In late August, I got up to go to work in the morning like millions of other hardworking Americans. I went to a jobsite, and then got a phone call from a very pissed off client. Long story short, I got bitched out for an hour which resulted in me being completely flustered. I then had to drive to some obscure Civil War Battlefield in Spotsylvania (Yeah, exactly- WHERE?!). SO, I get on the highway (I95S), and start the long trek to the middle of nowhere.
Oh- Time out... I forgot to mention, that after I got bitched out by my client, I went back to my house to shoot out a few quick emails to try and remedy the situation... I was at my house for 5 minutes, and when I got outside, I had a parking ticket. Thanks Arlington. Assholes.
Anyway, I get on 95 S, and at this point in the story, it's 12:00 PM... For those of you non-drivers out there, 12 PM in DC means the Beltway and all surrounding highways are pretty much crystal clear. So, I'm flustered, and I'm driving, and I decide to get in the HOV (high-occupancy-vehicles) lanes because I figure if for some reason traffic is backed up, I'll be good to go in these lanes. Again, for the non-drivers, the HOV lanes are the ones dead center in the picture below. They run North in the morning, South in the afternoon.
So, now I'm in the HOV lanes. I go about 20 miles and end up going 86 in a 65, and BAM, a trooper pulls me over. He says, more or less: "Hi, in Virginia 20mph over the speed limit and over is a misdemeanor criminal offense. Here is your court date."At this point I'm a little stunned. Criminal offense? For speeding? Seriously? At 12 PM? When nobody is within 500 feet of me? Well, the answers the questions above were: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
This is the law I broke:
§ 46.2-862 Exceeding speed limit - A person shall be guilty of reckless driving who drives a motor vehicle on the highways in the Commonwealth (i) at a speed of twenty miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limit or (ii) in excess of eighty miles per hour regardless of the applicable maximum speed limit.
It gets better... Turns out I was in a "Highway Safety Corridor" when I was speeding. This is what happens in Highway Safety Corridors:
The 2003 General Assembly enacted legislation for a Highway Safety Corridor program to improve safety on interstate and primary roads. In areas designated as Highway Safety Corridors, fines for speeding tickets are increased up to $500 and fines for criminal offenses such as reckless driving or driving under the influence could cost as much as $2,500.
"It is unacceptable to drive in an irresponsible manner in Virginia and there are consequence for those behaviors,” said Vince Burgess, Assistant Commissioner for the Department of Motor Vehicles. “Unfortunately the crash experience for this section of interstate makes it a top candidate. Our goal is to change that as quickly as possible.”
Now I get it... I was speeding, so I should be fined. But $2,500?! That is insane! For speeding in the middle of the afternoon?! That is unreal... And, I love how "reckless driving" and "driving under the influence" are mentioned in the same sentence. Am I, a good driver, as dangerous going fast on an empty road as some drunk asshole? No. All in all, these are ridiculous laws. They clog courts, and are insanely severe. How about targeting people who actually commit REAL crimes and NOT people who drive 40,000 miles/year for work and have one bad day?!
Long story short, I hired a lawyer. $750.00 for her, so it damn well better pay off. If fucking Paris Hilton can drive drunk all over Hollywood and get off with nothing, I deserve at least one Get Out of Jail Free card!
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