HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Civicdrivr for Governor.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

D'sNBP

Amen to that!! It's kind of sad to know about the vehicle registration fees. I know in Japan, they went off the vehicle weight and the license plate to determine the cost that's in that prefecture. Their roads are nice and I mean all of them.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Yeah registration is a joke... Japan has it figured out I absolutely think the trucks that damage the roads should pay more.

There is also talk about a toll on 95 near the Va/NC border.

DC2*&*CL-S

VA is the WORST as far as traffic is concerned ... .. Everything is so backwards there, and whoever designed the traffice/Road & highway routes were oblivious to traffic patterns and how the future would affect the patterns.

I would avoid driving in VA from 3pm-7:30pm.


I never heard of this reckless driving law. I just remembered how alot people out of state driving through VA were getting these $500+ speeding tickets but they complained to their city or county governments which some how got VA to only give those high priced tickets to state residents ONLY.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

You live in NYC and you think Va traffic is the worst? LoL that is serious.

They actually removed that obscene fine for speeding, not to say they aren't high, but the large amount you are talking about have been removed.

sortudo7

Yea you're talking about the metro rush hour time. That crap SUCKS. If there is a cop or accident anywhere prepare for ppl to brake hard and rubber neck too.

Reckless driving has been a law in effect for a while. To stop ppl from driving like total idiots regarding speed, ppl still can't drive here in VA though haha. If it rains, forget about it!

You're talking about that retarded law that was implemented but repealed. The law was for VA drivers, wasn't enforced on out of state drivers since they didn't know about the law in VA (at least not expected to know about it which is understandable). Once they stopped charging ppl O/S then all us VA drivers got pissed bc it was strictly implemented on only VA drivers. That's obviously discriminatory. After a long battle regarding that (as well as other reasons like it being ridiculously over priced) it was eventually repealed and removed. They refunded ppl who paid the high fines too, so in essence, it was really a totally pointless law that did absolutely nothing but actually costs us more than it brought in haha. Irony.

D'sNBP

Yeah I remember back in the day people were so afraid to drive in the rain or snow. Like it's 55 MPH and you're driving around 30 because it's raining. I guess I'm going to have a state shock when I return.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Yea, VA has quite a few retarded laws. No radar detectors? So the second that asshole at the front of traffic sees a cop hes going to slam on the brakes. Ive talked to a few cops and most believe that law does more harm then good. One actually saw an accident happen in front of him because someone spotted him on the side of the road and slammed on their brakes.

And then theres the artificially low speed limits. I64 east and west of Richmond should be a 70 zone. The same goes for I295 from I95 in Petersburg to just past Mechanicsville (where it should drop to 65 for the I95 merge). 288 should be 70 as well, and for gods sake, south of the Chippenham I95 should be a 65 zone.

They (law-makers) can't say that if they raise the speed limits drivers will speed even more. Thats straight-up bullshit. I85 has a 70mph limit past Petersburg and most everyone keeps it around 75-80. They do that on I95 in the 60mph zones.

One thing that gets me though is I was questioned awhile ago about my ride height when I had my Prelude (it was bone stock). I read up on the law, and most of the pick-ups that are lifted are illegal. Ive never seen any of them pulled over though.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

I hope all you guys made it through the down poor unscathed.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

I got home just before the big thunderstorm around 6pm. But I have to go back to work

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

It was all gone by 7:00, I was in short pump when the bottom dropped.

People were riding around at 5mph with their flashers on, LoL

DoC-JoneS

I drove through that shit twice! Stupid tunnel lane closing..

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

It poured around 10pm here too. It wasn't as bad as the storm earlier in the night though.

They're still closing tunnel lanes at night or was this something else? Im glad I got out of Va Bch earlier, even though I still sat in 5 miles of traffic at that damn tunnel.

Mr. Maker

iTrader: (4)

what tunnel?? i know they are doing work on the mid-town tunnel from like 9pm till 5am ...

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Are they doing work on the HRBT (I64) as well?

DoC-JoneS

Yup. They were re doing the lights in the eastbound tube.

1995hoo

A bill was signed this year to allow 70-mph speed limits on all Interstates in Virginia beginning on July 1, although it requires that traffic studies be performed first and crash data be analyzed. VDOT started doing the studies in April and have not made any announcements about which roads will be posted at 70. It's a given that not all eligible roads will receive the higher limit, and in some cases that's perfectly reasonable (the work zones on the Beltway where there is no shoulder, for example). I tend to assume that if a road is not now posted at 65 mph, it probably won't be posted at 70 either.

I wonder whether the express lanes on I-95/I-395 will get the higher limit. They're currently posted at 65 mph (the only highway inside the Beltway to be posted higher than 55).

BTW, the reckless driving law was NOT changed, so 81 mph in a 70 mph zone is still grounds for a reckless ticket if the cop wants to write one.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

Right, so who cares if they raise it... I cruise at 78-79 all the time on 288, 95, 295, and 895 with no issues. Once they raise it you still cant go any faster than people normally do now.

Maybe they will write tickets to the people going UNDER the speed limit... that would be a nice change.

1995hoo

Well, that won't happen because it is not illegal to drive slower than the speed limit, and in some situations it is required that you do so (the chief example being when weather conditions make it unsafe to drive at the posted speed limit). There is a general rule, however, that provides that "[n]o person shall drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law." Va. Code 46.2-877. The same statute allows for the posting of minimum speed limits, but insofar as I know there are no such limits posted anywhere in Virginia.

I wouldn't care about someone going slower as long as they KEEP TO THE RIGHT on a multilane road so that people can pass. On a two-lane road, I sure would appreciate it if slow drivers would look in the mirror once in a while and pull off to let traffic by if there's a long tailback developing. But people seem to refuse to do this in the United States. The lack of a paved shoulder that you can drive on to help people pass just aggravates the problem.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Yea, but its been said that the highways within Richmond will not be getting the speed increase, and from what Ive heard from the media only the 65 zones will be bumped up to 70.

Its possible that they will bump up the lower limit areas as well, which in some cases is needed, but I haven't heard anything about it. I do agree that not all roads need to the speed limit increase. 195 through Richmond is a 55 zone, and with the amount of people making last minute decisions on it I sometimes believe 55 is too fast (especially with the curves that people cant seem to navigate).

But thats neither here nor there as I know my bitching wont make anything happen any quicker (or at all in most cases )

That would be awesome, but we know that wont happen.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

I definitely agree, but most of the highways in/around Richmond are two lanes and theres always someone in the left lane slowing down traffic.

And regarding the first comment about weather and safe driving. Until VA adopts modular speed limits (including digital signs) much like the NJTPK, a reasonable speed in inclement weather is completely subjective.

My brother went to court in Williamsburg (York Co maybe?) and a girl was clocked at 63mph in a 65 zone, in the rain. They didnt drop the ticket because she "should have been driving at a more reasonable speed" even though (according to her) she was driving with traffic.

I went to court over a year ago regarding a BS ticket (that was thrown out btw), and a gentleman was there fighting a reckless driving ticket. He was driving down I95 in the pouring rain when he hit standing water and lost control, veering into the guardrail. No other vehicles were involved. He didn't damage the car badly, nor was he hurt. But a cop pulled over (he didn't call emergency services) and was written up for reckless driving.

75% of the people in the courtroom that day were there for reckless driving tickets from car accidents - most were one car accidents in the rain. The scary part for me is that none of the tickets were dropped or knocked down.

That tells me that if I were driving home in a rain storm and hydroplaned (definitely a possibility with the way the roads in my area drain), Id get a reckless driving ticket and take the hit on insurance for years to come. Thats a very scary thought and not fair at all.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

UVA law grad? Thanks for the facts, I was just venting.
Very well stated I couldnt agree more.

1995hoo

No, I went there undergrad and the law school didn't take me. Went to Duke for law school.


I haven't heard anything either way, but I think it's quite reasonable to assume that no stretch now posted at anything less than 65 mph will be posted at 70 mph and that not all 65-mph zones will be posted at 70 mph either, this for various reasons (road conditions; construction; traffic; any number of reasons). But I would hope that some of the 60-mph zones might be raised to 65 mph and some of the 55-mph zones might be raised to 60. One example that springs to mind is I-66 between Fair Oaks Mall and Manassas. That road is four lanes on each side, mostly new pavement, and it's posted at 55 mph from Fair Oaks to the US-29 interchange in Centreville, then at 60 mph from there to VA-234 Business in Manassas, and then it goes up to 65 mph. It's idiotic, as it's one of the best roads in the Commonwealth. I do not expect the 65-mph zone west of Manassas to go to 70 because there is an ongoing major work zone in Gainesville, but west of Gainesville should get the 70-mph limit. It's just too bad they insist on the reduced limit from Manassas east to Fair Oaks—70 mph would be perfectly reasonable for the whole road west of the Fairfax County Parkway. (East of there there are two left-lane HOV on/off ramps and the road narrows at Fair Oaks, so a lower limit is appropriate.)

I don't really expect any "urban" highways to see 70-mph limits except MAYBE HOV lanes. I don't count I-295 as "urban" and I fully expect much of it (certainly the part south of I-64) to get the higher limit.

The way the new statute is written, though, the following types of road MAY (but need not be) posted at 70 mph: ANY Interstate Highway; any barrier-separated HOV lanes (kind of a moot category since the only such lanes we have are on Interstates in NOVA and Tidewater); and "multilane, divided, limited access highways" (this includes "Interstate look-alikes," such as the Dulles Toll Road, as well as roads that are not controlled-access expressways but that do not have many business and driveways accessing them—most of US-29 from Charlottesville south to Danville is a good example). But they have to do a traffic and accident study before raising any limit.

You can read the new statute as enacted by Gov. McDonnell by clicking here.

thewhitepearl

holy shit man

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Thankyou for posting the link. It clarifies some of the grey areas I had due to the reports on the news.

Its nice to see they plan on raising the speed limit on 58 and 460.

1995hoo

That part of the statute is the same as it already was, so I doubt you'll see any changes on those roads.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

I could've sworn 460 was a 55 zone

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

460 has a lot of speed changes, I think 55 is the max though.

1995hoo

It may be. I haven't been on that road in a long time. But remember that just because the statute ALLOWS a 60-mph speed limit doesn't mean that any given stretch of road will actually receive that limit (the same principle we were discussing as to the new 70-mph limit). The current version of the statute allows a 65-mph speed limit on all Interstates, but I-95, for example, drops to 55 mph just south of Occoquan (except in the express lanes) and it stays at 55 mph from there all the way to the Maryland state line, with occasional lower limits posted in the Wilson Bridge work zone.

Bear in mind also that US-460 is a fairly long road. It starts down in the Tidewater area, goes up to Petersburg, goes west past Blackstone and Farmville and Appomattox to Lynchburg, then through Bedford to Roanoke, and then through Christiansburg and Pearisburg to the West Virginia state line. The speed limit varies all along that road. The Farmville bypass is posted at 65 mph, for example, and at the eastern end of the bypass it drops to 60 mph (at which point the road ceases to be an expressway). I imagine you're thinking solely of the portion of US-460 between Petersburg and Suffolk. That's not nearly as good a road (and it's much busier) than the parts west of Petersburg.

D'sNBP

Getting anxious as I'll be leaving potatoville and heading to civilization! I guess it would be best to get in some seafood before it's too late huh? Is there anyone here that drove their 3G from one coast to the other? Had any problems or anything specific things to look for, take care of before I depart?

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

For the sake of conversation, I put 2300 miles on my 2G RL last week.

D'sNBP

OUCH!!! That's about the same one way for me...