Virginia's Traffic Laws: Where They Live and What They Cost

Virginia’s traffic laws are Title 46.2 of the Code of Virginia, from the definitions in § 46.2-100 to the equipment rules in the 1000s, supplemented by local ordinances that Va. Code § 46.2-1300 allows counties, cities and towns to adopt. Most violations are traffic infractions, and where a section names no fine, Va. Code § 46.2-113 caps it at $250 plus $51 in court costs.

Where Virginia’s traffic laws live in the Code

One title does nearly all the work. Title 46.2 is called “Motor Vehicles”, and it runs from definitions and licensing through titling, registration and financial responsibility to Chapter 8, “Regulation of Traffic” — which holds most of the rules an officer writes tickets for — and on to the equipment chapters in the 1000s.

A few traffic offences sit outside Title 46.2. Driving under the influence is in Title 18.2 (crimes generally). Court procedure, fines and costs are in Title 16.1 (district courts) and Title 19.2 (criminal procedure). That split is why a Virginia summons can cite sections from two different titles at once.

Acts of the General Assembly normally take effect on July 1 of the year they pass, so “new Virginia traffic laws” almost always means “the ones that started on July 1”. The Code on law.lis.virginia.gov is the current text, which is the only version worth relying on.

The one section that sets most Virginia traffic fines

Read a random moving-violation section — following too closely at Va. Code § 46.2-816, or obedience to traffic control devices at Va. Code § 46.2-830 — and you will notice something: there is no penalty in it. The rule is stated and the section ends.

Va. Code § 46.2-113 fills the gap for the whole title: “Unless otherwise stated, these violations shall constitute traffic infractions punishable by a fine of not more than that provided for a Class 4 misdemeanor under § 18.2-11.” Va. Code § 18.2-11 puts the Class 4 maximum at $250.

So the honest answer to “how much is this Virginia ticket” is usually: up to $250, at the judge’s discretion, plus court costs — unless the offence has its own figure. A number of them do:

Offence	Section	Penalty in the statute
Improper driving	§ 46.2-869	Fine of not more than $500
Handheld phone, first offence	§ 46.2-818.2	$125 ($250 for a later offence; $250 mandatory in a work zone)
Failure to stay in a marked lane	§ 46.2-804	$100
Speeding in a posted residence district	§ 46.2-878.2	$200, not suspendable without 20 hours of community service
Speeding in a highway work zone	§ 46.2-878.1	Fine of not more than $500
Adult seat belt	§ 46.2-1094	$25 civil penalty

The cost of a Virginia traffic ticket goes through the arithmetic in full, including the court costs that are added to every one of these.

Speed limits: the numbers in Va. Code § 46.2-870 and after

The default maximums are in Va. Code § 46.2-870: 55 mph on interstates, other divided limited-access highways, non-limited-access highways of four or more lanes, and all state primary highways; 55 mph on other highways for cars, buses, pickups, panel trucks and motorcycles, but 45 mph there for trucks, tractor trucks, property-carrying combinations and vehicles towing. Where signs say so after an engineering study, the limit is 70 mph on interstates, multilane divided limited-access highways and physically separated HOV lanes, and 60 mph on a listed set of U.S. and state routes.

Three special zones override the general rule. A school crossing zone is 25 mph between the posted signs (Va. Code § 46.2-873). A highway work zone carries its own posted limit, and exceeding it when workers are present is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500 (Va. Code § 46.2-878.1). A posted residence district carries the flat $200 fine above.

Speeding far enough over the limit stops being a speeding ticket at all: Va. Code § 46.2-862 makes it reckless driving — a Class 1 misdemeanor — to drive 20 miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limit, or in excess of 85 miles per hour whatever the posted limit.

The rules of the road people actually get ticketed for

• Traffic control devices. Va. Code § 46.2-830 requires drivers to obey lawfully erected devices, and contains a defence worth knowing: the prohibition cannot be enforced if the device was not “in proper position and sufficiently legible to be seen by an ordinarily observant person” at the time and place.
• Following too closely. Va. Code § 46.2-816 has no fixed distance; the test is “more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard to the speed of both vehicles and the traffic on, and conditions of, the highway at the time.”
• Lane discipline. Va. Code § 46.2-804 requires a vehicle to be driven “as nearly as is practicable entirely within a single lane” and not moved from it until the driver has ascertained the movement can be made safely. Its penalty is a flat $100.
• Handheld phones. Va. Code § 46.2-818.2 makes it unlawful to hold a handheld personal communications device while driving a moving vehicle, with exceptions for emergency vehicles, drivers lawfully parked or stopped, and reporting an emergency.
• Seat belts. Va. Code § 46.2-1094 requires drivers and occupants aged 18 and over to wear a belt. The penalty is a $25 civil penalty, and an officer may not stop a vehicle for it — see which Virginia traffic offences justify a stop.

Local ordinances: why your ticket cites a code you cannot find

Va. Code § 46.2-1300 lets local governing bodies adopt traffic ordinances “not in conflict with the provisions of this title”, adjust speed limits after an engineering and traffic investigation, and enforce them locally. A Fairfax County or Virginia Beach summons frequently cites the local code number rather than the state section.

The same section puts two limits on that power. A locality may not impose a penalty greater than the state penalty for a similar offence, and it may not make an ordinance violation a cause for a stop or arrest where a stop is prohibited for the similar state offence. Local traffic infractions are tried in the same general district court and carry the same costs.

How a Virginia traffic law is enforced

For a misdemeanor traffic offence, Va. Code § 46.2-936 tells the officer to issue a summons with a court date at least five days out and release the driver on a written promise to appear — signing it is not an admission of guilt. Many infractions never reach a courtroom at all, because the Supreme Court’s prepayable schedule under Va. Code § 16.1-69.40:1 lets them be settled by a written guilty plea and payment.

Which of these rules applies to a particular summons, and what a court is likely to do with it, is a question for a Virginia traffic attorney rather than for a general guide. What that plea means, and which offences are excluded from it, is set out in the prepayable offences information sheet and in Virginia traffic tickets and the three options after a summons.