Heads up, Virginia

Apparently, if you pass a stopped emergency vehicle (including a trooper on a traffic stop) without pulling into the left lane, you can be liable for a huge ticket in Virginia.  DC area drivers, take note; they can pull you over even if you're going to the limit and not endangering the trooper.  I don't know about other parts of the country, but around here governments are partially dealing with their revenue shortfall by upping their traffic enforcement to outrageously persnickety levels; my sister got a ticket the other day for stopping at a stop sign for three seconds instead of the apparently requisite five.  There were no other cars around--except for the cop who handed her a gigantic ticket.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2008/11/heads-up-virginia/4300/