Driver's License Changes Coming To Virginia

Your Virginia driver's license will be changing in the years to come. Virginia is adopting tougher standards to comply with the national Real ID act. The new licenses will be considerably more tamper proof, with laser engraving, micro filaments, and other measures to make them much more difficult to duplicate.

One of the significant hassles to come with this changeover will be that everyone will be required to renew their driver's license in person. You will have to provide documentation to prove your legal residency, and those documents will be scanned and saved. Documents will be checked for authenticity with various agencies, and as a result, you won't get a new driver's license on the spot anymore - it will be sent to you through the mail.

Anyone under 50 years of age in 2014 will have to have completed the switchover by then. Older drivers will have until 2017.

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For issues regarding suspended driver's licenses in Virginia, see our main site.

Concealed Weapons Permits up 60% in Virginia

According to news reports, Virginians are applying for concealed weapons permits at a rate 60% greater than the previous year.

Virginia is considered one of the most lenient states in the nation when it comes to gun laws, for both gun purchases and permits. Under Virginia law, you may apply for and be granted a license to carry a concealed handgun if you:

• Are 21 years old
• Have completed safety training
• Pass a criminal background check
• do not have any outstanding restraining orders
• do not have a drug abuse problem

Virginia is one of the few states that does not require a reason to get a concealed carry permit, and no judge can deny you a permit. For example, as mentioned in the article, even if you have been known to threaten a spouse or someone else, you cannot be denied a gun permit for that reason.

However, you may still be subject to criminal gun charges if you violate any of the above conditions in the future.

Dulles Toll Road: Reckless Driving Magnet?

The Dulles Toll Road in Virginia is considered of the most heavily patrolled roads in the country. The number of DUI arrests, criminal reckless driving tickets, and cars stopped by the police appears to far exceed the rate of most other roads.

Traffic charge citations issued on the Dulles Toll Road make up a significant portion of the traffic cases heard in Fairfax General District Court.

Why is is the case is the subject of much speculation. But certainly issuing reckless driving tickets is a profitable enterprise for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Fines and fees can easily be in the thousands of dollars if you are found guilty. Certainly the state wants those fees. And now that Virginia has repealed the abusive driver fees due to citizen outrage, it is possible that they are stepping up enforcement and prosecution of reckless driving offenses to get some of that lost revenue.

However, that doesn't mean you have to just take it! Please contact us about how to fight a reckless driving ticket in Virginia.

What is the Dulles Toll Road?

The Dulles Toll Road (DTR) is a 14 mile long road that connects to Dulles International Airport to the Capital Beltway near Falls Church. It is also known at the Dulles Airport Access Road. It is a portion of Virginia Route 267 that extends through Fairfax County in Herndon, Reston, and Tyson's Corner, VA. The operation of the road is run by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).

Beyond the airport, route 267 continues as the Dulles Greenway, a privately owned toll road that extends to Leesburg. These areas are also frequently patrolled and citations are issued for reckless driving, especially reckless by speed (20mph over the limit).

Virginia Abusive Driver Fees Repealed

After less than a year, Virginia's Abusive Driver Fees have been repealed. Gov. Kaine signed the bill, which goes into effect immediately. One Senator called the fees "the biggest mistake the legislature had made in his tenure".

Abusive driver fees were enacted last year as a means to collect additional revenues for the state in cases of reckless driving, DUI, driving with a suspended license, and other Virginia traffic charges. However, they were immediately controversial, since they were simply an extra fee collected by the Virginia DMV at license or registration renewal time. Because it was a fee collected by the DMV, it did not apply to driver who are charged with any of those offenses who happened to have out of state drivers licenses.

Those who have been charged with these fees are eligible for a refund, and should contact the DMV.