Governor McDonnell signed into law a change that will allow maximum speed limits on Virginia Highways from 65 to 70mph.
But, “Not so Fast” is the watchword for Virginia motorists looking to shave a little time off their drive, or have a little extra cushion before speeding violations and even reckless driving citations become a threat.
The law as written allows the VDOT to review certain stretches of highway and decide if they deem them safe for a speed limit increase, but no speeds have been raised as yet. The Virginia Department of Transportation has said it intends to heavily scrutinize and study any eligible stretch of highway before making any changes.
If, eventually, some parts of I-81 are raised to a new 70mph limit, some legislators have indicated they would be open to making changes to parts of Virginia’s tough reckless driving laws. Current law makes it a class 1 Misdemeanor criminal offense to drive over 80mph. Another section of the reckless driving law makes it a crime to drive 20 mph over any posted speed limit.
Logically, most people would agree just 10 mph over the legal limit shouldn’t be a criminal and jail-able offense.
It’s still all speculation, but it is good news that the Commonwealth is at least considering some rational changes to our speeding and reckless driving laws.