Amherst Co., VA - It has quickly earned a reputation as one of the fastest stretches of highway in Virginia. Several local judges now call the Route 29 Bypass in Amherst County "the Virginia Autobahn."

The 15-mile stretch of bypass was built only three years ago and police say it looks like it was built for speed. For the most part, it's flat and straight and many people are now learning it can also take money out of their pockets. Deputy John Grieser sees the speed every day.

Deputy John Grieser, Amherst County Sheriff's Office - "I've had several instances personally that were in excess of 100 miles an hour."

Many of the vehicles we tested registered in the low 70's. And that's considered slow in this 65 mile an hour zone. There are so many speeders, deputies usually won't stop you unless you're going at least 12 miles over the limit.

Deputy Grieser - "You don't have enough man power to stop every vehicle out here that's running that fast so you have to let your limits go a little higher."

And typically, they hear the same old story.

Deputy Grieser - "A lot of the excuses I get is, man it was so smooth I didn't even realize how fast I was going."

That was the case for Rebecca Thurlow, just in from Texas.

Rebecca Thurlow, Caught Speeding - "Clearly, it is very easy to speed along here."

She was caught doing 79 on her first ever trip on the by-pass.

Thurlow - "It's easier to go quicker than you think along here. There's just so much open road."

Local residents have experienced the same thing.

Stacey Taylor, Madison Heights - "Oh it's very easy, people fly by me all the time."

Theodore Galindo, Monroe - "65 is the limit but nobody pays attention to it, they usually do 75."

Since the road opened, Amherst County has seen a spike in the number of reckless driving tickets. Deputies say despite constant enforcement drivers still aren't slowing down.

Deputy Grieser - "A lot of these people don't realize, when they are running in excess of 90 miles an hour, the judges give them a weekend in jail."

Now, almost all of the speed patrols out here are done from moving vehicles, so you won't see them until it's too late. Deputies tell me they have to do it that way because if they stop, vehicles going in the other direction will flash their lights and warn the oncoming speeders.