Virginia cops

Lee

Lee

ECGS
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Louisburg NC
So there I was minding my own business driving my jeep up to Va yesterday to see my parents for thanksgiving. Drove through NC with no problems seeing several cops along the way, the first cop I see in Va comes flying after me like a speeding bullit. Pulled me over he said for tires sticking out to far from the fenders. Continued to write me a ticket for that, (12" front, 8" rear) a ticket for being over legal height limit in VA and no valid inspection (that one is my fault) Proceeded to walk around the jeep taking pictures and measurements and afterwards had the gall to tell me that with the modifactions I had done the vehicle had no business at all on the road and was one of the most unsafe things he had ever seen. So on Jan 19th I get to travel up to VA and battle all of this in court, fun fun. I am hoping once I get a NC inspection I can bring the documentation up to VA and get most of this BS dropped. Any sugeestions? He said no matter if the Vehicle is legal in NC, it still has to meet VA laws if I drive it in VA, even if it is registered in NC.
BTW, here is my jeep in case you are wondering http://www.nc4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4267
 
That sucks dude, let us know how it works out for ya, but to tell ya the truth I don't know if you will be able to get out of this one. Just hope for a nice judge on his good day.
 
Just try to avoid driving through VA at all. I went to college in VA and VA cops suck! I've never had any problems in NC, but got 2 speeding tickets in VA. Cops sit on 360 and 460 like buzzards. One ticket was for 6mph over and the other was for 8mph over. Most NC cops won't hardly give you a second glance unless you are 10+mph over.
 
oh so i bet that cockass had a cross referencing manual so he could tell exactly how much of a lift you had :mad: wtf? how the hell did he try pulling that shit?

that is some fucking bullshit
 
I think in VA it goes off of bumper height, so it doesn't matter how high the lift is, it's the height of the bumper off the ground - I think...
 
they still have fender laws, etc ,etc.

I got pulled over in my old tj in PA. the cop told me it wasnt legal there due to bumper height, no fenders, etc, but since it was registered in NC and I was just visiting he let me slide.

Some are cool, some are monkeys assess. Dont you have a daily driver?
 
call the district attorney that will be prosecuting and tell him the situation and tell him you won't be driving the vehicle in his state again. He may make a deal with you
 
Lee I no longer have your contact info from where I sold you those steering arms. PM me and I'll get you my info or send me yours and I'll put you in touch with some VA people and see how it boils down up there as well as check into it since my mom lives there and I'll be taking my TJ up there. They didn't give me any hassle when I had my taco up there :D
 
I would suggest calling a VA attorney and see what they say.

Most states will not ticket you if you're legal in the state you're registered in, and even if a LEO tickets you, many DA's will let you off if you prove valid registration and inspection in your home state. However, they generally do have the right to enforce their own laws. They can't do things like require you have a safety inspection if the state you're registered in doesn't require it (some states don't) but they can enforce things like trailer length, etc. it's just that most states choose not to worry about it so long as you're passing through and not actually causing problems on the road.

The good news is, sounds like all the things (except the inspection) that you were ticketed for are things that won't actually affect your license in NC if you end up having to pay the fines. But definitely get the inspection done and see if you can get that one dropped because that one could cause some hassles with DMV here.
 
This hole thread is just crappy. Lee, sorry dude bad things happen to good people all the time. But this board is not the place for "everyone" to shit talk Va. cops because youor any one else had a bad time with "ONE" Va. cop.

I on the other hand have good luck Va. cops

Any how guys --- Lee sorry dude that sucks, the rest of ya' keep your cool and be mature.
 
CRK said:
This hole thread is just crappy. Lee, sorry dude bad things happen to good people all the time. But this board is not the place for "everyone" to shit talk Va. cops because youor any one else had a bad time with "ONE" Va. cop.
Click to expand...

Why? If there are quite a few of us that have dealt with asshat VA hwy patrol, then I'd say there are quite a few asshat hwy patrol officers and shitty laws in VA.
There was a thread on pbb a while back about people driving to moab from out of state and how the laws worked for out of state guys, I'll see if I can find it.
 
I have seen this type of behavior from LEO before. Never know why some are like that. Maybe a power trip, who knows. But you can't judge them all by what one does. Ya know, maybe his SO run off with someone with a built Jeep?? A red Jeep? or maybe someone from NC. At any rate, laws differ from state to state, ask any OTR driver. And yes, no matter what state you are from, you still have to obey the laws of the state you are in. Not knowing what their laws are isn't an excuse either, as they say ignorance of the law is no excuse. Sucks big time I agree.
Take LegalEagles advice and let us know how it comes out
 
Well, I can say from my 4 years in VA, my 2 experiences with VA State Police were both unpleasant experiences. Pretty much every other personal experience I have heard from others has also been unpleasant. I'm not going to try and say that they are all rude, arrogant pricks, but I can say that the ones I have dealt with and the experiences I have heard about from others have all led me toward this conclusion. In my experiences, NC cops have been alot more friendly and understanding. There are good and bad apples everywhere.
 
CRK said:
This hole thread is just crappy. Lee, sorry dude bad things happen to good people all the time. But this board is not the place for "everyone" to shit talk Va. cops because youor any one else had a bad time with "ONE" Va. cop.

I on the other hand have good luck Va. cops

Any how guys --- Lee sorry dude that sucks, the rest of ya' keep your cool and be mature.
Click to expand...

Be glad we are not talking shit about the mods this time, at least we are giving you a break. :D
 
i got pulled after the sas on the 4 runner and the VA cop wrote me a ticket for my bumpers being to high. i was running 44044's and 38.5's and it was to high. the ticket got thrown out by the asst DA because i was just passing through and didnt know anybetter. it will prob work out the same for you lee. va cops are often asshats on this it seems. i will also add the speeding picket was for 6 over! i mean for the love of god! 6 over! :end rant:
 
I read a thread on the bronco board back a few months ago about the VA patrol. Seems a college student on spring break had driven down to the beach from Maryland in his '68 EB roadster. He was cited for improper equipment or something of the sort because he didn't have any doors on it. Just for clarifacation the roadster model came with factory door inserts and NO DOORS. I think some if his trouble started when he asked why the cop wasn't stopping every Jeep that came by with the doors off when they came factory with doors. Anyways a I believe he ended up being excused from it. But it is still the matter of F-ing up a vacation and harassing a visitor over something that is trivial.

VA is a commonwealth similar to PA. I believe that is one step from being communist.
 
I was born and raised in VA, it's a beautiful place and I have lots of family there, BUT after spending the majority of my life in NC, and even spending several years as an NCSHP communications employee, I can say that I firmly believe that you can't become a police officer in the state, oh excuse me, the "commonwealth," of VA until you've successfully completed the graduate course Horse's Ass 622. I wouldn't hold my breath about even a reduction unless you impress them as a remorseful offender throwing himself on the mercy of the dunking pond, uh, I mean court. Take yer hanging clothes with ya. :D
 
I dont have any problems with people discussing problems they have had in different states with LEO's. That is not my point. But to bash and group all Va LEO's in a group and say they all suck ass and are MF'ers is just not a good thing.

It sucks for Lee to have to deal with tickets out of state and to get them on a holiday weekend really sucks!!! I dont think Lee's point was to put down Va.'s finest but more of "hey check out this crappy luck I had" and "to be carefull while in Va. because they are hard on the modified rig thing".


Rant and vent all you want, but lets try not to sterotype all Va. Leo's.

We as a group of wheelers do not like it when we are sterotyped into rednecks who dont give a shit about the land, tear stuff up, only run our rigs in the mud, and only drink Budwieser in the can.

Sterotyping and cursing all LEO's in another state is just in poor taste.

Thats the point I was trying to make......
 
Well my SO is a VA LEO and I don't think she is too bad.
:D

Oh and so are 2 outta 3 of my neighbors and about 25% of my customers in the new shop.

But like any other group - there are some bad apples in any bunch.

A couple months ago, I was in NC driving 35 mph in a 35 mph zone. This was out in a rural area where I can't see ANY reason for it to be 35 mph limit except to be a speed trap. It was 11:00 at night and I was doing spot-on the speed limit where most people would have been doing at least 5 over. NC HP with nothing better to do, probably thought for sure he had someone drinking. Pulled me for "crossing the centre line" .
Anyway he said I was weaving and looked at the Jeep and said "it must be because of the lift and big tires. - YEAH RIGHT - Well he couldn't find anything else so he wrote me for it anyway.

But, I do have to say that VA CAN BE tough on modified rigs.

I have seen tougher lift laws here (in VA) than in either of the other 2 states (NY & NC) I have had a shop in.

Only constructive thing I can add is that this is like a lot of things.
Call attention to yourself and get pulled over, and they are gonna write you for whatever they can find. Keep it "looking" like a semi-normal rig and keep it to the speed limit and you probably won't get harrassed. (As often)
 
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