VA speeding ticket - is this normal???
- Thread starter PJZOCC624
- Start date
Casper
New Member
Reckless Driving in VA is a bullshit, but serious charge. Get a lawyer and plead Not Guilty. NY has reciprocity with VA when it comes to license suspensions and that is but one of the things a VA judge can order. IF you get a lawyer, he’ll order you to take a driver’s safety course and reduce the charge to simple speeding. If your record is clean, he may dismiss it altogether.
Funny thing is, the actual fine is relatively cheap.
Good luck!
Funny thing is, the actual fine is relatively cheap.
Good luck!
slowpoke
New Member
if you're forced to take a driver safety course, don't be afraid to take a school that you would enjoy. The court accepted a BMW M school that I had gotten for free when leasing a new car.
I felt a little better about the whole thing when I sent in the certificate to prove I took a driver safety course. Little did they know, I spent a good 2 hours on the school's skid pad doing donuts and another 5 hours driving like an ahole around a track in someone else's car.
I felt a little better about the whole thing when I sent in the certificate to prove I took a driver safety course. Little did they know, I spent a good 2 hours on the school's skid pad doing donuts and another 5 hours driving like an ahole around a track in someone else's car.
rk97
Member
Find out how much it's going to cost first, but yeah. The state just wants their money, so sometimes you can get off with a max seat belt fine. they get their money, and you avoid the points.
Talking to attorneys can't hurt, but I can't imagine there's much money in fighting tickets unless they're doing a lot of volume. With that in mind, if you talk to the DA, you may want to ask him which attorney(s) he deals with regularly. A good relationship with the DA is probably more important than any of the facts in your case.
daddyfriedrich
Member
My recent experience was to get popped for 66 (actually doing around 72) in a 40 zone, rural road, not really tearing it up but didn't realize the s/l was only 40. I was trying to diagnose a wobble problem in long sweepers (forks were misaligned turns out) and explained to the deputy that I had this issue, was trying to figure it out, didn't think it wise to test my adjustments out on Rt 95. I even asked him if he saw anything funny looking when he was radar-ing me. He said he didn't notice anything and suggested I take it to a shop. Anyway, I managed to win him over a bit and he still wrote the ticket but only wrote it up as over the limit. Went to court, pled guilty with an explanation (wobble diagnosis, blah blah blah) and he said take a defensive driving class (had to be in person, not on line) and he would dismiss and give me the four points back.
This isn't a "speeding ticket", rather a misdemeanor criminal charge.... the kind you have to divulge on employment applications and security clearances for years to come. This is why you don't have the option of paying in advance or pleading guilty ahead of time. You're certainly able to allow an attorney to act in proxy for you, but at the very least you /need/ to talk to someone who is well versed in the local courthouse to get this reduced to something with a fine and limited points; at the very least get rid of the criminal charge.
Which courthouse in VA are you asked to appear at?
Which courthouse in VA are you asked to appear at?
bad67deuce
Member
I got a ticket on route 81 south in Staunton, VA four years ago. I consulted a lawyer via email, but was not impressed with him. I made the trip from Reading, PA in my suit and tie get up. Sat in a packed 20X30 courtroom for an hour and they finally called my case. I plead not guilty, and asked the judge to reduce the ticket to below 80mph to avoid the reckless charge. He busted my stones for a short bit, then said OK. I ended up paying $250 bucks or a bit less, I forget the exact number but it worked out for me. I was doing 83 in a 65 zone I believe.
Rydell
New Member
RADAR Magnet
New Member
:agree: Good call. It can easily go from a minute of fun to a couple of years of BS. Better to have tons of fun on the track.
seepy01
New Member
speeding
lawyers sending info out the next day is very common and almost standard for those guys...
here in nj just go to court and plead, not guilty. speak to the prosecutor and plea the case usually its pleaded down to
(39.497.2) which is a careless driving with out points usually runs 150 bucks if you have a long list of getting stopped and have used a (39.397.2) before your looking at fines of up words of 500 plus now in other states they defenetly pea down the ticket but they might use other numbers(44.210) which i believe was a impeading the flow of traffic this was my favorite till nj stoped using it.
good luck...
lawyers sending info out the next day is very common and almost standard for those guys...
here in nj just go to court and plead, not guilty. speak to the prosecutor and plea the case usually its pleaded down to
(39.497.2) which is a careless driving with out points usually runs 150 bucks if you have a long list of getting stopped and have used a (39.397.2) before your looking at fines of up words of 500 plus now in other states they defenetly pea down the ticket but they might use other numbers(44.210) which i believe was a impeading the flow of traffic this was my favorite till nj stoped using it.
good luck...
trickyricky
New Member
I'll let you guys know how it goes as I am getting ready to go thru this very shortly. I might have jail time as well, no more riding in VA, fo' sho'
dlockhart5x
New Member
If I recall you had a very "interesting" traffic court issue and should know that paying the lawyer tax is part of the corrupt system.
lawyer up and be voluntarily victimized by the lawyer fees, don't and be forcibly victimized by the state.
trickyricky
New Member
Thanks;
Rydell
New Member
I'll go ahead and put my story out there as an example of the "system", open wide for criticism. Last September I had my bike (06 r6), which had an expired inspection and expired tags, I just got my new motor put in and decided to run it for a few days back and forth to work to see how it runs. At the time I had a learners permit, not an "M" class license, I held onto for about a year and a half. I decided to go to the girlfriends house for lunch, had a quick meal, noticed I was running late and headed back to work. I had 5 minutes to get back to work, and the previous day had issues with traffic causing me to be late. I didn't want that to happen again, at risk of putting myself on management radar, so I cruised at a hefty 13mph over the speed limit, intentionally, so if I got pulled for speeding it wasn't reckless. Unfortnuately, traffic was heavy that day heading back to work, so I WAS NOT weaving in and out of traffic, I was using my turn signal, looking, and changing lanes when I could to get around the other drivers. Never did I once cut anyone off. At some point, I came up behind an unmarked Impala police car. The officer at this point explains he saw me on his tail, come out of nowhere, so he changed lanes to let me pass and possibly pace me, and pull over if needed. Should also be noted at this point I have a straight through exhaust, no baffling, with a graves "slip on" pipe, and NO mirrors. Needless to say the exhaust at 80mph (also reduced teeth on the sprockets for down low torque) was pretty loud. The bike was revving at around 8-9k....
dyno video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-B2LKJpqTI&feature=channel_video_title
Moving on - the officer saw that I was speeding, turned his lights on, and when I didn't, I guess, turn around.. he put his siren on. I don't know how close in proximity to doing that I did this, but I changed lanes and just before doing so put my signal on, looked to see if the neighboring lane was clear, changed lines, and got back up to my 13 over speed speed (I was behind a slower vehicle). This officer took this as an attempt to flee, because he thought I had turned around, saw him, and sped off. I continued to work, again, not going over 13mph when my exit came up and I exited. I did however maintain this 75-80mph speed on the exit ramp, as I am familiar with the corner, and admittingly was having a bit of fun doing so. The officer explains when I changed lanes, he got stuck behind traffic left and right, and eventually had to take the emergency side lane to get around everyone, while still maintaining eyesite on me up until I took the exit. Meanwhile, about 200 feet after exiting I crossed over 3 lanes of no traffic to get into a turn lane right where I work. About 10 seconds later I hear his siren. That's when I thought it was an ambulance, firetruck, maybe an officer speeding by for whatever reason. But when it pulled up behind me is when I was thinking I need to pull out of the way for whatever it is, turned around, and it was a Henrico County officer jumping out of his car with the window down, hunching behind his door with his gun aimed straight at me. That's when I hear him yell, repeatedly, in about 4 seconds, "Get off the bike now, get off the bike, get off the bike or I will shoot you." First impression was wow, I'm getting a gun pulled on me for speeding. Good job Virginia. I have a shortened kickstand from never putting a standard length one on there when it was lowered from the previous owner - obviously raised it back up. I got off the bike, but slowly, and very easily put it on the kickstand as to not let it tip over. All the while he's still threatening to shoot. Sorry bub, not dropping the bike.
I get on the ground, get handcuffed, and he asks me why I ran. I was a bit stunned, and my natural reaction was, "Uhhh, what?". Officer said, "I've been chasing you since the Gaskins exit." I replied, "I wasn't running, at what point did you think I was running?". Well that's when it all went downhill. I eventually saw that the officer wasn't hearing my story, even though my manager and girlfriend were willing to back it up. He didn't trust I was going to work right around the corner. The bike is capable of hitting 150 in just a few seconds, why in the hell would I exit and stop at a red light? It just so happens to be my work, and I'm coming back from lunch. There was so many things that made this outrageous it was a mess. I believe I overwhelmed him with all my supporting proof, he just didn't want to pay attention and take me to the precinct.
Even longer story short, I never got behind bars that night, convinced the magistrate of the BS situation, he let me go, and I went to court to set this straight. My lawyer was a fucking idiot, recommended to me by someone I'll never take advice from again, butchered my defense, and I was almost guaranteed jail time and a felony on my record. Meaning I was going to lose my place to live (friend owns the place and has several firearms) and my job (I work for bank IT securities, felonies you lose your job). The lawyer was an all around moron and I kicked his ass out right after court and started researching another. Finally found one, $6,000 later we came to an agreement with the prosecuting attorney to drop the felony eluding charge, and just hit me with the reckless the officer tacked on - just because he could (never clocked my speed). Had to pay for the expired tags, inspection, and learners permit deal too. Understood. So they hit me at the fullest extent of reckless, just short of jail time (after A LOT of convincing, court recesses, and 2 court dates). I got 25 hours community service, 1 year probation, and 6 months restricted license. All for going 13 over, a hard ass dimwitted cops determination, and a fucked up system. Anyway, I'm currently living out that sentence.
dyno video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-B2LKJpqTI&feature=channel_video_title
Moving on - the officer saw that I was speeding, turned his lights on, and when I didn't, I guess, turn around.. he put his siren on. I don't know how close in proximity to doing that I did this, but I changed lanes and just before doing so put my signal on, looked to see if the neighboring lane was clear, changed lines, and got back up to my 13 over speed speed (I was behind a slower vehicle). This officer took this as an attempt to flee, because he thought I had turned around, saw him, and sped off. I continued to work, again, not going over 13mph when my exit came up and I exited. I did however maintain this 75-80mph speed on the exit ramp, as I am familiar with the corner, and admittingly was having a bit of fun doing so. The officer explains when I changed lanes, he got stuck behind traffic left and right, and eventually had to take the emergency side lane to get around everyone, while still maintaining eyesite on me up until I took the exit. Meanwhile, about 200 feet after exiting I crossed over 3 lanes of no traffic to get into a turn lane right where I work. About 10 seconds later I hear his siren. That's when I thought it was an ambulance, firetruck, maybe an officer speeding by for whatever reason. But when it pulled up behind me is when I was thinking I need to pull out of the way for whatever it is, turned around, and it was a Henrico County officer jumping out of his car with the window down, hunching behind his door with his gun aimed straight at me. That's when I hear him yell, repeatedly, in about 4 seconds, "Get off the bike now, get off the bike, get off the bike or I will shoot you." First impression was wow, I'm getting a gun pulled on me for speeding. Good job Virginia. I have a shortened kickstand from never putting a standard length one on there when it was lowered from the previous owner - obviously raised it back up. I got off the bike, but slowly, and very easily put it on the kickstand as to not let it tip over. All the while he's still threatening to shoot. Sorry bub, not dropping the bike.
I get on the ground, get handcuffed, and he asks me why I ran. I was a bit stunned, and my natural reaction was, "Uhhh, what?". Officer said, "I've been chasing you since the Gaskins exit." I replied, "I wasn't running, at what point did you think I was running?". Well that's when it all went downhill. I eventually saw that the officer wasn't hearing my story, even though my manager and girlfriend were willing to back it up. He didn't trust I was going to work right around the corner. The bike is capable of hitting 150 in just a few seconds, why in the hell would I exit and stop at a red light? It just so happens to be my work, and I'm coming back from lunch. There was so many things that made this outrageous it was a mess. I believe I overwhelmed him with all my supporting proof, he just didn't want to pay attention and take me to the precinct.
Even longer story short, I never got behind bars that night, convinced the magistrate of the BS situation, he let me go, and I went to court to set this straight. My lawyer was a fucking idiot, recommended to me by someone I'll never take advice from again, butchered my defense, and I was almost guaranteed jail time and a felony on my record. Meaning I was going to lose my place to live (friend owns the place and has several firearms) and my job (I work for bank IT securities, felonies you lose your job). The lawyer was an all around moron and I kicked his ass out right after court and started researching another. Finally found one, $6,000 later we came to an agreement with the prosecuting attorney to drop the felony eluding charge, and just hit me with the reckless the officer tacked on - just because he could (never clocked my speed). Had to pay for the expired tags, inspection, and learners permit deal too. Understood. So they hit me at the fullest extent of reckless, just short of jail time (after A LOT of convincing, court recesses, and 2 court dates). I got 25 hours community service, 1 year probation, and 6 months restricted license. All for going 13 over, a hard ass dimwitted cops determination, and a fucked up system. Anyway, I'm currently living out that sentence.
trickyricky
New Member
Man o man! What a saga!!! Makes me wonder what do I have coming my way...
RADAR Magnet
New Member
You went over to your girlfriend's place for lunch? Uh-huh, right. That better have been one helluva sammich!