IAA-C63

I was recently ticketed ($185) for doing 57 in a 35 along Skyline Drive, which is within a National Park. I asked the officer (US govt plates) if there would be any points, and he said he wasn't sure, but thought not, since it's Federal land and their info probably doesn't flow down to the states. Does anyone know for sure?

A related question is whether radar detectors can be used in National Parks. I had stowed mine away, thinking that I was in Virginia, but now I'm wondering if technically I wasn't in Virginia. One the one hand, there's the Federal part, but on the other hand the office said that exceeding the speed limit by more than 20 is considering reckless driving in Virginia, though he didn't ticket me for that. Maybe they're applying Virginia laws in this particular National Park?

venchka

Cruise control will eliminate the problem.

Wayne

I am Jeff

A friend of mine got pulled over by the Federal Police on the GW Memorial Parkway a few months back and he received a hefty fine and points. Good Luck with your situation.

Why would he cruise control on the Skyline Drive? It's one of the most entertaining roads we have out on the east coast.

Sephiroth

the park police forwards tickets to virginia DMV. lube up. not like you have a choice. pay the ticket... unless you want to go to federal court (U.S. District court) to argue it.

Hopefully Virginia will just see it as a regular speeding ticket instead of reckless.
good luck.

venchka

Do I really have to answer that question? There are hundreds, probably thousands, of miles of rural roads not patroled by state & federal police. Drive smart.

Wayne

I am Jeff

Cops hide all over the place, he made a mistake and got caught. He's paying the price. Rural roads aren't entertaining nor scenic. It's not like he was doing 80 on a 35. What's your suggestion? That he set his cruise at 35 because the speed limit states 35?

IAA-C63

I'm in Maryland. Not sure if that helps.

IAA-C63

Actually, after getting the ticket, I set my cruise control to 38. Painfully slow. I don't know if I'll be driving that road again unless I confirm that I can use a radar detector there (illegal in VA, but I don't know about this park).

venchka

Say what? You don't drive the right roads. There are lots of miles of fun roads that are less scrutinized than a National Park.

OP: Good for you. 35mph is boring. Unless you are on some really fun twisty mountain roads where 35mph is pushing the envelope. NC 94 comes to mind. A bit far away for you.

Wayne

Sephiroth

I used to live in maryland and the tickets i got in VA did transfer over. DC,MD,VA all have a reciprocity agreement going.

not sure about your situation. Federal officer enforcing Virgina law for a Maryland resident.

cptdaz

Don't know for sure. I've been pulled over there several times on my bikes, but never got a ticket (park rangers are generally very nice and usually thank me for actually pulling over). I know of several bikers who got tickets at Skyline and they claimed those tickets never showed up on their MD/VA licenses. So no, I don't think you'll get points off. I'd just pay.

dcjwlee

I've heard of it "not being sent down to the state" when someone I know got a stop sign ticket in a National park in CA. He kept getting calls from collections after a while because he ignored it... Don't know why the dmv didn't suspend his license or why he didn't have trouble registering for one in another state with that blemish on his record... BUT I think they DID have a record of it.

jvanbrecht

The points will eventually show up, it depends on how the ticket is processed and I believe how the officer wrote it up. Higher fines, lower or no points (same deal you can ask for in court if you have to show up), lower fine, more points.

As for getting tickets on federal property.. don't do it.. they can ban you from driving on federal property (it is an extreme, but is has happened to a co worker, who was a dick to the cop who pulled him over for doing 45 in a 35 on federal land in MS/LA area, he lives in DC and was there on business). He was banned from driving on any federal property in the US for 2 years...

Granted, as I said, that was an extreme, and the guy was being a dick to the officer, so the likelihood of that happening is slim..

Also, I believe 2 or more moving violations on federal property can result in a ban as well.

Also note that the federal land in question was not a national park, but a federal civilian and/or military facility (I'm not going to go into too many details).

cptdaz

As far as DoD installations go, the tickets do not transfer to states and do not incur demerit points. MP/Security Forces are separate entity from the local LE. I believe the same goes for Park Rangers and US Park Services police.

However you are right that you can either be banned or have your driving privilege taken away on respective department properties (I don't think there's a ban for all Federal land unless you're wanted by the US government).

jvanbrecht

They do if you get the tickets in the DC Metro area (to include MD and VA) area (as shown by my MD record showing my stop by the lovely Pentagon Police....)

I cannot be sure about other states, nor being stopped by actual military police. While my idiotic co worker was banned from federal land, no points ever showed up on his license, but his fine was through the roof..

cptdaz

There aren't exactly long stretches of road in the Pentagon. Did you get a speeding ticket in the parking lot or something? Better yet, driving those golf carts too fast in the basement level ?

jvanbrecht

Sorta.. heh.. I was cutting through the lot from 110 to get to army navy drive and he tagged me coming off of 110. Fortunately, I have never received any tickets there when I was on an actual pentagon contract

ImmaBeSmug2

Just say like Shaggy: "It wasn't me"

Sincity

LOL! I got pulled over going 10 above at Grand Canyon and don't recall NV ever being notified.