Reckless driving in Fairfax, Virginia

Ok...Soo the last 5 minutes of my 10 hour drive from South Carolina was about up. I was cruising along at about 75ish, and get pulled.

I was thinking ok a speeding ticket. Nope....reckless driving. He said I was doing 80...I swear I was only doing 75. The speed limit was 55...I thought it was 65, come on I-66...its an interstate.

Ok here is what I am going to do:

- get speedometer checked and certified, hopefully it will be a few mph off.
- do online traffic class, before I go to court. Bring certificate to court.
- explain I am new to the area, which I am, and did not realize it was 55 (I was only 1/2 a mile onto the highway.)
- also say I was on highway for 10 hours driving, and it was 2am.
- I will bring a lawyer.


My license is from SC not VA. Will this cause any problems?

Does anyone have any idea of what my penalty will be? I need to start saving.

Lawyer costs?

thanks

I would wait on the online class. Fairfax does not recognize them and it will do you no good since you are a SC driver. Your explanations also will not help, the court doesn't care. The speedometer may be of benefit since that is recognized in VA. If your record is clean, get a certified copy from SC to take to court. You may want to save the expense on an attorney until after your arraignment. Go in and talk to the ADA and you may be able to cut a deal for improper driving rather than reckless. Expect an attorney to run around 750 and the fine about the same, plus or minus. VA is very strict on the 20 over or over 80.

if my record is clean?

I have 1 ticket in the past 5 years, 3 years ago. Is that clean enough?


Arraignment? What is this?...do I go to court twice?

ADA? assistant district attorney? What should I say to this person?


Maybe some clarification on exactly what you would do in this situation.

Also do courts and lawyers take credit cards?

I don't have this kind of cash.


Thanks So Much.
John

What I would do? I would go get a certified copy of my three year driving record from SC. I would then show up in court and try to get it reduced to a speeding ticket that would show up on my SC license as 4 points, an improper driving ticket or even a dismissal with court costs (unlikely but miracles do happen).

Before I go I would ask the clerk of court if they accept credit cards or either be prepared to pay in cash. The will usually work with you better if you tell them you can pay that day. If they won't reduce from a reckless I would request a continuance to consult with an attorney.

See SJ's post on how to act in court.

So,

I can show up to court date without an attorney, present my driving record to judge with speedometer certificate...character letters (maybe?). Then if they still convict me of reckless driving...I can say ask for a continuance with an attorney?

I can get a continuance after they sentence me?

After you're sentenced... a continuance of what?

thats what I am wondering.

The only way for me to know if they will drop the charge is if I am not sentenced of it.


Also, I have read that in Fairfax county the prosecutor will only talk to lawyers, and won't even talk to people.

Lawyers are people too. ;)

I'm not sure what you mean, you can't find out if they will drop the chage if you are not sentenced. If you are convicted, something which would occur before sentencing, it is obvious that they have not dropped the charge.

So a lawyer called me yesterday.


He said that I have 2 options

1) Get a lawyer and the charge will be droped to improper driving with low fine.

2) Don't get a lawyer and the charge will stay, but highly unlikely suspension, just a fine.


So my next step is to call my insurance company and SC State DMV to see how the charge will translate. If it doesn't make a significant difference I will just go in without lawyer and see how I do.


I am almost 23 years old. Doesn't my insurance reset at 25 or something?


Thanks for the help so far!

ok, here is whats going down so far.


I got a speedometer test this past weekend. It was 6 MPH off, but in the wrong direction. Which means if I was pulled at 80...my speedometer said 86ish...which is NOT right. I def. was not doing 86. So the guy at the speedometer place told me that it doesn't matter in what direction it is inaccurate, just that it is inaccurate.

I also have my driving record. I only have 1 point off in South Carolina...which is a 12 point system, and that was for speeding 10mph or under.



So, the next step is a cheap lawyer. I am not going to spend more then $500...period.


I am going to just tell the lawyers ..I am not spending over $500.