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Virginia

June 2009


Aggressive Driving Laws

Aggressive Driver Actions

Is a hazard to others with the intent to harass, intimidate, injure or obstruct another person while committing at least one of the following: failure to drive on the right side of highway, driving outside of marked lanes, following too closely, failure to yield or stop before entering roadway, failure to obey traffic control device, passing when overtaking a vehicle, passing on right, failure to yield right of way, speeding, stopping on a highway.
Sources: National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and State Highway Safety Offices.
Cell Phone Driving Laws

Handheld Ban

All Cell Phone Ban

Text Messaging Ban

Enforcement

Crash
Data
Collected

Pre-
emption
Law

School Bus Drivers

Novice Drivers

All Drivers

School Bus Drivers

Novice Drivers

 

Yes

<18

Yes

Covered under all driver ban

Covered under all driver ban

Secondary (primary for school bus)

Yes

 

Sources: American Automobile Association (AAA), Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.
Child Passenger Safety Laws

Child Restraint Required
unless indicated, # refers to Yrs.(Lbs.)

Adult seat belt Permissible
unless indicated, # refers to Yrs.(Lbs.)

Maximum Fine
First Offense

<7; rear-facing devices must be in rear seat if available; if not, must be in front seat only if front passenger airbag is deactivated

8 - 15

$50

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.
Drug Impaired Driving Laws

Per Se Laws for Drugs
(Forbidding Prohibited Substances in
Driver's Body)

DEC/DRE Programs
(Providing Law Enforcement Training)

Yes Yes

Source: State Highway Safety Offices.

Drunk Driving Laws

Admin. License
Suspension on
First Offense

Limited Driving Privileges During Suspension

Increased Penalties for High Blood Alc. Concen-
tration (BAC)

Open Container Laws

Repeat Offender Laws

Vehicle and License
Plate
Sanctions

Ignition Inter-
locks

Alcohol Exclusion Laws Limiting Treatment Opportunity

7 days

 

.15

 

Yes

Vehicle confiscation

Mandatory for high BAC conviction

Yes

Sources:Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and State Highway Safety Offices.
Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) Laws

Learner Stage

Intermediate Stage

Full Privilege
Min. Age
(Yrs./Mos.)

Required
Supervised
Driving (Hrs.)
(Nighttime hours in parenthesis)

Min.
Age
(Yrs./
Mos.)

Min.
Duration
(Mos.)

Min. Age
(Yrs./Mos.)

Nighttime Driving Restriction

Passenger
Restriction*
(* family members
exempt)

15 / 6

9

16 / 3

Midnight - 4 a.m.

First 12 mos.–no more than 1 pass. <18; until 18, no more than 3 pass. <18*

18

45 (15)

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), American Automobile Association (AAA) and State Highway .

Helmet Laws

Motorcyclists

Bicyclists

All Helmet Law

Partial Law

All Helmet Law Repealed

1970

 

 

 

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.
Mature Driver Laws

Length of Regular Renewal Cycle (Yrs.)

Provisions for Mature Drivers

5

Vision test required for >80

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.
Seat Belt Laws

Type of Law

Who is Covered
(Yrs.)

In What Seat

Maximum Fine
First Offense

Secondary

>16

Front

$25
Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.
Segway Laws

Permitted on Sidewalks/Bicycle Paths

Permitted on Roads

Helmets Required

Minimum Age

Pedestrian Laws Apply

Sidewalks

Yes on streets w/ speed limits up to 25 mph and if no sidewalk avail.

<15 if by local ordinance

14

Yes

Sources: Segway LLC and State Highway Safety Offices.
Sobriety Checkpoint Laws

Checkpoints Conducted?

Comments

Yes

Conducted weekly

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.
Speed Limit Laws

Rural Interstates

Urban Interstates

Other Limited Access Roads

Cars
(mph)

Trucks
(mph)

Cars
(mph)

Trucks
(mph)

Cars
(mph)

Trucks
(mph)

65 65 65 65 65 65

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.
Speed and Red Light Cameras

State Law

Viola-
tions

Loca-
tion

Citation Issued to Whom

Liability

Image

Tradi-
tional Enforce-
ment Penalties

Records/ Points/ Penalties

Defenses

Privacy

Permitted; requires local ordinance; 1 site per 10,000 residents; (exception for metro DC: up to 10 sites or 1 site per 10,000, whichever is greater)
mitted

Red light

Regi-
stered owner

Driver

2 photo-
graphs or other recorded images

$200 max.; 4 points

$50 max.; no court costs; not a criminal offense; no points; may not be used by insurers

Owner not operator; vehicle stolen

Contractor may not obtain driver records; information only used for enforcing violations; not available to the public, sold, or disclosed except by court order; purged no later than 60 days after collection of penalty

Sources: National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.
Work Zone Speed Limit Laws

Multiple of Original Fine

Violations Affected

Workers Must Be Present

Not more than $500

Speeding

Yes

Sources: National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse and State Highway Safety Offices.