Va. Radar Detector Ban May Soon Come to a Halt

Only one other jurisdiction, the District of Columbia, outlaws the devices

Virginia's ban on radar detectors may be nearing an end.

A bill ending Virginia's distinction as the last state in which detectors are illegal advanced in the General Assembly on Thursday.  

Between that and the speed limit poised to go up to 70 mph, there won't be much slowing down drivers in the Old Dominion.

Only one other jurisdiction, the District of Columbia, outlaws the devices that alert motorists to speed traps.

Opponents of Del. Joe May's bill to end the ban -- first enacted in the 1970s -- say it would encourage drivers to speed up and make roads more deadly.

May chairs the Transportation Committee, which advanced the bill on an 11-8 vote. But May noted that some cars come with the detectors built in, and that detectors themselves slow speeds because drivers brake when the devices go off.

Lawmakers in the Old Dominion recently passed bills to raise the speed limit to 70 mph from 65 mph, an increase Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-Va.) is expected to sign off on.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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