Reckless Driving by Speed in Virginia: 20 Over and 85 mph

In Virginia, driving 20 mph or more over the speed limit, or faster than 85 mph anywhere in the state, is reckless driving by speed — a Class 1 misdemeanor under Va. Code § 46.2-862, not a speeding ticket. The maximum penalty is 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine, the court can suspend your license for 60 days to six months, and the DMV adds 6 demerit points that stay on your record for 11 years. No bad driving is required: the number on the radar is the whole case.

The two speed thresholds in Virginia

Va. Code § 46.2-862 has two independent triggers. You are guilty of reckless driving if you drive (i) at a speed of 20 miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limit, or (ii) in excess of 85 miles per hour regardless of the applicable maximum speed limit. Whichever you hit first applies.

The 85 mph rule replaced an older 80 mph threshold on July 1, 2020, so any guide that still says 80 is out of date — that change, and the newer speed-limiter alternative to losing a license, are set out in what changed in Virginia’s reckless driving laws. The 20-over rule has not changed.

Posted limit	Speeding infraction	Reckless driving by speed
25 mph	26–44 mph	45 mph and up
35 mph	36–54 mph	55 mph and up
45 mph	46–64 mph	65 mph and up
55 mph	56–74 mph	75 mph and up
60 mph	61–79 mph	80 mph and up
65 mph	66–84 mph	85 mph and up (20 over)
70 mph	71–85 mph	86 mph and up (over 85)

Two consequences of the table trip people up. In a 70-mph interstate zone the “20 over” rule never gets a chance to apply, because 86 mph is already over 85. And in a 65-mph zone, 85 mph is exactly 20 over — reckless — while 84 mph is a speeding infraction.

Is 15 over reckless driving in Virginia?

No. Fifteen over is a speeding infraction, as is 19 over. The line is 20. Under Virginia’s prepayment rules (Va. Code § 46.2-878.3) a speeding ticket is normally prepayable at $6 per mph over the limit plus court costs ($7 per mph in school-crossing and work zones, $8 in posted residence districts), and the DMV assesses 4 points for 10–19 over. The moment the speed reaches 20 over, the ticket becomes a criminal summons with a court date.

The same section adds a wrinkle for the 81–85 mph range: driving between 81 and 85 mph on a highway with a 65 mph limit is still a speeding infraction, but it carries an additional $100 fine on top of the per-mph amount. Above 85, it is reckless.

Penalties for reckless driving by speed

Because § 46.2-862 sits in the reckless driving article of the Code, the penalty is the same as for any other reckless driving conviction in Virginia. Va. Code § 46.2-868 makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor, which under Va. Code § 18.2-11 means confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both. There is no statutory minimum fine, except that a driver who was also holding a handheld phone at the time faces a mandatory minimum fine of $250.

The license consequence is specific to speed cases. Va. Code § 46.2-393 lets the court suspend the license of anyone convicted under §§ 46.2-853 through 46.2-864 — which includes § 46.2-862 — for not less than 60 days nor more than six months, with a restricted license available for work, school, and medical travel. For a § 46.2-862 conviction the court may, as an alternative to suspension, order enrollment in the state’s Intelligent Speed Assistance Program (a device that limits the vehicle’s speed) for 60 days to six months. If you were clocked at more than 100 mph, the court must order that program unless it suspends your license instead.

Charge	Points	Years on DMV record	Criminal record
Speeding 1–9 mph over	3	5	No
Speeding 10–19 mph over	4	5	No
Speeding 20+ mph over (charged as speeding)	6	5	No
Reckless driving by speed (§ 46.2-862)	6	11	Yes, Class 1 misdemeanor
Improper driving (§ 46.2-869)	3	3	No

Note the middle row: an officer can choose to write 20-over as a plain speeding infraction rather than reckless driving. That is the officer’s discretion at the roadside, and it is worth knowing that the two charges carry the same 6 points but very different records.

Specific speeds people ask about

• 80 in a 55: 25 over — reckless driving.
• 80 in a 65: 15 over — a speeding infraction (4 points), not reckless.
• 84 in a 65: 19 over — speeding, with the extra $100 fine for the 81–85 range on a 65-mph highway.
• 85 in a 65: exactly 20 over — reckless driving.
• 90 on a 70-mph interstate: only 20 over, but also above 85 — reckless driving either way.
• 79 in a 60: 19 over — speeding.
• 86 anywhere: reckless driving, because it is over 85 regardless of the limit.

The arithmetic is unforgiving, which is why the speed the officer writes down — and whether your speedometer agrees with it — is the first thing to check.

Why the speed on the summons matters so much

Reckless driving by speed is unusual among criminal charges because the evidence is one number. Everything about the case turns on it, which is why the standard defense work is about that number rather than about intent.

1. Speedometer calibration. A mechanic can test your speedometer against a calibrated device. If it reads low — say it showed 78 when you were doing 82 — judges often reduce the charged speed accordingly, and a reduction of a few mph can drop a case below the threshold.
2. The device’s calibration certificate. Under Va. Code § 46.2-882, radar and laser readings are prima facie evidence of speed, but a calibration certificate for the device (or the tuning fork used to test it) is admissible only if the calibration is no more than six months old. Whether the Commonwealth has a current certificate is a routine question.
3. Pacing and location. Section 46.2-882 makes the reading of a listed device prima facie evidence of speed; an officer’s own pace is ordinary testimony rather than a device reading. So where the speed came from a pace, the officer’s own speedometer calibration and the distance over which the pace was held are fair questions, as is where the posted limit changed.
4. A driver improvement clinic and a clean record. These do not change the number, but they are what judges commonly weigh when deciding whether to convict of the lesser offense of improper driving.

None of these guarantees a result, and a very high speed (roughly 90 mph and above, and especially 100-plus) narrows the room considerably.

Improper driving: the usual reduction

Va. Code § 46.2-869 allows the judge to find you guilty of improper driving instead of reckless driving where the degree of culpability is slight, and allows the prosecutor to reduce the charge at any point before the decision. Improper driving is a traffic infraction with a fine of not more than $500, 3 demerit points, and no criminal record. In many general district courts a first-time reckless-by-speed charge at a modest speed over the threshold, with a calibration and a clinic certificate in hand, is resolved this way — but it is a matter of the judge’s discretion, not a rule. The first-offense guide covers what tends to move the outcome.

What happens after the stop

Reckless driving is a misdemeanor, so under Va. Code § 46.2-936 the officer issues a summons with a court date at least five days out and releases you on your written promise to appear. Signing the summons is not a guilty plea. You cannot prepay the charge the way you can a speeding ticket: it has to be answered in the general district court of the county or city where you were stopped, either in person or, in many courts, through a lawyer. Any fine is set by the judge; court costs are added on top and are fixed by Va. Code § 16.1-69.48:1 at $61 for a misdemeanor, or $51 where the charge is reduced to an infraction.

If you hold an out-of-state license, the charge and the court appearance are the same. A conviction is reported to your home state, which applies its own rules to it; Virginia’s demerit points cannot attach to a non-Virginia license, but under Va. Code § 46.2-392 the court can bar a nonresident from driving in Virginia for the suspension period.

What to do now

Read the summons for the exact speed and the section charged. Get your speedometer calibrated before the court date. Book a DMV-approved driver improvement clinic. Print your driving record. Then, particularly if the speed was well past the threshold or you have prior convictions, talk to a Virginia traffic attorney about whether to argue the number, ask for improper driving, or plead. The overview of reckless driving in Virginia and the page on what a reckless driving ticket costs fill in the rest.