Ticket Trouble---Advice please

[antmo0730]

So I just got a ticket in VA on 95 doing 83 in a 55. I didnt even realize i was going that fast and I wasnt looking for the cops either. He said that it was considered Reckless Driving and he gave me a court date in September. My friends told me that I should go to a defensive drving class and get a lawyer. Is there anything else that I can do? VA residents please chime in.

O by the way i have -10 points on my license already so the defensive driving is necessary to get the +5 points

[Ranga14]

I'm not in VA but reckless is driving 25+ over so you were just barely over. You don't need a lawyer, just either pay the ticket or take DD. Next time, pay closer attention to your surroundings and speed intelligently. Although I know it's hard with our car.

Also might want to invest in a radar detector. They're not fool proof but mines saved my butt from time to time.

[dldjros69]

If VA is a commonwealth they are gonna spank ya. Pa is a commonwealth. I got the same speeding ticket i was doing 83 in a 55. I got 5 points for it but no reckless driving.

Good luck, go to court and say you are sorry to the judge and see if they can lower the fines and points.

After further investigation, u may find out you need a lawyer due to the fact that there could possibly be jail time for reckless driving.

[antmo0730]

In VA its 20mi over. I got a ticket in North Carolina for doing 18 over and it was considered reckless because it was 15+. I got a lawyer and they handled it, reducing it to a minor moving violation. Thats what I'm hoping will happen with this one.

[PHENOMenalVinyl]

I'm not in VA but reckless is driving 25+ over so you were just barely over. You don't need a lawyer, just either pay the ticket or take DD. Next time, pay closer attention to your surroundings and speed intelligently. Although I know it's hard with our car. .

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

GO TO COURT AND FIGHT IT IF YOU HAVE NO OTHER TICKETS FIGHT ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT i cant stress this enough i still dont have any tickets and i have been pulled over and given a ticket 3 seperate times. They lower it and you pay a fine thats all

just dress nice nice pants and collared shirt so u dont look like a skumbag "not saying you do it just helps" and be VERY polite say you just got the car and you had no idea you were even going that fast and ASK if theres any way they can lower it to no points

[dglove.bluecoupe]

I'm in VA and i got a ticket last year on 64 ..doing 89 in a 60. When i went to court I had a substitute judge and she told me that if I did 25 hours community service and went to driver improvement school within 6 months she would dismiss it. When i went back i had the regular judge...she dismissed it but told me that if i would have had her the first time she would have suspended my license.

In my experience going to driving school before court always looks good to the judge. (I've been twice in the past two years)

[Hussain]

wtf? 15 mph over is reckless driving? you guys got stupid laws. over here in Cali it used to be that you have to be going AT LEAST 6-10 MPH over the speed limit before they give you a ticket but i'm not sure if its still like that. in the 65 MPH zones everyone does 70 MPH even if there is a cop and no one gets tickets. if you go 75 in a 65 then your probably going to get a ticket if the cop feels like it but not always. 80 MPH you'll get a ticket for sure if the cop sees you. you got to go 15 MPH over the speed limit to for sure get a speeding ticket here. reckless driving is i think doing double the speed limit here but i'm not sure. something about double the speed limit and your f***ed.

[mrodrig2]

Depends:If you can absorb the points without hardship, go to court on your own and accept the lesser charge that they may offer you.

If you cannot get any more points against you, go to court with a lawyer.

If this is a very expensive fine (>300) or there is possible jail time/other penalty, go to court with a lawyer.

Cliffs: slow down and pay attention.

[alticoupe3.5]

i live in NJ:

i had 8 points on my lisence and i had gotten pulled over doing 25 over (60 in a 35) and they slammed me badd. i lost my i.d. for 3 months and had to do a driving school for 6 hours. which was beatttttt. worst class ever.but then after the class, they hit everyone with a year prohbation and you cant get any moving violations. after that year, your points are deducted to 0.

right now, i have 3 points i believe om my record...not good, but ill take it!

[Ranga14]

Knock on wood but the last speeding ticket I had was June of 2001, been awhile, lol.

[Hussain]

WOW! 2001 i was only 13 years old lol

[Ricko]

wtf? 15 mph over is reckless driving? you guys got stupid laws. over here in Cali it used to be that you have to be going AT LEAST 6-10 MPH over the speed limit before they give you a ticket but i'm not sure if its still like that. in the 65 MPH zones everyone does 70 MPH even if there is a cop and no one gets tickets. if you go 75 in a 65 then your probably going to get a ticket if the cop feels like it but not always. 80 MPH you'll get a ticket for sure if the cop sees you. you got to go 15 MPH over the speed limit to for sure get a speeding ticket here. reckless driving is i think doing double the speed limit here but i'm not sure. something about double the speed limit and your f***ed.

Here in SoCal weather its 65 zone or 75 zone as long as you stay below 81 your good to go!

[Viperjunkie]

I recommend getting a lawyer. My step-dad was on 81 and was clocked going 87 in a 60. Cop gave him wreckless since it was 20 over. But he went and got a lawyer and it was dropped altogether. BTW he is RICH AS HELL so i know he got someone good but still having a lawyer will def help in the long run. You may have to go to driving school.

Lawyer!!

[alticoupe3.5]

Here in SoCal weather its 65 zone or 75 zone as long as you stay below 81 your good to go!

yeah here in Jersey if your on the GSP (Garden state parkway) the speed limit if 65 but you wont get pulled over going 79....but as soon as you reach 80, your doneee.

i know because i used to try it all the time with my friend. hit the cruise control at 79...fly past a cop, and no tickett =D

and i got pulled over goin 81 before that.

[AltiCoupeDriver]

That wasn't the case for me in PA. I was going 76 in a 40, I pleaded not guilty to get a court date. I thought they were gonna crucify me because I'm only 18 but it was my first ticket. I showed up dressed up, got a lawyer, and we had a chance to speak to the cop beforehand. I was respectful when he pulled me over, so he agreed to tell the judge he'd settle for 10 over the limit. My main fear was having my license suspended but I explained it was a necessity for work and school. I got 2 pts. but at least I didn't get a departmental hearing or get my license suspended.

All I can advise you to do is get a lawyer, be kind and courteous towards the judge and cop. As Phenom said, dress up, it helps. I hope you were compliant during the incident, it goes a long way. Lastly, see if you can speak to the cop before the judge arrives.

You should always contest a VA reckless driving charge. If there were no other issues during the traffic stop, most Virginia courts will reduce the violation to a simple speeding ticket. However this still carries a stiff six point count with the possibility of a major increase in you auto insurance and a fine in the neighborhood of $500.

http://www.speedingticketcentr....html

Hope that helps.

[marlin29311]

If VA is a commonwealth they are gonna spank ya. Pa is a commonwealth. I got the same speeding ticket i was doing 83 in a 55. I got 5 points for it but no reckless driving.

Not really sure what the commonwealth/state thing has to do with anything...

Just take everyone's advice, and stop speeding. Maybe get a FOP card.

[cellardoorv]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

GO TO COURT AND FIGHT IT IF YOU HAVE NO OTHER TICKETS FIGHT ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT i cant stress this enough i still dont have any tickets and i have been pulled over and given a ticket 3 seperate times. They lower it and you pay a fine thats all

just dress nice nice pants and collared shirt so u dont look like a skumbag "not saying you do it just helps" and be VERY polite say you just got the car and you had no idea you were even going that fast and ASK if theres any way they can lower it to no points

Ditto to that. I've gotten 13 speeding tickets since I was 18. So... 13 in 4 years? Fought every SINGLE one of them, even a 90 in a 55 (yay court summons). And yeah, you can throw out the excuse that I'm a girl and everything gets dropped for me but:

- 80% of my prosecutors were female, and still dropped the ticket in courtand- 90% of the time I am NEVER let go when I get pulled over, which is a lot. Even if I bat my eyelashes until I dig a hole in my eye sockets.

Fight it dude. Even without a lawyer. You're just going to end up paying for the lawyer instead of the ticket. Save that s*** for a DUI.

[dangeris]

Ditto to that. I've gotten 13 speeding tickets since I was 18. So... 13 in 4 years? Fought every SINGLE one of them, even a 90 in a 55 (yay court summons). And yeah, you can throw out the excuse that I'm a girl and everything gets dropped for me but:

- 80% of my prosecutors were female, and still dropped the ticket in courtand- 90% of the time I am NEVER let go when I get pulled over, which is a lot. Even if I bat my eyelashes until I dig a hole in my eye sockets.

Fight it dude. Even without a lawyer. You're just going to end up paying for the lawyer instead of the ticket. Save that s*** for a DUI.

Cellar,..Long time no post...good to see you're still around. Thought you forgot about us

[bkbigf0ot]

I got a ticket last summer for going 81 in a 65 in NJ. I have a NY driver license....if you get a ticket out of state you dont get any point....the first offence....at least thats what i read.....i paid a $215 and forgot about it.....i know have a radar detector....it saved my a** a few times...but more and more cops have lazars now...which sucks for me...just keep it under 15MPH over the limit and you should be good..

[antmo0730]

Thanks for the advice. I think that I am gonna get the lawyer. The part that pissed me off that when I told him that I worked for Homeland Security he acted like there was nothing he could do, gave me the ticket and told me to talk to him when the time comes. I know this guy is not gonna remember me when the time comes in September but we'll see. I checked that site out: http://www.speedingticketcentr....html and the lawyer for that area is gonna charge me 1500 to represent me. He advised me to do the defensive driving class and do 25-50 hrs of community service. I think its crazy how much of a difference in price it is from South Carolina and VA. I guess It is a bit more serious here though especially when it comes to reckless driving.

[Zerep]

were i live cops dont really care as long as ur not endangering anyone or racing. the other day i was doing about 85 miles an hr and was got passed by a semi and a cop lol

[cellardoorv]

Cellar,..Long time no post...good to see you're still around. Thought you forgot about us

*purr**rub*

Never.

[dldjros69]

Not really sure what the commonwealth/state thing has to do with anything...

Their laws tend to mirror each other on these sorts of issues..

Im gonna stuck with that 15 mile an hour rule. 65 so you do 78-79 and you are golden.

in NJ. I have a NY driver license....if you get a ticket out of state you dont get any point....the first offence....at least thats what i read

I need major clarification on this issues, as nj is really close to me and my boy lives 90 miles east of me. i have and had points

[Alien_Tracker]

I used to be a cop in VA(Yes, it is a Commonwealth). I can tell you that 20 over or 80 mph in a 65 zone is Reckless Driving. It is a class 1 misdemeanor(criminal offense), punishable by a $2,500 fine and 12 months in jail. That's not what you will get, though. You were doing 28 mph over the speedlimit and you have multiple prior speeding tickets. I would recommend getting a lawyer. They might be able to get it changed to impropper driving, which would make a big difference. You'll probably get a pretty hefty fine and your license might get suspended for a while. It can be suspended for up to 1 year. If your license gets suspended, you can ask for a restricted license that would allow you to go to work or school only.

You said that you told him that you work for DHS. So what. That's like pulling over an offduty cop and him badging you to try to get out of the ticket. Trust me, cops hate that. What do you do for DHS? If it's any type of LEO position, that's misuse of authority. Which is an ageny policy violation. Or do you work in an office position and thought that if you threw that out there, it would impress or scare him.

I'm not trying to bust your b@ll$, but you were doing 28 over the speedlimit. Sometimes you just have to take your medicine. I hope the info that I gave you about the ticket helps. Good luck.

[antmo0730]

What do you do for DHS? If it's any type of LEO position, that's misuse of authority. Which is an ageny policy violation. Or do you work in an office position and thought that if you threw that out there, it would impress or scare him

I didnt want to impress nor scare him, I just hoped that he would be like "Hmm i'm pulling over a fellow enforcer of the law, let me cut him a break." No its not an LEO position either, its an office position. Its not like i was driving like an @$$ I just didnt realize I was going that fast. I think that he caught me when I was trying to pass. Im not worried about it anymore, I'll just do my community service and, DD class and pray for the best.

[Alien_Tracker]

I didnt want to impress nor scare him, I just hoped that he would be like "Hmm i'm pulling over a fellow enforcer of the law, let me cut him a break." No its not an LEO position either, its an office position.

But you threw that out there hoping he would think you are a LEO, when you aren't. Good luck

[antmo0730]

Modified by antmo0730 at 3:53 AM 8/4/2009