reckless driving in virginia- maryland resident (insurance, how much, lawyer)

[mdsoccerman101]

i was driving back home from virginia with some friends, while driving back on 495 my friend speeds up and passes me i tried to catch up to him when all the sudden a cop comes out of nowhere and pulls my friend over, when i saw my friend being pulled over i stopped to see what was going on and then the cop decides to give us both a reckless driving ticket. he clocked my friend going 80 mph on a 55 and said that i was going "about the same speed" without clocking me.

The cop gave me a virginia uniform summons with a court date in fairfax county and no speed mentioned. i have read online that this is a serious situation and you can go to jail or have a criminal record and i am worried. i found an attorney who wants $900.

i am a maryland resident, 18 years old and this is my first ticket. What should i expect to be the outcome of this? am i gonna go to jail or have a criminal record? can the cop give me a ticket without clocking my speed? is my insurance rates going to skyrocket? should i hire an attorney?or will my perfect record and the fact im from maryland help

[Alanboy395]

Originally Posted by mdsoccerman101

i was driving back home from virginia with some friends, while driving back on 495 my friend speeds up and passes me i tried to catch up to him when all the sudden a cop comes out of nowhere and pulls my friend over, when i saw my friend being pulled over i stopped to see what was going on and then the cop decides to give us both a reckless driving ticket. he clocked my friend going 80 mph on a 55 and said that i was going "about the same speed" without clocking me.

The cop gave me a virginia uniform summons with a court date in fairfax county and no speed mentioned. i have read online that this is a serious situation and you can go to jail or have a criminal record and i am worried. i found an attorney who wants $900.

i am a maryland resident, 18 years old and this is my first ticket. What should i expect to be the outcome of this? am i gonna go to jail or have a criminal record? can the cop give me a ticket without clocking my speed? is my insurance rates going to skyrocket? should i hire an attorney?or will my perfect record and the fact im from maryland help

One thing i would do is seek low-cost legal aid and attempt to make a deal. One guy i talked to in a driver improvement class (thanks to those stupid fairfax county cops) was cited for reckless driving and he was able to make a deal where the ticket would be dismissed if he took the driver improvement class, this guy didnt exactly have a spotless record.

I dont think you have much of a chance of going to jail or having a criminal record, espically for the first offense. Your insurance rates may or may not rise. my insurance went up $20 total after my ticket (red light.) Why i say, make every attempt to come out of this with as little legal damage as possible.

[TickleFam777]

in va anything 80plus is considered wreckless and is an automatic must appear in court and I would recommend getting an attorney. Its $1000 fine, pllus court costs and a few other fines. but i think you can find a lawyer for a little cheaper too though.
good luck!

[jnestorr]

Find a way to buy time. They are almost repealing that law. It has already been passed. Only the governor has yet to sign it.

[cb at sea]

Reckless driving is anything over 80mph--regardless of what the speed limit is! And yes--your insurance will go up--it's not just "speeding", it's "reckless"--Insurance companies take a dim view of that, especially with young drivers!
You won't go to jail, but it's gonna cost you!
Definitely get a lawyer--perhaps they can get this reduced to a speeding charge. Good luck--and consider this a "lesson learned"!

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by jnestorr

Find a way to buy time. They are almost repealing that law. It has already been passed. Only the governor has yet to sign it.

The law you're referring to, did not apply to Marylander's. The law this poster was charged with is a different law.

[mdsoccerman101]

yea its a relief to know that im not gonna go to jail or nething..but do you know how much the insurance may go up?...i heard that points wont transfer from virginia to md...i already found an attorney at $900..i just hope he'll get this reduced

[caution]

So you going to slow down now or what?

Just curious.

[fjennell]

Originally Posted by mdsoccerman101

yea its a relief to know that im not gonna go to jail or nething..but do you know how much the insurance may go up?...i heard that points wont transfer from virginia to md...i already found an attorney at $900..i just hope he'll get this reduced

You are wasting your money to get a lawyer. They do take reckless driving in VA very seriously. I know a middle aged nurse with no previous record that got her license suspended for 6 months and a weekend in jail for reckless but she was going 90 in a 65. The best thing you can do is go in, apologize and ask for driving school. You probably will get a big fine and mandatory driving improvement but depending on the judge, you may or may not get it reduced to below reckless. Your insurance will go up A LOT when it renews - DC, MD, VA share traffic info so it definitely will go on your record. But having a lawyer will not help you in this case. You will be out several hundred more dollars and still get whatever the judge gives in this case.

[slim04]

Originally Posted by fjennell

You are wasting your money to get a lawyer. They do take reckless driving in VA very seriously. I know a middle aged nurse with no previous record that got her license suspended for 6 months and a weekend in jail for reckless but she was going 90 in a 65. The best thing you can do is go in, apologize and ask for driving school. You probably will get a big fine and mandatory driving improvement but depending on the judge, you may or may not get it reduced to below reckless. Your insurance will go up A LOT when it renews - DC, MD, VA share traffic info so it definitely will go on your record. But having a lawyer will not help you in this case. You will be out several hundred more dollars and still get whatever the judge gives in this case.

Honestly, I would just go ahead and hire the lawyer. Your lawyer is going to point out the problems with the police officer's evidence: 1) to the police officer; 2) to the prosecutor; and 3) the judge. So you'll get three shots to knocking it down to a regular speeding ticket, instead of one. He'll also sort through what evidence you'll need to get leverage the police officer or the prosecutor to drop the "estimate" to below 75 mph.

Good luck, but regardless please slow down on the beltway. I often drive with my children on that road!