reckless driving in virginia

J

jrcampbell

New member
last month I was pulled over for speeding in Virginia. it was not a mail in your payment type fine, says I must appear in court. I called the courthouse and talked to someone who said I could just let it go to court, be convicted in absentia, the just pay the fine. sounded ok, just a glorified speeding ticket right? now I'm getting mail ads from lawyers saying that I could actually go to jail for this and pay a hefty fine. Any of you Virginia guys have any advice?
 
Your ticket should have a court number or JP to which you are supposed to report. I'd give their office a call and ask if it can be handled in absentia just to be on the safe side.

Regards,
hm
 
Go to court and save some money. 9 times out of 10 the judge will reduce it to improper driving or a lower rate speeding ticket. What county was it ?
 
go to court if you can. try to get reduction in charge. Its not just the ticket that hurts but the insurance strike for up to three years here anyway.
hate tickets/
 
Originally Posted By: vahunterGo to court and save some money. 9 times out of 10 the judge will reduce it to improper driving or a lower rate speeding ticket. What county was it ?
That has been my experience before too.
Most tickets I have had were all the mail in the fine variety....just got very lucky this past month and got a WARNING ticket
that don`t happen often!
 
most of the problem is driving the whole way down there to go to court. at least an 8 hr drive, plus taking the day off work. vahunter, it was hanover county, got nailed merging onto 95 from 295.
 
I should clarify that in virginia a reckless driving charge is a class 1 misdemeanor. I think I'm going to try and contact the prosecutor or judge, if that's possible, and try to plead guilty, or see if I can get it reduced somehow.
 
Reckless is pretty serious down here, and fta on a must appear = warrant for your arrest, suspended license until you appear and who knows what with your insurance. We dont have classes of misdemeanors, its either that or a felony. Id want something in writing saying i didnt have to go.
 
Was kinda thinking the same thing. The officer and two people I talked to at the courthouse seemed pretty nonchalant about saying I didn't have to go being I was from out of state.
 
Contact the DA and see if you can work out a plea deal. I'd offer a defensive driving course for a reduced charge and see where it goes. At the very least they will tell you what you will need to do to clear this up from out of state.
 
Your real big concern is that there is potential for a reciprocity agreement between the States of Virginia and Pennsylvania..

Some reciprocity agreements are written where if you are "required to appear" and you fail, a warrant is issued and once it's issued in the 'other' state, your driving privileges in your home state are suspended/revoked for the non appearance...Then you are looking at a rat's nest to get reinstated, and that usually involves lawyers fees plus additional court costs that are higher than they normally would be...

The 'required to appear' sometimes is totally dependent on the offense(s) that lead to to the C&R charge...I know that in Missouri, anything speeding over the standards set by the local court is considered Careless and Reckless and is a Must Appear situation...The fact that officers or the court didn't appear to show concern may be their way of wanting you to ignore the summons and therefor requiring a higher fine/income for their county...I've seen that happen before..

I wouldn't take a chance unless I had some form of a waiver in hand from the court in writing...Contact the Prosecuting Attorney in the county of the court/offense and request a written decision from them...
 
It sounds like a moving violation, which is a civil forfeiture here anyway. Did he write you a ticket? Look up the violation number and research it. You will know right away. A merge is nothing serious.
 
It is a moving violation, just so happens to be a class 1 misdemeanor also. I did look it up and research it, can carry a hefty fine and jail time. I did contact the prosecuter and he assured me I will not have a warrant issued for my arrest. If I want to fight it I have to show up, no deals at all.
 
Originally Posted By: jrcampbellmost of the problem is driving the whole way down there to go to court. at least an 8 hr drive, plus taking the day off work. vahunter, it was hanover county, got nailed merging onto 95 from 295.

I lived in Hanover back when it was considered the 'sticks'. I can understand why you had the pedal to the metal there, if you didn't you'd get run over. It may be worth the drive to go to court, might save you some money.
 
I'd hire a local ambulance chaser. Do a little research and find out what firm the judge was with before he or her became a judge. Hire from there. It shouldn't be about that, but it is. It's not about protect and serve. It's about revenue enhancement for the PD and supporting the local legal firms. This is from a guy involved for 30+ years. It ain't gonna change.

We have the best legal system money can buy.
 
Either you are a terribly dangerous driver, or its a class 1 to gain maximum revenue from cars with out of state plates. Which is quite common for cops to do to pad their revenue quotas. Just stay out of VA and you won't have any trouble with those clowns.
 
Back
Top