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Virginia Traffic Tickets: HOV Violations (Va. Code 33.1-46.2)

Virginia Traffic Tickets: HOV Violations (Va. Code 33.1-46.2)

Traffic Court judges have little or no discretion in determining the punishment for an HOV violation. Many courts will not offer traffic school in exchange for dismissal for HOV violations. Additionally, the law states the exact fine to be given NOT a range of fines as with most traffic tickets. If you are found guilty the punishment for an HOV ticket is the same for everyone regardless of their record or sympathetic factors.

HOV Violations in Planning District 8

The punishment for a Virginia HOV ticket is different depending on where you are in Virginia. The following are the punishments for HOV tickets in the commonwealth transportation planning board planning district 8 (Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park; the towns of Dumfries, Herndon, Leesburg, Purcellville and Vienna).

First offense:  $125 fine and 0 demerit points;

  • Second offense in five years from a first offense: $250 fine and 3 demerit points;
  • Third offense in five year from a first offense: $500 fine and 3 demerit points
  • Fourth or subsequent offense within five years from a first offense: $1,000 fine and 3 demerit points.

HOV Violations Outside Planning District 8

For HOV tickets outside planning district 8 are punished differently. Any person who commits an HOV violation outside of planning district 8 (Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park; the towns of Dumfries, Herndon, Leesburg, Purcellville and Vienna) shall be guilty of a 0 demerit point traffic infraction which shall not be a moving violation and the fine is $100.

HOV Ticket Defenses

Here are some basic defenses to an HOV violation:

  • The HOV signs was not plainly posted

Most HOV lanes in Virginia are properly posted however, road construction,         vegetation, wear-and-tear, snow and ice or damage may have created a situation        where the sign was no longer “properly posted”.

  • The HOV signs did not state the time and days of the week when the HOV lanes are restricted

An HOV sign must state the time and days that the HOV lanes are restricted. If    that information is not present on the sign or if it has become illegible or obscured        then the sign no longer functions as a properly posted HOV sign as required by      the law.

  • The Driver was not in the HOV lane during the restricted times

Check your Virginia Uniform Summons to see what time the officer wrote for the “Time of Offense” portion of your summons. If that time is not during the restricted time you may have a good defense. If the officer wrote the wrong time make sure you are prepared to tell the judge which clock you were relying on to determine the time and how you know that clock is accurate. I recommend checking the clock against the US Naval Observatory’

  • The Vehicle was an exempt vehicle or driver

The following is a list of exempt vehicles and driver’s:

1. Emergency vehicles

2. Law-enforcement vehicles,

3. Motorcycles,

4. a. Transit and commuter buses designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver,

b. Certain charter buses and certain common carriers

5. Vehicles of public utility companies operating in response to an emergency call,

6. Vehicles bearing clean special fuel vehicle license plates.

(On the I-95/395 HOV lanes the special license plate must predate July 1 2006)

(On I-66 HOV lanes the special license plate must predate July 1 2011)

7. Taxicabs having two or more occupants, including the driver

  • The Vehicle contained the required number of passengers

            (Children count – pets don’t)

  • The offense occurred outside the jurisdiction of the Court or the Officer

If the HOV violation occurred outside the officer’s jurisdiction or the court’s jurisdiction, that officer or that the court does not have the authority to punish you.

  • The offense did not occur within the presence of the ticketing officer

If the officer did not personally witness you commit the HOV violation, that officer cannot write you a ticket for an HOV violation. Instead the officer would have to get a warrant and serve the ticket on you. The most common way this happens is when the officer is waiting at the exit of an HOV lane and tickets people exiting the lane one minute after the lane opens to all traffic. The officer knows you must have been driving in the HOV lane during the restrictions but did not witness the violation.

  • The Owner of the car was not the Driver (For photo or mail HOV tickets)

Some jurisdictions have the ability to prosecute HOV violations by sending the ticket in the mail to the owner of the car. If you get a ticket in the mail for an HOV violation and you were not the driver, you must present evidence that you were not the driver to avoid conviction. You can do this by taking the stand and testifying that you were not the driver.

 

Luke J. Nichols

The law firm of Nichols & Green pllc

www.nicholsgreen.com

(703) 383-9222

lnichols@nicholsgreen.com

 

About Luke Nichols

Luke Nichols practices almost exclusively traffic law in Northern Virginia. His primary practice areas include reckless driving, speeding, DUI/DWI, refusal, hit-and-run, driving on a suspended license, and driving on a revoked license. Mr. Nichols has represented hundreds of Virginia drivers. You can also connect with Luke on Google+
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