Werth to serve jail time for reckless driving

[Tony-OH]

I agree completely that Virginia exceeds the standard that "the punishment should fit the crime." Speeding is not a criminal offense, clearly. I drive through Virginia relatively often to visit relatives in Tennessee and Alabama. The speed limit most of the way along I-81 is 70 MPH. When traffic is sparse, it is very easy to look down and notice that you have gotten up to 80 MPH or more. The idea that you could actually be put in jail for that is absurd, frankly. That isn't justice. Virginia is committing a more criminal act by jailing decent citizens for such a thing than the speeding violators have committed, IMO. Perhaps one day some smart young attorney will successfully push a class action suit against the Commonwealth.

Having said all that, 105 MPH on the Washington Beltway is extremely dangerous, regardless of the hour. There are just too many exits and potential for people traveling at a normal speed to change lanes, not realizing that someone is coming up on them at twice the speed limit. Not to mention the occasional pothole, which could be catastrophic if hit at over 100 MPH. I do not buy that one could inadvertently find himself cruising at that kind of speed on that particular road. Werth did endanger others with his actions, IMO. I think license suspension or revocation makes more sense than jail time, however.

I don't really disagree, but there are parts of the beltway that have four lanes and are pretty straight between Alexandria and Springfield area. I'm with you and going 100 MPH+ should probably get your a hefty fine and possibly your license suspended for 14 days or something, but jail time is ridiculous unless it can be proven he was endangering others by his actions. I don't have all the facts and perhaps he was whipping in and out of traffic of going all race track through the currvy portions, but if it was just speeding, jail time is way over the top.

[Tony-OH]

I am guessing a weekend in jail is a heck of a deterrent. They probably have a lot less problems with repeat violations then states who simply fine speeders.

Like I said, I lived in VA for over three years and I only got pulled over once for speeding and that was for doing 9 in a 5 on base.

You can't stay under 80 on I-81? Use cruise control.

I always use cruise control in Virginia, but when I'm in my BMW and I have an open road (no traffic) where I can see far away if there are any cops lying in wait, I'd be lying if I said I've never hit triple digits on occasion! Saying that, it's not in Virginia because of their reckless driving laws.

[Can_of_corn]

I don't really disagree, but there are parts of the beltway that have four lanes and are pretty straight between Alexandria and Springfield area. I'm with you and going 100 MPH+ should probably get your a hefty fine and possibly your license suspended for 14 days or something, but jail time is ridiculous unless it can be proven he was endangering others by his actions. I don't have all the facts and perhaps he was whipping in and out of traffic of going all race track through the currvy portions, but if it was just speeding, jail time is way over the top.

Honestly Tony, I don't have a problem with a weekend stay in the county jail. I think anything over a week would be ridiculous but we are not talking prison. A lost weekend is going to serve as a much better deterrent then a fine ever would.

As for suspending the license:

State motor vehicle officials estimate that "as high as 80 percent" of the people with suspended or revoked licenses are continuing to operate motor vehicles.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/enforce/Guidelines/bkgrnd.htm

[Tony-OH]

Honestly Tony, I don't have a problem with a weekend stay in the county jail. I think anything over a week would be ridiculous but we are not talking prison. A lost weekend is going to serve as a much better deterrent then a fine ever would.

As for suspending the license:

http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/enforce/Guidelines/bkgrnd.htm

Well we'll have to agree to disagree because I don't think jailtime for speeding is appropriate unless it was endangering peoples lives. Virginia believes driving 15 miles an hour over the speed limit is reckless driving and that could result in jail time. So do you think doing 71 in a 55 MPH zone should result in weekend jail?

[Malike]

I agree completely that Virginia exceeds the standard that "the punishment should fit the crime." Speeding is not a criminal offense, clearly. I drive through Virginia relatively often to visit relatives in Tennessee and Alabama. The speed limit most of the way along I-81 is 70 MPH. When traffic is sparse, it is very easy to look down and notice that you have gotten up to 80 MPH or more. The idea that you could actually be put in jail for that is absurd, frankly. That isn't justice. Virginia is committing a more criminal act by jailing decent citizens for such a thing than the speeding violators have committed, IMO. Perhaps one day some smart young attorney will successfully push a class action suit against the Commonwealth.

Having said all that, 105 MPH on the Washington Beltway is extremely dangerous, regardless of the hour. There are just too many exits and potential for people traveling at a normal speed to change lanes, not realizing that someone is coming up on them at twice the speed limit. Not to mention the occasional pothole, which could be catastrophic if hit at over 100 MPH. I do not buy that one could inadvertently find himself cruising at that kind of speed on that particular road. Werth did endanger others with his actions, IMO. I think license suspension or revocation makes more sense than jail time, however.

Speeding can certainly be a criminal offense. To suggest it's not is absolutely incorrect. It can even be a felony.

[Can_of_corn]

Well we'll have to agree to disagree because I don't think jailtime for speeding is appropriate unless it was endangering peoples lives. Virginia believes driving 15 miles an hour over the speed limit is reckless driving and that could result in jail time. So do you think doing 71 in a 55 MPH zone should result in weekend jail?

It's 20 over.

http://www.dmv.state.va.us/drivers/#points_6.asp

Reckless driving - speeding in excess of 80 mph (11 years)

Reckless driving - speeding 20 mph or more above the posted speed limit (11 years)

Reckless driving - racing (11 years)

Reckless driving - passing or overtaking an emergency vehicle (11 years)

Reckless driving - passing a school bus (11 years)

Reckless driving - passing on the crest of a hill (11 years)

Reckless driving - passing at a railroad crossing (11 years)

Reckless driving - passing two vehicles abreast (11 years)

Reckless driving - driving two vehicles abreast (11 years)

Reckless driving - driving too fast for conditions (11 years)

Reckless driving - failing to give a proper signal (11 years)

Reckless driving - faulty brakes/improper control (11 years)

Reckless driving - on parking lots, etc. (11 years)

Reckless driving - with an obstructed view (11 years)

Reckless driving - generally (11 years)

Speeding 20 mph or more above the posted speed limit (5 years)

Is it extremely strict? Sure.

You should be able to stay within 19 MPH of the speed limit.

And for the record I think that if it is a first offense the threshold should be higher then 20 over.

[Malike]

Well we'll have to agree to disagree because I don't think jailtime for speeding is appropriate unless it was endangering peoples lives. Virginia believes driving 15 miles an hour over the speed limit is reckless driving and that could result in jail time. So do you think doing 71 in a 55 MPH zone should result in weekend jail?

I'd wager that nobody doing 15 mph over the 55MPH speed limit has sniffed anything more than a fine. Going 40 to 50 MPH over the speed limit is reckless, even if the road looks clear, you cant see what's up ahead or even lying on the road at that speed. I can't even get tickets and I would never drive that fast. If you blow a tire doing 100 MPH they will need a shovel to clean the mess up.

[Tony-OH]

It's 20 over.

http://www.dmv.state.va.us/drivers/#points_6.asp

Reckless driving - speeding in excess of 80 mph (11 years)

Reckless driving - speeding 20 mph or more above the posted speed limit (11 years)

Reckless driving - racing (11 years)

Reckless driving - passing or overtaking an emergency vehicle (11 years)

Reckless driving - passing a school bus (11 years)

Reckless driving - passing on the crest of a hill (11 years)

Reckless driving - passing at a railroad crossing (11 years)

Reckless driving - passing two vehicles abreast (11 years)

Reckless driving - driving two vehicles abreast (11 years)

Reckless driving - driving too fast for conditions (11 years)

Reckless driving - failing to give a proper signal (11 years)

Reckless driving - faulty brakes/improper control (11 years)

Reckless driving - on parking lots, etc. (11 years)

Reckless driving - with an obstructed view (11 years)

Reckless driving - generally (11 years)

Speeding 20 mph or more above the posted speed limit (5 years)

Is it extremely strict? Sure.

You should be able to stay within 19 MPH of the speed limit.

And for the record I think that if it is a first offense the threshold should be higher then 20 over.

They must've changed that because I could swear it was 15 MPH over the speed limit at some point. Either way, do you think doing 76 in a 55 should get you jail time. Now most likely it will not, but get the wrong traffic judge on the wrong day and it could. That's way out of line for the offense in my opinion. Cars are built to travel at much higher speeds than the posted highway speeds. Of course traffic, weather and road conditions should always be taken into consideration, but I can easily cruise at 80 MPH on a highway and not be a danger to anyone including my occupants.

The only reason RT 50 is 55 MPH is because Maryland makes a ton of money off the fines of mainly beachgoers in the summer.

[Tony-OH]

I'd wager that nobody doing 15 mph over the 55MPH speed limit has sniffed anything more than a fine. Going 40 to 50 MPH over the speed limit is reckless, even if the road looks clear, you cant see what's up ahead or even lying on the road at that speed. I can't even get tickets and I would never drive that fast. If you blow a tire doing 100 MPH they will need a shovel to clean the mess up.

Well it depends on the situation honestly. I'm mainly talking about highway situations. Hell, I'm actually for 15 MPH speed limits through residential areas if the road is not a through road. But when it comes to highways, there are plenty of times you could be safely cruising at 80 or even 90 MPH in well made cars. Now I'm not taking my car out and doing 100 mph on a highway, and I normally try to stay within 10-15 mph of the speed due to the fact that I don't want a speeding ticket, but the fact is that speeding in probably 99% of the cases should not be a criminal offense. In my opinion, if your act endangers others than it could be considered criminal, but I personally think it should only become criminal when it does cause injury, death, and/or loss of significant property to others.

[Can_of_corn]

They must've changed that because I could swear it was 15 MPH over the speed limit at some point. Either way, do you think doing 76 in a 55 should get you jail time. Now most likely it will not, but get the wrong traffic judge on the wrong day and it could. That's way out of line for the offense in my opinion. Cars are built to travel at much higher speeds than the posted highway speeds. Of course traffic, weather and road conditions should always be taken into consideration, but I can easily cruise at 80 MPH on a highway and not be a danger to anyone including my occupants.

The only reason RT 50 is 55 MPH is because Maryland makes a ton of money off the fines of mainly beachgoers in the summer.

I never said I was in favor of artificially low limits for revenue purposes.

As for the question you asked, I already answered it.

for the record I think that if it is a first offense the threshold should be higher then 20 over.

You can feel free to substitute 21 for 20.

Now if someone get caught multiple times going 20+ over, yea give them a weekend in think it over.

The thing is, barring an emergency, there is never a reason for going 20 over. If you know that is the law and you don't like the associated penalties then don't do it.

[atomic]

105 mph on the Beltway is insane.

Not at all. Werth was driving a Porsche, a car with great handling and braking. As long as he wasn't tailgaiting or cutting people off their is nothing unsafe about that speed. I have driven on the autobahn and a I feel a lot safer without the speed limits as people know how to drive and are curteous. They have much fewer fatalities per mile driven than we do.

I got a ticket for doing 93 mph in middle of nowhere VA when I was the only car on the road and the road was straight and flat. The attorney i got said if I had need doing 95 I would have gotten jail time. Ridiculous.

[atomic]

They must've changed that because I could swear it was 15 MPH over the speed limit at some point. Either way, do you think doing 76 in a 55 should get you jail time. Now most likely it will not, but get the wrong traffic judge on the wrong day and it could. That's way out of line for the offense in my opinion. Cars are built to travel at much higher speeds than the posted highway speeds. Of course traffic, weather and road conditions should always be taken into consideration, but I can easily cruise at 80 MPH on a highway and not be a danger to anyone including my occupants.

The only reason RT 50 is 55 MPH is because Maryland makes a ton of money off the fines of mainly beachgoers in the summer.

If you are doing over 80 in a 65 zone it is reckless driving in VA. 20 over when the speed limit is 55 or below.

[Tony-OH]

I never said I was in favor of artificially low limits for revenue purposes.

As for the question you asked, I already answered it.

You can feel free to substitute 21 for 20.

Now if someone get caught multiple times going 20+ over, yea give them a weekend in think it over.

The thing is, barring an emergency, there is never a reason for going 20 over. If you know that is the law and you don't like the associated penalties then don't do it.

Well, that's your opinions and that's fine, but I disagree. I'm fine with paying a fine for speeding, what I'm not fine with is how states have begun to use speeding as a way to gain revenue. On top of it, the insurance companies have become ridiculous as well. In the past four years I had a speeding ticket (72 in a 55) and a failure to stop at a stop sign fully (I did not make a complete stop as I made a right turn at a stop sign on with no traffic coming out of an office park) at 1030 at night. the cop was obviously filling up his quota and was almost apologetic when he gave me the tickey telling me to go to court. When I did, the idiot judge still found me guilty, gave me a point and charged me even more that if I had just paid the ticket. What did my insurance do? Raised my rates over $600 a year. So thanks to cops filling up their quotas and idiot judges who are in on this extra tax scam, I will pay over $1800 extra over the next three years.

So excuse me if I have no love for these tax collectors, insurance rip off artists, and idiot judges who conspire to take my hard earned money when I haven't had an accident with another vehicle that was my fault in my 27 years of driving.

[Tony-OH]

If you are doing over 80 in a 65 zone it is reckless driving in VA. 20 over when the speed limit is 55 or below.

There's where the 15 MPH comes from.

[Number5]

There's where the 15 MPH comes from.

I believe 80 MPH is reckless driving in VA, regardless of limit, so on interstate highways in rural areas where the limit is 70, then 10MPH over the limit is reckless driving and can result in jail time.