Speed Limits in Prince William County

The speed limit in Prince William County is a limit determined to be the maximum speed allowed for travelers on the road. You generally do have to follow the speed limit in terms of a maximum, but sometimes you actually have to drive even below the posted speed, depending on conditions; this can lead to speeding tickets that many people feel are unfair. If you have been charged with speeding, it is highly advised to minimize the negative impact of the ticket by hiring an experienced Prince William County speeding ticket lawyer.

Prince William County Speed Limits

Virginia, like most states does have an absolute speed limit. Only a handful of states follow presumed speed limits and Virginia is not one of them. In every single state you can be charged with violating the basic speed limit.

If there is absolutely no sign at all, the speed limit in Prince William County for most business and residential areas is 25 miles per hour. On secondary roads, the limits are 45 miles per hour for trucks and 55 miles per hour for other vehicles. For unpaved roads throughout the state, the maximum speed limit is 35 miles per hour. If there is no sign, you can just assume that those are the speed limits.

Absolute Speed Limits

An absolute speed limit In Prince William County means that it is unlawful to drive at any speed over the posted speed limit. If the speed limit sign says 55 miles per hour then it is illegal to drive 56 miles per hour or more.

Presumed Speed Limits

A driver’s speed is presumed to be unlawful if it is above the posted Prince William County speed limit. But with a presumed speed limit, the burden of proof shifts to the defendant to prove that the speed was safe for the current conditions on the road. It is a little bit more complicated than absolute limits.

Basic Speed Limits

The concept of a basic speed limit is a little trickier. Basically, you can be charged with speeding in Prince William County by violating the basic speed law even if you were driving below the posted speed limit. The difference is that the officer takes into consideration the conditions existing at the time, regardless of whatever the posted speed limit is. For example, if the posted speed limit in Prince William County is 55, but there is a huge snow storm and the road now is more hazardous, someone could be ticketed on that exact same road for going at or under the posted speed limit because the posted speed limit is now considered to be unsafe under the current conditions.

Absolute, Presumed, and Basic Speed Limit Differences

The difference between them is how you would argue in court that someone was driving at a safe and legal speed. With absolute and presumed speed limits, the real difference is just that the burden of proof shifts on one versus the other. With absolute, the other side has to prove that you were driving illegally over the speed limit, whereas with the presumed, you have to prove that you were safely driving over the speed limit.

Basic speed limit is just kind of common sense. If it is raining outside, you should drop your speed, which is why every state follows it.

The highest speed limit in Prince William County, Virginia on a highway is 70 miles per hour. Speeding on a highway naturally comes with risks which are related to high levels of speed. There is less time to react and collisions are much more likely to result in severe injury or death, either to the speeding driver or to other people on the road.

Defenses for Exceeding the Speed Limit

The strongest defenses are emergency situations. Anytime something is happening which requires you to speed to avoid someone’s death or the loss of a limb, then generally this will be acceptable. This is very subjective, however. For example, some people think that somebody racing to the hospital with a pregnant lady in the back is a definite emergency, but the other side can argue that it depends on how pregnant she is or how long she has been in labor. There are just so many things to factor in that it really needs to be a solid, absolute case for this defense to be sound.

A speedometer which was not properly calibrated would demonstrate that the speeding was unintentional and the driver was behaving in a manner which they truly believed was safe and lawful, which is another good speeding defense. Somebody with a clean record who is in court for the first time ever oftentimes can win a judge over as well.