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Fail to Obey a HIghway Sign in Fairfax County

Fail to Obey Highway Sign - Fairfax County

In Fairfax County, Failure to Obey a Highway Sign is a common charge.  It is a 3-point offense for DMV purposes and remains on the driving record for 3 years.  It is a relatively minor charge but will appear on your driving record and may affect insurance rates.  Many of these types of cases can be negotiated or argued down by a traffic ticket lawyer to a no-point non-moving violation.  However, the results will depend on certain factors.  We routinely handle these cases in the Fairfax County General District Court, Fairfax City General District Court, Town of Vienna Court, and Town of Herndon Court.  Feel free to give us a call at 703-273-4100 for a free consultation or use the contact form.

Running a Stop Sign in Fairfax County

Virginia Code §46.2-830 makes it illegal to disobey lawfully erected traffic control devices.  While a "lawfully erected traffic control device" is a broad term, this code section is can be used in cases where the person went through a stop sign in Fairfax County.  Many people do what's called a "California stop" or "rolling stop" without stopping completely before proceeding.  This is because it may be clear that there isn't any traffic coming.  In these cases, provided traffic was unaffected, most highway sign tickets can be argued down with the court to a lesser offense.  Of course, the the sign must also be visible (and legible) for a violation to occur.  If there is any obstruction to the sign such as a tree branch it should be documented for court.

Other instances of Failure to Obey a Highway Sign in Fairfax County

Police Officers in Fairfax may write a ticket for failure to obey a highway sign for speeding .  This is their way of cutting a break to the person because failure to obey a highway sign charge is a lesser offense.  Therefore, depending on the speed, we may recommend people simply prepay these charges because they were already given a break by the officer.  For example, if the person was going at a speed that could be construed as reckless driving but was given a Highway Sign charge, we will most times recommend prepayment of the charge.  However, if the speed is not elevated (run-of-the-mill), we may be able to get the highway sign charge lowered to something better.

Failure to Obey a Highway Sign - Sleep

In Virginia, §46.2-830.1 is designed as a lesser-included offense of Failure to Obey a Highway Sign.  It is a no-point offense for those that are parked or stopped on the shoulder or other portion of the highway not used for vehicular travel and are sleeping or resting.  Many times, this offense is what we work towards as a reduction from the primary offense since it doesn't carry DMV points.  If, however, the officer charges you with this Code Section after either going through a stop sign or committing some other moving violation, we will likely recommend you prepay this ticket.

Drivers to Obey Signs under the Fairfax County Code

In the event you are charged with Driver's to Obey Signs under Fairfax County Code 82-2-3 we will likely recommend prepayment.  Drivers to Obey Signs is a local Fairfax County Ordinance that makes it an infraction to not follow road signs, signals, markers, or lights.  Because this is a Fairfax County Ordinance it is not reportable to the DMV so it does not go on the DMV record.  Therefore it does not affect DMV points and any insurance companies reviewing your driving record won't see it.  Drivers to Obey Signs can only be written by the Fairfax County Police and, in most cases, it is a substantial reduction from whatever traffic infraction was committed.  In fact, in the wide away of traffic cases we handle, we will sometimes argue to the Judge or Prosecutor to have the original traffic charge lowered to Drivers to Obey Signs as a nice outcome to the case.

We Offer a Free Consultation

Feel free to reach out to us if you have been charged with Running a Stop Sign or for other Highway Sign incidents in Fairfax County.  We will listen to your case and give you a good idea of what to expect in Court and what we can do for you.  In most cases, we can appear on your behalf for Court and resolve the case without you having to appear.  Give us a call or use the contact form and we will fully apprise you of the available options.

The truth about your case

We will not “sugar coat.” We will tell you exactly what you are facing and will give you the best and worst case scenarios. We are not here to scare you or to pull the wool over your eyes. We find many people calling us for a simple case where they have spoken to other lawyers and are now afraid. However, after speaking with those people and getting the facts, many times there is nothing to fear. We will tell you how things look and we will tell you the truth because we want happy clients. That’s you!

Letnick Law Office
(703) 273-4266 (fax)
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