How strictly is the speed limit enforced on the beltway? (legal, safety)

[ptoguy]

Whenever I'm on 495, although the speed limit is 55 mph, everyone else is seemingly going 70 mph or above. I haven't seen many police cars either.

Is the speed limit strictly enforced at all on the Beltway, or do the cops accept the fact that pretty much everyone is driving 10 mph faster?

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by ptoguy

Whenever I'm on 495, although the speed limit is 55 mph, everyone else is seemingly going 70 mph or above. I haven't seen many police cars either.

Is the speed limit strictly enforced at all on the Beltway, or do the cops accept the fact that pretty much everyone is driving 10 mph faster?

trust me that spped limit isnt strongly enforced on the beltway. I've done 70 even 75 in a few cases. i havent even seen a cop out there half the time. i can primarily speak for tysons down to rt.1 in alexandria. it also aint enforced much in MD over from 295 to branch ave.

[Zack]

It's almost impossible for police to enforce laws on the beltway, just due to the safety issue. There isn't a lot of room on the shoulder and traffic is going so fast and so heavy that it's just not worth it. Add in the traffic slowdowns from rubbernecking and enforcing speeding seems almost futile.

[saganista]

There basically is no enforcement at all during the rush hour. Even the sight of a police car can create a five-mile backup, so they just don't do it. There are unmarked's out there in the event of an accident or some idiot-driver or whatever, but they aren't going to do speed at all. Outside of rush hour can be a different story, particularly late at night. Keep in mind that 20 over the limit or 80 anywhere is reckless driving in VA, and that's a major league hassle...

[SmerkyGrl]

Just go with the flow of traffic and you should be jolly good. If traffic is slower (as with at night), go slower and don't use "but I got 80 during rush hour!" as an excuse. Those are the people that end up coming on this forum to whine about how the police are so unfair and looking for legal advice on how to dodge their ticket.

[dullnboring]

While I've seen police cars driving on the Beltway, I don't think I have honestly ever seen someone pulled over in all of my years driving on it. The only time I see cops on the side of the road is when they're dealing with an accident. Logistically, with so many lanes and so many cars and everyone speeding, where would cops even begin? Just go the same speed as everyone else and you should be fine, but I agree with saganista that it's best to stay below 20 MPH over the speed limit, but I'd say the same thing for everywhere, not just the Beltway or Virginia.

[ptoguy]

Originally Posted by saganista

Keep in mind that 20 over the limit or 80 anywhere is reckless driving in VA, and that's a major league hassle...

Thanks saganista. I'll keep that in mind.

[lqda4]

I think it's more enforced on the MD side, from the Wilson bridge to 95N.

[knopfler]

I echo most of these sentiments...in all but the really off-hours like overnight, there's very little enforcement - officers are much busier enforcing HOV and responding to accidents and broken-downs. The one caveat is that if it's truly off-hours (like after 9pm in the evening, for instance), they'll sometime pull you for over 70, if you're in the left lane. Other than that, just go with the flow and don't sweat it.