one of those zones where Fairfax County VA operates speed cameras. The zone is clearly marked, and you’d have to be blind to miss it, as shown above.
And yet:
In total, 23,431 cars were caught going 10 or more miles per hour above the speed limit in April, May and June combined.
I supposed I should be impressed by the sheer numbers. But instead, a completely different figure caught my eye: They only ticketed folks for going at least 10 MPH over the limit.
First, I thought it was intemperate of the reporter to note that exact figure. Anybody reading the article realizes that there’s no risk of a ticket at anything up to the posted speed plus 9 MPH. So, presumably, if generally known, that now becomes the de facto speed limit.
But second, I’d heard that same figure before, a few years back, in a discussion of red-light cameras and speeding cameras in Vienna, a town in Fairfax County. There it was phrased as “we don’t ticket unless they are going at least 11 MPH over the posted limit.” The explanation given at the time was that Fairfax County courts would not accept cases for any infraction less than that.
Is that the rule here, and if so, why?
Short answer is, yes and no.
In theory, by Virginia statute, you can get ticketed for traveling one mile an hour over the speed limit in a residential area. This is my interpretation of § 46.2-878.2 of Virginia statute, which says :
Operation of any motor vehicle in excess of a maximum speed limit ... in a residence district of a county, city, or town ... shall be unlawful and constitute a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of $200, in addition to other penalties provided by law.
The black-letter law provides no slack. If you’re in a residential district, on a highway (meaning, in Virginia, any public alley, street, road, or highway), and you’re going a mile over the limit, you can, in theory, be ticketed and will owe a minimum of $200.
Except that the law spells out a different set of penalties for drivers caught by speed cameras in school zones. My interpretation is that because the process is, in effect, automated, they cut drivers a lot more slack than they would if they’d been pulled over, in person, by a uniformed officer.
In the case of speed cameras in a school zone (§ 46.2-882.1), emphasis mine:
1. The operator ... shall be liable for a monetary civil penalty ... if such vehicle is found ... to be traveling at speeds of at least 10 miles per hour above the posted ... speed limit ... . Such civil penalty shall not exceed $100 ... ... 4. Imposition of a penalty pursuant to this section ... shall not be made part of the operating record of the person upon whom such liability is imposed, nor shall it be used for insurance purposes in the provision of motor vehicle insurance coverage.
The bottom line
There appears to be no hard-and-fast rule regarding ticketing for how much “slack” you get, speeding in a residential area in Virginia. The plain language of State law in Virginia law says that if you exceed the posted limit, you can be ticketed. I believe that pre-empts any local law, as we are a Dillon Rule state. That is, local governments can only make their own rules where the Commonwealth grants them permission to do so. And nothing in Commonwealth statute appears to do that, with a few limited and explicit exceptions spelled out in the law.
Except that “ten miles over the limit” is written into law, in Virginia, for speed-zone cameras. There, the Commonwealth leans heavily in the direction of protecting drivers’ rights, and avoiding Big Brother information harvesting. So, in exchange for what is basically an automated process, you face a small fine. There’s a monetary penalty, but (as I read it) no points on the license.
Extras for experts: Two non-obvious reasons not to speed in residential areas.
First, if you are speeding, in Virginia, you lose any claim to having right-of-way. So if some bonehead does something to get you in a car accident, where you had the right of way, but you were speeding at the time … tough luck. You cannot claim right-of-way while you are speeding.
§ 46.2-823. Unlawful speed forfeits right-of-way. The driver of any vehicle traveling at an unlawful speed shall forfeit any right-of-way which he might otherwise have under this article.
The reason for that is pretty clear. Traveling at excess speed makes it difficult for other drivers to judge whether or not an accident will occur.
We had a horrific accident in this area, last year, that is a classic illustration of that. The culprit was a bozo who was driving a BMW about 80 MPH in a 35 MPH zone. His car got struck by a car turning left, and his car subsequently jumped the sidewalk and killed two high school student who were on the sidewalk, walking home from school.
Normally, the car going straight has the right of way. Should the car turning left have therefore been charged with the accident, for failure to yield right-of-way? I don’t think any sane person would suggest that. If nothing else, on a curved road, excessive speed of that magnitude more-or-less prevents drivers from seeing you coming in time. The accident was entirely the fault of the speeding driver.
Second, if you speed significantly in areas with red lights, you will run red lights.
Not may, will.
This point is courtesy of Road Guy Rob on YouTube. Yellow light duration is set based on expected traffic speed. (Plus regional variation, I guess). High-speed roads have long yellow lights, low speed roads have short yellow lights. In both cases, the length of the yellow allows drivers that are far from the intersection to stop before the light turns red.
If you drive at high speed, on a low speed road, there will be a stretch of pavement, and a rage of excess speeds, so that if you see the yellow light while you’re in that zone, you will literally be unable to avoid running the red. That’s because, between your reaction time and the car’s stopping distance, your car will travel much further than the engineers who set up the light expected. If you are within just the right range of excess speeds, if you see the light turn yellow, you both a) can’t make it through the intersection before the light turns red, and b) can’t stop before entering the intersection. No matter what you do — hit the brakes, hit the gas — you go through the red light.
And so, at some level, excessive speeding and running red lights go hand-in-hand. There’s a certain pleasing symmetry to that. My guess is, the folks who don’t care about the first, don’t much care about the second either.
