The Virginia State Police bought 32 Dodge Chargers for about $21,000 apiece as part of a pilot program to add a new breed of car to its fleet. Trooper Tom Cashin designed the graphics. Cashin, who works in New Kent County, received the department’s first Charger about three weeks ago. He designed the vehicle’s sleek new graphics, which are being added to every Charger. New Kent County, located between Richmond and Williamsburg on I-64, is one of Virginia’s busiest counties for writing Reckless Driving/Speeding tickets. Reckless Driving/Speeding can and will be written for any speed above 80 mph on the highway. Reckless Driving/Speeding is also a criminal offense in Virginia. (To learn more about Reckless Driving/Speeding in Virginia, go to BobBattleLaw.com)
Not all of the 32 Dodge Chargers will have Trooper Cashin’s impressive design since twelve of the cars are marked, 13 are unmarked and seven are “slick tops,” meaning they are marked with state police logos but have no easy-to-spot emergency light bar on top.
The new vehicles are true muscle cars- the 340 horsepower vehicle features a souped-up, 5.7-liter hemi V-8 engine and customized 18-inch wheels. The car’s top speed is listed as 150 mph, but Cashin said one colleague reached 155. Cashin has accelerated up to 140 mph, but it felt like 85 or 90, he said.
So, if you are driving in Virginia and see those dreaded flashing police lights in your rear view mirror, ignore that little voice in your head that says you might be able to lose the officer by speeding up. Pull over and be polite and cooperative and then get an experienced traffic lawyer to represent you. Bob Battle has handled thousands of Virginia Recless Driving/Speeding tickets and he regularly is able to get the charges lowered or dismissed, quite often without his client ever having to return to Virginia for court or appointments.
To read more about the new Dodge Charger police cars and to view the marked version, click here.
February 26, 2007
VA Reckless Driving & Speeding