Fairfax Speed Limit Information

Generally speaking, a speed limit is what is determined to be the safest top speed on any particular road. With that said, however, there are a variety of circumstances which could impact your speeding case. Below, a Fairfax speeding ticket lawyer discusses what you need to know about speeding tickets and how any attorney can help.

To learn more or begin the process of challenging your ticket, call and schedule a consultation today.

Three Types of Speed Limits

There are three types of speed limits that are typically used: basic, presumed, and absolute. An absolute speed limit just means that’s unlawful to drive at any speed over the posted speed limit. For example, if the sign says 45 miles per hour, then going 46 miles per hour or more is illegal.

A presumed speed limit is similar, but a little more complicated.  It’s where the burden of proof shifts to the defendant to prove that his speed was safe for the current conditions on the road. So if the sign says 45 miles per hour, but the defendant was going 50 miles per hour, then the defendant has to prove in court that his going 50 miles per hour was still safe because of whatever reason.

This is different from absolute because usually, the burden of proof is on the prosecution side.  A basic speed limit is a commonsense kind of speed limit. A basic speed limit takes into account additional conditions that may affect how safe a speed limit is. For example, if the posted speed limit is 45, but there is a giant snow storm, which makes the roads more hazardous, someone could be ticketed for going the posted speed limit because the additional condition makes the posted speed limit unsafe.Only a handful of states follow presumed limits, which includes Texas and California. Every single state has basic speed limits.

Fairfax Speeding Defenses

One of the best defenses for exceeding the speed limit is an emergency situation. Usually, if you can show in court that the only reason that you were breaking the speed limit was to avoid an outcome worse than breaking the speed limit, then usually, this will work.  Another defense for exceeding the speed limit is when someone’s speedometer is not properly calibrated. This demonstrates that the speed the driver was going was not intentional and the driver was behaving in a manner they believed to be safe and lawful. A clean record with a one-time  mistake of just that current charge of speeding also sometimes wins the judge over as a good reason for having the charge dismissed.

Mitigating Circumstances for Speeding

The only real mitigating circumstances for speeding are emergency situations.  If someone can show in court that their speeding is due to an emergency situation, then this sometimes make up for the fact that they were speeding, assuming that is the real situation and can be proven.

Risks of Speeding in Fairfax

In Fairfax, the highest speed limit for highways is 70 miles per hour. The risks that come with speeding on a highway are just the risks that naturally come when someone is driving at excessive speed.  Any type of collision that occurs is going to be much more detrimental than a collision at a lower speed.  The reaction times are going to be slower because there is less time from when a driver passes a particular point to when he reaches a particular point.  So the likelihood of severe injury or death tends to be much higher in higher speed situation.