In case you are not aware, as I was not, about a relatively new law in Virginia, I wanted to give all of you a heads up because of a traffic citation I received Sunday morning. As I was traveling in the right lane on the Dulles Roll Rd to the airport, I came up upon a stopped state trooper on the right shoulder who had stopped a vehicle; he was pulled all the way over on the shoulder. I was driving the speed limit and remained in my lane and even slowed down; there was a speeding car that passed in the left lane, thus I stayed in my lane. The next thing I know, the trooper is behind us with his lights flashing and I thought he was going to go after the speeding car, but instead he pulled me over.
The first thing the officer said was that i was not speeding, but the reason he pulled me over was because I was stopped to move over to the left lane prior to passing a stopped emergency vehicle. I told him I wasn't aware of the law and he said he had just gotten hitthe previous day by someone who hadn't moved over. I thought he would give me a warning since I wasn't aware of the law and was driving responsibly and haven't gotten a ticket in over 10 years, but he gave me a summons where I have to appear in court. This is a class 1 misdemeanor violation which can result up to $2,500 in fines and up to 1 year in jail. I've included links regarding the law, which of course I found after the fact, so you are all aware.