Holly Kirby Weatherwax--Your Realtor® in Reston,VA

I keep hearing about people who have been ticketed by Police for this little known law. I can tell you that police officers are actively enforcing the Slow Down Move Over Law.

The law, violation of which is a Class 1 Misdemeanor reads like this:

§ 46.2-921.1. Drivers to yield right-of-way or reduce speed when approaching stationary emergency vehicles on highways; penalties.

The driver of any motor vehicle, upon approaching a stationary emergency vehicle, as defined in § 46.2-920, that is displaying a flashing, blinking, or alternating emergency light or lights as provided in §§ 46.2-1022, 46.2-1023, and 46.2-1024, shall (i) on a highway having at least four lanes, at least two of which are intended for traffic proceeding as the approaching vehicle, proceed with caution and, if reasonable, with due regard for safety and traffic conditions, yield the right-of-way by making a lane change into a lane not adjacent to that occupied by the stationary emergency vehicle or (ii) if changing lanes would be unreasonable or unsafe, proceed with due caution and maintain a safe speed for highway conditions.

Violation of any provision of this section shall constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor. If the violation resulted in damage to property of another person, the court may, in addition, order the suspension of the driver's privilege to operate a motor vehicle for not more than one year. If the violation resulted in injury to another person, the court may, in addition to any other penalty imposed, order the suspension of the driver's privilege to operate a motor vehicle for not more than two years. If the violation resulted in the death of another person, the court may, in addition to any other penalty imposed, order the suspension of the driver's privilege to operate a motor vehicle for two years.

In layman's terms, if you are on a highway and see an officer or other emergency vehicle pulled over on the side of the road, you are required to move from the adjacent lane to one away from the stopped vechicle if moving is a reasonable and safe option.

My daughter finished her classroom Driver's Ed a year and a half ago and was licensed within the last 10 months. Yet, this law was never mentioned to the students. From what I was able to find on line, this law was written about in 2007 and according to the article,
Virginia: Unknown Traffic Violation Carries $2500 Fine it has been in effect since 2002. Surely, young drivers (and the rest of us) should be told about this it?

Unless you have been ticketed for this, how many of you have heard of it?

I am not arguing against the law--I think it is long overdue. But why hasn't their been a public information campaign to let us know how the law expects us to behave in this situation?

Kudos to Virginia for looking out for our Police Officers, but what about letting us know about new laws that impact our day-to-day driving? It makes me wonder what other laws are out there that I am unknowingly violating?

The Internet is invaluable for bringing us quick and, hopefully ,accurate information. As we look at the data, however, it is not always clear what that information means. If you find yourself reviewing listings on line and are not sure of the different status catogories, here is a brief explanation (Since all MLS systems are regional, the information provided is accurate for the MRIS system that we use in many parts of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia).

Active: Fully available. This does not mean that no contracts have been submitted, just that there has not been one ratified.
Contract: Fully ratified contract with no contingencies (all inspections and contingencies removed, loan approved). Just waiting for settlement.
Cntg/No Ko: A contract has been ratified, but with contingencies. The contingencies are usually the basics--financing approval now that a property has been identified, home inspection(s), Property Owner Association document review. This status will remain until all contingencies have been removed.
Cntg/KO:A contract has been ratified, but the buyers have a property to sell. There is a great deal of risk for the seller in assuming that the buyers property will go under contract AND that their buyers financing will be approved, so the sellers have given the buyers first right of refusal. If another contract comes in, the buyer will be given a certain amount of time (specified in the contract) to remove their contingency or lose the contract.

Unless the buyer is paying cash, waiving all inspections, waiving the appraisal and the property is not in a Property/Home Owners Association, there will be a period where the buyer can change their mind. That is the CNTG/No KO phase. The seller, however, cannot change their mind unless something the buyer finds out during that phase (low appraisal, home inspection issues) causes them to come to the seller and attempt to renegotiate the contract, at which point the contract is being renegotiated and the seller can opt not to accept the new terms.

Hopefully, this allows you to make sense of the status information that you see when reviewing listings on line.

I remember when turning right on a red light used to be against the law. The law was modified to 'Right on Red after coming to a complete stop' to help traffic flow more smoothly and eliminate waiting at a light when there was no traffic coming that would keep you from making a safe right turn.

The number of people who either disregard this entirely or choose to see it as a guideline, rather than a law, astound me.

As someone who runs and walks frequently, I see evidence daily of how this law has become dangerous. At virtually every cross walk, I spend more time making sure I am not going to be hit that watching the safe crossing count-down.

I am not saying the law should be changed back, but I would like to see some public service announcements and possibly some tickets issued to remind the public of how important this law is.

Yesterday as I left the Harris Teeter in Reston, I came to a stop, looked to my left to see if traffic was coming and was startled by the blaring horn. I proceed to make my right turn, got in to the left lane to make a turn at the next light and looked over my shoulder to see who was beeping (and what they were beeping at). Imagine my surprise when someone flew up beside me and gave me 'the gesture' with their middle finger.

Sorry I choose to obey the law...so feel free to beep and gesture. I will be that car that comes to a complete stop, pays attention to pedestrians and traffic and then continues on my way.

And to the 'lady' in the VW Jetta, "Have a Nice Day!"

TNT Fitness has been providing personal training services to local Northern Virginia residents since 1999.



I have participated in their group personal training at both Reston Sport & Health and Herndon's Worldgate in Northern Virginia. If you are looking for a way to work toward your personal fitness goals, this is a wonderful program, made more affordable by its group nature.

At the Reston Sport & Health, I show up 2 mornings a week (and sometimes on Saturdays, when make-up classes are offered) for 45 minutes of Ab work, weight lifting, squats and stretching. The well educated and fun trainers, Brock and Dianne, put us through our paces and adapt each exercise to our individual limitations. No need to worry if you are new to weight lifting, are working with an injury or are looking to push yourself further. Each participant is given weights and exercises appropriate to their personal level of fitness and personal goals.

Three times during a 12-week session we do body fat and body weight checks. The trainers provide you with information you can use to work toward a weight loss goal and this monitoring helps keep you on track.

My personal goal was to increase my weight bearing exercise and 're-distribute' some of my body fat. I have been able to accomplish both of these goals through the TNT Fitness Program.

Each session we are provided with diet guidelines and stretching information. We update the weekly log with how we are doing on our cardio, 'homework' (assigned exercise designed to strengthen our abdominal muscles), stretching and diet.

The pricing for the sessions vary based on when you joined and whether or not you belong to the health club. I do not belong to the health club, so I pay an additional 'club use' fee. In addition to participating in TNT, this club use fee allows me to do the cardio work out at the gym that I am supposed to do on each of my TNT days. There are also evening TNT sessions.

The program builds a real group camaraderie; last week I missed a happy hour, but understand that it was well attended by people in my group (as well as several folks who switched to an earlier group to adapt to a new work schedule).

Speaking of work schedule adaptations, the trainers are great about working with you to make up classes when work or personal obligations get in the way. There are also numerous opportunities for make-up classes at many different locations and times.

If you are looking for a way to change up your work out routine, or to start a new one, I suggest you look in to the TNT Fitness program. More information is available at www.tntfitness.com.

We have all seen the studies that show that after a long summer break, children take a while to get back in the groove of school.

The Reston Regional Library is ready to help you combat this problem this weekend by offering an opportunity to buy your children some books they would like to read, at a price you would like to pay.

Friends of the Reston Regional Library are sponsoring the 2009 Childrens' and YA* Used Book Sale. This sale will be held on Saturday, August 22 from 10-4 and Sunday, August 23rd from 1-4.

There will also be teachers materials available, so it is a great way for new teachers to stock their classrooms or for experienced teachers to refresh their materials.

These materials will only be available at this sale; the September sale will not feature any children or young adult books.

So take an hour or so this weekend and go by the Reston Regional Library, located at 11925 Bowman Towne Dr., Reston, VA 20190, and pick up some books for the children, grandchildren, students or the child next door!

*Young Adult