Speed Traps in Fairfax
Speed traps in Fairfax cases often refer to an effort on the part of law enforcement to detect speeding drivers. This typically involves an officer positioning their vehicle in such a way that they can use radar equipment to detect the speed of approaching traffic.
Nothing requires officers to be out of the open or to make their presence known for reading on their radar device to be valid. Every kind of speed trap imaginable can be employed and at some point probably has been employed. An experienced traffic attorney can help you defend your rights after facing accusations of speeding while behind the wheel.
Various Speed Traps in Fairfax
There are endless numbers of kinds of speed traps. Whether an officer is hiding on a loft ramp, under an underpass, or concealed out of Bendon Road, anywhere that a line of sight is obscured for approaching traffic is somewhere where an officer could conceivably be hiding. Because radar equipment, particularly LIDAR equipment, has become so advanced, very often they can take a reading of speed off a vehicle before the person ever sees them.
There are a number of places in Fairfax and Prince William County where this occurs. For example, both I-95 and I-66 have portions of those interstates which have relatively high speed limits, but that slow down significantly and in some cases dramatically as they approach more populated areas. Those are common places for speed traps. In addition, as some of the secondary roads approach Fairfax or approach other population, very often the speed limits drop dramatically and officers are waiting there for unwary drivers who do not reduce their speed to an appropriate level.
What Are The Local Speed Limit Expectations?
There are numbers of examples of speed traps in Fairfax. On I-66 going east, the speed limit of 70 miles an hour drops to 55 miles an hour as it gets close to Gainesville and Haymarket. Many people traveling in the 70 mile per hour zone think they are safe to drive at 80 or 85 miles an hour. They set their cruise control and suddenly find themselves in a 55 mile an hour zone.
Rather than being 10 miles an hour over the speed limit, they are 25 or 30 miles an hour over the speed limit. The same thing is true for drivers going north from the Richmond or Fredericksburg areas. Parts of I-95 are 70 miles an hour and then they drop to 65 and 55 through Prince William County. These are also locations where speed traps are frequently set up.
Speeding Expectations For Drivers
There is no grace period for slowing down after a person passes the speed limit sign. The idea with posted speed limits is that they are large enough to be seen at a significant distance so that a driver has ample opportunity to slow their vehicle by the time they reach the sign if a person is speeding. If someone is driving over the speed limit as they pass the sign, they are considered breaking the law. Individuals can still be considered speeding or violating speed limits if they slow down only as they pass the speed limit sign.
Purpose of Detecting How Fast Someone is Driving
Revenue is always a factor in speeding detection. Speed commonly causes a number of problems including serious property damage, injury, and death. There are a number of wide open multi-lane highways that go through Virginia and Prince William County where a person could travel at a very high rate of speed if they chose. Because this is something that is dangerous to them and to other people, law enforcement has a significant interest in deterring that kind of behavior. The existence of speed traps in Fairfax is often an effort to keep people safe and to keep the highway safe.
Important Facts to Know About Speed Traps
What a person should know about speed traps in Fairfax is that they are everywhere. Anywhere a person is going around the bend, under an underpass, or approaching somewhere that they do not have a clean line of sight, there is the potential for a police officer to be waiting to attempt to detect their speed. In many cases, they are going to be so well concealed that they will be able to take a reading on them far in advance of them ever seeing them.
The main takeaway should be not to speed in Fairfax and in general. Many people believe that they are safe at certain speeds above the speed limit and they will not be pulled over for that or that they are driving in areas where there is not going to be significant enforcement. Do not be someone who finds out the hard way since that is not true. Exercise care and drive at the proper speed limit while in that county and city.