VA reckless speeding charges

[delrio]

Does any other state have it as ridiculous as the commonwealth?

I was doing 72 in a 50 (according to the officer) and got a court date now and they call going 22 above reckless....pretty stupid. Any advice on how to lessen my charge I really don't want to get my license suspended

[phil123]

Lawyer up?

Charges vary from state to state. Look up the laws if you care.

[silverA4quattro]

Isn't 15 over in VA reckless now? That said, 72 in a 50 is pretty unacceptable. If you lived on a road where the speed limit was 50, would you want people flying by at 72? I doubt it.

[seadoo2006]

Isn't 15 over in VA reckless now? That said, 72 in a 50 is pretty unacceptable. If you lived on a road where the speed limit was 50, would you want people flying by at 72? I doubt it.

I live on a four lane divided highway with a 45 mph limit ... it's no different than a freeway, except with driveways ... 67mph would be below the average speed people do on it. NFG.

[emmettlodge]

Sounds like you should get your license suspended.

[delrio]

Has anyone been charged with reckless in VA and got a lawyer? I want to know if it's actually worth it someone told me you go there and they take your license and charge a lot of fees. I dont know much about the court system but how much can a lawyer do?

[AKADriver]

Any conviction for speeding at more than 20mph over the limit, or over 80mph (even if the ticket is for, say, 81 in a 70), is automatic reckless driving. It's also a Class 1 midemeanor, in other words, can carry jail time.

Your only hope is to argue the ticket down to a non-speed offense. If you already have a record this is going to be tough.

[BeBop!]

I live on a four lane divided highway with a 45 mph limit ... it's no different than a freeway, except with driveways ... 67mph would be below the average speed people do on it. NFG.

You're absolutely right! Who needs speed limits anyway, its not like they save lives or anything. Going 67 in a 45 is totally acceptable. Carry on.

[jepva]

Yes I agree we have it pretty bad. Makes enjoying cars kind of a problem around here.


I've had 2 reckless tickets from years ago...was able to get both of them dismissed for taking "driving school", aka sitting in a classroom for 6 hours on a Saturday and watching videos filmed in the 80's on how to drive.

Each time I paid a lawyer (around $300) and didn't even show up.

What's really lame is how they raised the highway speeds here to 70, yet kept reckless at 80. I'm positive it was intentional to just bring in more reckless revenue due to the lower margin.

I learned my lesson..I'm always pegged at 79 now.

[AKADriver]

Isn't 15 over in VA reckless now? That said, 72 in a 50 is pretty unacceptable. If you lived on a road where the speed limit was 50, would you want people flying by at 72? I doubt it.

Depends where the OP was. 50 is the standard speed limit for "parkways" here which are typically wide, divided highways with stoplights every few miles or so. I commute on one of these every day... 72mph is fast enough to get you noticed by the police, but it's not so fast that you're blasting through neighborhoods and mowing down schoolkids. Typical traffic speeds are around 60, up to 65 in some downhill sections.

[silverA4quattro]

I live on a four lane divided highway with a 45 mph limit ... it's no different than a freeway, except with driveways ... 67mph would be below the average speed people do on it. NFG.

Personally unless I'm on an interstate or turnpike (meaning with exits, not with houses/business on the side of the road), I only will do 5, maybe 10 MPH over at most. I just don't see it safe to tear along at 70 MPH on this type of road. Same goes for 30 MPH suburban roads where people tend to do 50+, it's not a good situation.

[AKADriver]

You're absolutely right! Who needs speed limits anyway, its not like they save lives or anything. Going 67 in a 45 is totally acceptable. Carry on.

They don't.

Virginia has a well-documented history of using draconian traffic enforcement as a method of generating revenue.

[delrio]

Yes I agree we have it pretty bad. Makes enjoying cars kind of a problem around here.


I've had 2 reckless tickets from years ago...was able to get both of them dismissed for taking "driving school", aka sitting in a classroom for 6 hours on a Saturday and watching videos filmed in the 80's on how to drive.

Each time I paid a lawyer (around $300) and didn't even show up.

What's really lame is how they raised the highway speeds here to 70, yet kept reckless at 80. I'm positive it was intentional to just bring in more reckless revenue due to the lower margin.

I learned my lesson..I'm always pegged at 79 now.

Did you still have to pay court fees even though you didn't go?

Depends where the OP was. 50 is the standard speed limit for "parkways" here which are typically wide, divided highways with stoplights every few miles or so. I commute on one of these every day... 72mph is fast enough to get you noticed by the police, but it's not so fast that you're blasting through neighborhoods and mowing down schoolkids. Typical traffic speeds are around 60, up to 65 in some downhill sections.

It was on the fairfax county parkway 2 lane divided and they love pulling people over there

[jepva]

They don't.

Virginia has a well-documented history of using draconian traffic enforcement as a method of generating revenue.

Yep. There's a city near me called Hopewell that recently came under fire from AAA. They have a nice little section of I-295...where they gave 1000's of tickets last year, equivalent to the number of tickets given in all of Fairfax County, yet they are a town the size of 10k people.

[silverA4quattro]

Quit whining!

In IL , 15 mph over the speed limit is now (as of Jan, 2012) considered a felony!

Even as a slow poke, I'll admit that's really extreme.

[McBanagon]

I believe they can put the label of "reckless" on any charge.

Two examples:

1. Pulling away from the curb without signaling is a small violation. Mash the gas and launch away from the curb in traffic making other motorists panic and swerve? That might be reckless.
2. 20+ over is usually considered reckless. However, 77 in a 55mph interstate with no one around doesn't sound very reckless.

A 50mph zone isn't exactly the highway. All 50mph roads I'm aware of have side streets, driveways, and maybe some blind spots. In this case 22 over may easily be considered reckless.

You might be screwed on this one.

[jepva]

Did you still have to pay court fees even though you didn't go?

Maybe, but those weren't significant and may have just been included in what I paid the lawyer. The key to getting driving school is having an otherwise perfect record. At the time it was a well known alternative/option that if it was your first reckless charge, you could take driving school and have it dismissed.

Probably depends a lot on the judge/county etc, but I think getting the lawyer was key.

[300_munkeys]

If you just want to get the charges lowered, show up to court and tell the judge you weren't paying attention or something. They will almost invariably lower it as a matter of course to 19 over.

If you want to try to get it dismissed lawyer up or go and ask the judge to take a class (this works much better if you have a clean driving record).

Source: I'm a VA lawyer (but I don't handle these types of cases; my experiences here are mostly personal )

[standard]

lawyer up,get ready to spend some money. hope for the best but prepare for the worst

[delrio]

Maybe, but those weren't significant and may have just been included in what I paid the lawyer. The key to getting driving school is having an otherwise perfect record. At the time it was a well known alternative/option that if it was your first reckless charge, you could take driving school and have it dismissed.

Probably depends a lot on the judge/county etc, but I think getting the lawyer was key.

I will look into getting one as far as driving my record is pretty good outside of driving not so much. It doesn't seem like I will get out of this with just a class but it's worth a try

[BMP_3918]

Good luck. Depending on what county of VA you're in, you may or may not get screwed in the *******.

[IJM]

Any conviction for speeding at more than 20mph over the limit, or over 80mph (even if the ticket is for, say, 81 in a 70), is automatic reckless driving. It's also a Class 1 midemeanor, in other words, can carry jail time.

Your only hope is to argue the ticket down to a non-speed offense. If you already have a record this is going to be tough.

This is mostly true, but I should clarify a few things. You're correct that >80 or >20 over (even in a 70 zone) qualifies as reckless, but the officer still has discretion as to whether or not he'll give you regular speeding or reckless on the ticket. The easiest way to get the reckless dropped is to plead quilty to a lesser charge of regular speeding (69 in a 50 or 19 over would work).

In any case, VA is quite infamous for being a revenue-generating motoring hellhole. Fairfax County is probably the worst part of the whole state.

[shaykes]

1. Your not going to jail for going 72 in a 50, I was ticketed going 102 in a 70 and I got no jail time but I got a $2,500 fine with $1,500 suspended, so I paid $1,000

2. Lawyer cost me $800 and she saved my butt, I dunno if you really need a lawyer at the speed you were going, but do not worry too much.

3. VA is lame, i avoid that whackness at all costs.

[tda_18x]

I got pulled over on 95 I got out of it cause I was out of state and the cop cut me a break so I didn't have to drive down for a court date.

[delrio]

1. Your not going to jail for going 72 in a 50, I was ticketed going 102 in a 70 and I got no jail time but I got a $2,500 fine with $1,500 suspended, so I paid $1,000

2. Lawyer cost me $800 and she saved my butt, I dunno if you really need a lawyer at the speed you were going, but do not worry too much.

3. VA is lame, i avoid that whackness at all costs.

The answer I was looking for, so pretty much I'm losing money no matter what. Might not get a lawyer then I hope I dont get that $2500 fine

[Chauncey Wellington III]

Got a 79 in a 55 a few years ago.

Definitely get a lawyer.

Definitely get your Speedometer calibrated

Va Beach (where I got mine) has been known to give jail time on first offenses even with lawyers but it varies depending on the city and judge.

My overall fine was somewhere in the 500 dollar area (not including the lawyer and all that obviously) IF I remember correctly.

[kimilein]

Ouch. 33 over here in Washington (93 in 60) was just a simple speeding ticket for something like ~$230

Oregon was a bit more expensive. 20 over is $270 I think. I don't remember exactly, it was a couple years ago.

[maloosheck]

No wonder radar detectors are illegal in VA...

They don't.

Virginia has a well-documented history of using draconian traffic enforcement as a method of generating revenue.

[Egz]

Lesson is, if you plan to speed in VA, don't get caught. And if you do, make sure its under 20.

[Bluegrape2]

It's not a stretch to say that VA is the ABSOLUTE worst state to get popped for speeding. They do not play around. I have had quite a few tickets in my 12 years behind the wheel and have a heavy right foot , But, I have learned to not even risk it while passing thru VA.

The cops down there are some version of NAZI robots. A hidden radar detector is a good idea. I used to hide my passport under the passenger side headrest. still worked well and it was not visible unless they were searching the inside of your car...

Which they will try to do as well.......GL..

Make sure to check the ticket for any stupid errors, Post-pone at least twice, Dress nice, speak proper english, and stand up straight.

What do I know I have four points on my joint...

[BMP_3918]

Lesson is, if you plan to speed in VA, don't get caught. And if you do, make sure its under 20.

Or.. If you drive in VA, make sure you drive like a grandma

[thetopdog]

I am never going to drive in the state of VA

[SSLByron]

Lesson is, if you plan to speed in VA, don't get caught. And if you do, make sure its under 20.

This.

Judge: "It says here you were doing 70 in a 50."
Hypothetical me: "No way, your honor. I wasn't doing more than 69."
Judge: "How can you be so sure?"
Hypothetical me: "Simple, sir. I always set the cruise control at 19 over in Virginia."

[TrackMagicWS6]

This is why I don't vacation in VA.

[delrio]

This.

Judge: "It says here you were doing 70 in a 50."
Hypothetical me: "No way, your honor. I wasn't doing more than 69."
Judge: "How can you be so sure?"
Hypothetical me: "Simple, sir. I always set the cruise control at 19 over in Virginia."