Virginia Truck Speed Limit

How fast a truck can run in Virginia

Virginia runs 70 on interstates and trucks get the same limit there (Va. Code § 46.2-870). Off the main system it splits: on unposted secondary routes numbered 600 and higher you are capped at 45 where cars run 55. The number that ends your day is 85. Drive faster than 85 mph anywhere, or 20-plus over the posted limit, and it's reckless driving, a Class 1 misdemeanor (Va. Code § 46.2-862). That's criminal, up to 12 months in jail, a $2,500 fine, and a suspended license, not a simple ticket. Stay out of the left lane of any interstate with more than two lanes each way where the limit is 65 or higher, and at any speed on I-81 and inside Planning District 8 (Va. Code § 46.2-803.1).

Truck-specific rules and quirks

• Slower traffic keeps right; drive in the right lanes on the interstate (Va. Code § 46.2-804).
• Stay out of the left-most lane of any interstate with more than two lanes each way wherever the posted limit is 65 mph or higher (Va. Code § 46.2-803.1). On I-81 and inside the Eighth Planning District (Northern Virginia) that ban applies at any posted speed. Keep to the right-most lane any time you are running 15 or more mph below the limit on an interstate with no more than two lanes each way. Buses, a vehicle setting up for a left exit, and maintenance or construction vehicles are exempt.
• Interstates are 70 rural and urban where posted. The reckless-driving speed threshold was raised to 85 mph (from 80) effective July 1, 2020.

What a speeding ticket costs

Here's the trap. Over 85 mph anywhere, or 20 mph or more over the posted limit, is reckless driving under Va. Code § 46.2-862 — a Class 1 misdemeanor, not an infraction. Up to 12 months in jail, a $2,500 fine, and license suspension. At a posted 70, that puts 90 mph into reckless territory, but the 85 mph line applies no matter what's posted. Work-zone speeding with workers present adds up to $500 (§ 46.2-878.1).

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