Due to the nature of how they must be enforced these crimes are defined vaguely and arbitrarily in relation to actual risk to safety. Assault, a common violent

Due to the nature of how they must be enforced these crimes are defined vaguely and arbitrarily in relation to actual risk to safety. Assault, a common violent crime, doesn't actually require the person charged to have caused harm - no intent to cause physical injury needs to exist, and no physical injury needs to result - simply proving that one caused "apprehension of imminent contact" in the victim satisfies the legal definition of assault. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/assault https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/assault Driving offenses are also arbitrarily coded for easy enforcement - speed isn't as closely related to risk as following distance. If you exceed 80 mph in VA then that's considered reckless driving (a jailable offense), while no minimum following distance is enforced. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reckless_driving#Virginia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reckless_driving#Virginia