Filed under: Government/Legal, Read This
Being an automotive journalist can be a dangerous gig. No, we're not talking about the risk of carpal tunnel from typing for eight to ten hours a day, five to six days a week or the long periods of sitting. Instead, we're referring to what may be more obvious: the cars. For all of our talk and bravado when it comes to the high-performance vehicles we drive, testing a powerful vehicle on public roads requires a high degree of responsibility and judgment. Every journalist has found themselves lacking in these two key qualities at some point in their road-testing career (and those that claim they haven't are full of it). For the vast majority of us, it's a matter of when, not if, we'll run into trouble with the police.
That's just what happened to Jalopnik writer Patrick George. He was on a media program involving the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 when he got nipped by the fuzz. But because he was driving in Virginia at the time, his offense - 93 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone - came with a lot more than a big fine, lots of points and a thorough dressing down from an officer. It came with jail time.
The situation, as Patrick rightly says, is one many of us have experienced. That's what makes his entire first-hand account of the events leading up to his speeding violation, as well as his three-day stint in the slammer, so disturbing. It just hits too close to home, whether you're road-testing a new Camaro like Patrick was or if you're simply headed home in your own vehicle. It's an excellent, sobering read and a highlight of the state of Virginia's borderline draconian driving laws as they relate to speeding.
Head over and take a look.
Jalopnik scribe finds out the hard way why you should never speed in Virginia originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Aug 2014 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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