{"id":3846,"date":"2019-05-01T20:17:01","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T20:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dualawfirm.com\/?p=3846"},"modified":"2023-04-20T12:37:24","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T16:37:24","slug":"charged-with-reckless-driving-in-fairfax-county-understanding-your-legal-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dualawfirm.com\/2019\/05\/01\/charged-with-reckless-driving-in-fairfax-county-understanding-your-legal-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Charged with Reckless Driving in Fairfax County \u2013 Understanding Your Legal Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Commonwealth of Virginia features some of the strictest driving laws in the country. For example, if you are charged and convicted with driving recklessly, you could be subjected to serving time in jail and the proverbial scarlet letter of a permanent criminal record.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What Exactly is Reckless Driving in Virginia?<\/b><\/h2>\n

According to Virginia Code \u00a7 46.2-862<\/a>, a motorist is considered to be driving recklessly when they (i) travel at a speed of 20 miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limit or (ii) in excess of 80 miles per hour, regardless of the applicable maximum speed limit.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Basically, if you exceed a speed of 80 miles per hour in Virginia, you could be charged with reckless driving. Is it also considered reckless driving to exceed the speed limit by 20 miles per hour or more. \u00a0For example, if you were caught by police traveling at 55 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour speed zone, then you could be looking at a reckless driving charge.<\/span><\/p>\n

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New Speed Limits Increase Likelihood of Reckless Driving Charge<\/b><\/h2>\n

The Virginia Legislature allowed the speed limit to increase to 70 miles per hour on various state highways as a way to reduce traffic and congestion. \u00a0However, the Legislature failed to amend \u00a7 46.2-862 so the 80 mile per hour reckless driving trigger is still in place. This means that if you are traveling on certain parts of Virginia highways like Interstate 66 or Interstate 95 in a 70 mile per hour zone and you exceed the speed limit by just 10 miles per hour, you could be charged with reckless driving.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Penalties Associated with Reckless Driving<\/b><\/h2>\n

In Virginia, reckless driving is considered to be a class 1 misdemeanor (the most serious misdemeanor offense). If you are convicted of reckless driving, you will be left with a permanent criminal record. The potential penalties for a reckless driving speeding conviction include the following:<\/span><\/p>\n

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