Official Reckless Driving Thread (Madison: law school, public transportation, cheapest)

[googleyes]

Originally Posted by shouldve known better

Hi everyone,
I had court yesterday. The judge reduced my ticket from reckless down to speeding, but kept the speed the same. So it is still 6 points, a $125 fine, and the charge is on my driving record 5 years. All in all, I feel pretty lucky. I pled no contest, though I was waffling all morning on whether or not to plead not guilty and let the officer prove the case against me, but as time wore on, and more people went before me, I was convinced to go with the path I chose. Some interesting things I noted:
-The judge was really reasonable. He mentioned beforehand that because VA doesnt have probation before judgement, that he would not recommend a driving class or an online class to anyone as a way to reduce the ticket. He felt it wasnt fair to those who couldn't afford the course, and that there were few resources in the court system to track completion, etc.
-None of the officers sought jailtime, when asked by the judge on each person.
-Every time a person went before the judge, the judge asked the officer how many points were on the license, and then depending on whether or not there were any prior speeding offenses, he would make a call on reducing it to speeding or improper. No one got the reckless charges, except for the guy with -12 points and 5 reckless charges in the last 4 years. He lost his license and had a 1500 fine!!
-There were 6 lawyers representing about 10 people. I only saw 8 of the cases, but only one got off scott free, the other 7 had theirs reduced to speeding, and paid about $100 each. This tells me that everyone's advice has been just right on this site-- I paid only $25 more and saved hundreds on not hiring a lawyer.

Thanks again for all the advice!!

what was the name of the judge ......I would like to be in his Courtroom !

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by ilgsar

I would like to know about ponits you get if you get a ticket and how in gose on your record I dont have that in the state I live in and I need to know for I plan on moe to virginia soon

Little hard following what you are asking but it appears you want to know if you get a ticket in Va does it give you points on your record? Why would you worry about something like that? Would it keep you from moving here? And that little ABC up in the right hand corner is a handy little spell check.

[shanenyc1]

I am so glad I found this forum.

I have a RD Generally summons in Prince George County in VA. In April I lost control of my car on I-95 South on my way to SC around 12:40am. I hit a bump and then there was nothing that I could do to regain control. My car crossed the median and came to a stop on the other side of the interstate. I didn't hit anyone else and there were no vehicles around when the accident happen. (Dumb) I decided to call 911 to report the crash and they dispatched a state trooper. When the state trooper arrived he just assumed I fell asleep. He said he checked the whole length of the road and there were no potholes. He went on to give me a RD Generally summons and sent me on my way.

I got myself an attorney to represent me and he advised that I didn't have to drive to VA from NY but on the court date, the prosecution demanded jail time to my attorney's not guilty plea since I crossed the median and the judge allowed a continuation.

Now I am preparing to appear in court. In the mean time, I have completed an 8 hr defensive driving course. I would really appreciate some feedback about what to expect. I guess I am just too worried about being handed jail time.

I read some of the posts here and I can say there were no witnesses. I had just bought food moments before the crash and the trooper checked that the food was still warm but I had no receipt for the food purchase on me and he insisted I was sleeping.

Thanks

[Bigfoot424]

Not really sure how to address this one. You hit a "bump" in the road and lost control? Seems a little hard to believe but who knows. And the prosecutor asked for jail time? Again, hard to believe considering no accident. You have an attorney so just go with their advice.

[shanenyc1]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Not really sure how to address this one. You hit a "bump" in the road and lost control? Seems a little hard to believe but who knows. And the prosecutor asked for jail time? Again, hard to believe considering no accident. You have an attorney so just go with their advice.

Really can't explain how it happened but it felt like the car hit a bump and jerked and I lost control with the rear end of the car going wide all over a straight patch of road. With the cruise control on it didn't lose any speed and I was too scared to slam on the brakes fearing the car may flip. Anyways, I guess I will just have to wait and find out.

[forgo10]

I have a question guys, I was going 89 in a 70 mph zone on I-85 near Dinwiddie, VA, I have a court date Dec. 2nd in Dinwiddie. The officer put down reckless driving to Wit, I was viewing my GPS' mph gauge and it said I was going 85, it was my mistake for paying attention to that instead of my cars gauge. I live in Maryland and I am 23 years old, with no other issues on my driving record. Any way you guys think this could be reduced and what are my options, thanks to anyone that can help me with this because I am lost.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by forgo10

I have a question guys, I was going 89 in a 70 mph zone on I-85 near Dinwiddie, VA, I have a court date Dec. 2nd in Dinwiddie. The officer put down reckless driving to Wit, I was viewing my GPS' mph gauge and it said I was going 85, it was my mistake for paying attention to that instead of my cars gauge. I live in Maryland and I am 23 years old, with no other issues on my driving record. Any way you guys think this could be reduced and what are my options, thanks to anyone that can help me with this because I am lost.

The radar or lidar will win out over your GPS every time. No idea if it will be reduced or not as I've never been to that court system. If you really want a reduction you might consider hiring a local lawyer.

[dkf747]

Would be cool if I could ticket a LEO for reckless driving. A US Park Police cruiser nearly ran my van off the road on the GW Parkway yesterday. What happened was that my daughter was driving with a learner's permit and I was in the passenger seat. It happened where the two rampsw from the Outer Loop and the Inner loop meet to form the two lanes of the Parkway headed towards downtown (near the AL Bridge). The cop was tailgating someone who was entering from the Inner Loop, while we were entering from the Outer Loop. We all arrived at the point wherte the ramps become lanes at the same time. They were going a little faster than us. The cop waited until there was just barely enough room then cut in front of us to pass the slowpoke he was tailgating. Of course my daughter panicked for a second and nearly went into the median before I got her straightened out and back in the lane. The cop, apparently, didn't see what was happening in his mirror as he just took off to wherever he was going. I'll bet if I pulled that maneuver I bet that I'd be getting a reckless ticket. Oh well. Thanks for letting me rant.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by dkf747

Would be cool if I could ticket a LEO for reckless driving. A US Park Police cruiser nearly ran my van off the road on the GW Parkway yesterday. What happened was that my daughter was driving with a learner's permit and I was in the passenger seat. It happened where the two rampsw from the Outer Loop and the Inner loop meet to form the two lanes of the Parkway headed towards downtown (near the AL Bridge). The cop was tailgating someone who was entering from the Inner Loop, while we were entering from the Outer Loop. We all arrived at the point wherte the ramps become lanes at the same time. They were going a little faster than us. The cop waited until there was just barely enough room then cut in front of us to pass the slowpoke he was tailgating. Of course my daughter panicked for a second and nearly went into the median before I got her straightened out and back in the lane. The cop, apparently, didn't see what was happening in his mirror as he just took off to wherever he was going. I'll bet if I pulled that maneuver I bet that I'd be getting a reckless ticket. Oh well. Thanks for letting me rant.

If you got a car number you can always file a complaint with a supervisor.

[forgo10]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

The radar or lidar will win out over your GPS every time. No idea if it will be reduced or not as I've never been to that court system. If you really want a reduction you might consider hiring a local lawyer.

Thanks for the reply man, I dunno how much of a fine that would incur, but I guess I will find out. Hopefully the judge will be a bit lenient since it was my first offense.