What Virginia Drivers Should Know About Speeding and Personal Injury Claims

Speed can play an important role in determining how a serious crash occurred and whether a driver exercised reasonable care under the circumstances. From residential streets in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach to the region’s interstate corridors, both the posted speed limit and the conditions at the time of a collision may become relevant when evaluating a personal injury claim.

Speed as Negligence Under Virginia Law

Virginia law regulates both posted speed limits and driving too fast for existing conditions. Under Virginia Code § 46.2-861, a person commits reckless driving by exceeding a reasonable speed under the circumstances and traffic conditions existing at the time, regardless of the posted speed limit. Separate provisions of Virginia law establish maximum speed limits and address reckless driving based on exceeding certain speed thresholds. As a result, a driver’s speed may become relevant after a crash even when the vehicle was traveling below the posted limit.

This distinction can matter in personal injury cases. Weather, road conditions, visibility, traffic, and other circumstances may affect whether a driver’s speed was reasonable at the time of a collision. Evidence concerning those conditions can therefore become relevant when determining how a crash occurred and whether a driver’s conduct contributed to it.

How Speed Is Established in Evidence

Determining a vehicle’s speed before a collision may involve several types of evidence. Depending on the circumstances, investigators may examine physical evidence from the scene, vehicle damage, witness statements, surveillance or traffic-camera footage, and available electronic data from the vehicles involved. Some vehicles contain event data recorders that may capture information relevant to the vehicle’s operation shortly before or during a crash.

Commercial vehicle crashes may involve additional sources of electronic information, including GPS, telematics, or other vehicle and business records. The availability and usefulness of these records depend on the vehicle, the systems being used, and the circumstances of the collision. Preserving potentially relevant evidence early can therefore be important when investigating a serious crash.

Virginia’s Contributory Negligence Consideration

Virginia’s contributory negligence rule can significantly affect speeding-related accident claims. The conduct of each driver and the specific circumstances surrounding the collision may become relevant when determining responsibility. A driver’s speed may be one of those considerations, even when the driver was not exceeding the posted speed limit, if the evidence indicates that the speed was unreasonable for the existing conditions.

Virginia law also provides that a driver traveling at an unlawful speed forfeits a right-of-way the driver otherwise would have had under Virginia’s right-of-way statutes. For these reasons, evidence concerning vehicle speed, roadway conditions, and the actions of each driver can play an important role when evaluating an auto accident claim.

If you or a loved one was injured in a crash involving a speeding driver anywhere in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, or across Hampton Roads, Breit Law is here to help. With more than 47 years of trial experience, William Breit has fought for seriously injured Virginians when insurers try to minimize the role of speed in causing a crash. Contact us today.

Map of the Hampton Roads region in Virginia, where vehicle speed and roadway conditions may become important factors when evaluating a car accident claim.