What are your thoughts on Virginia’s reckless driving laws?

February 27th, 2016 by JBWK

Submitted by Attorney Herbert V. Kelly, Jr.

Speeding in Virginia.

Do you believe that Virginia’s threshold for per se reckless driving offenses for speeding in excess of 80 miles per hour in a 70 miles per hour zone is archaic? House Bill 1185 raises the threshold to 85 miles per hour, but only if the applicable speed limit is 70 miles per hour.  The threshold for reckless driving in other speed zones remains unchanged.  Virginia law authorizes the imposition of a fine not to exceed $2,500 and a jail sentence not to exceed 12 months, or both, upon conviction of a reckless driving offense.

 

 

Reckless Driving; using handheld communication devices while driving.

Pending before the House of Delegates, is House Bill 1360, that would punish as reckless driving, a class one misdemeanor, for convictions of driving while simultaneously using a handheld communication device for something other than verbal communication.  Under current law, the more specific offense of “texting while driving” carries a $20 fine and is a secondary offense, which means that law-enforcement must have cause to stop or detain a driver for some other violation, the primary offense, before issuing a citation for texting while driving.

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