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Old 01-18-2010, 06:21 AM
 
211 posts, read 816,387 times
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Interesting advice on this one. You do know that this reckless driving charge will lead to a criminal record if convicted, right?

The Code of Virginia has over 20 sections pertaining to reckless driving. It is defined as a Class 1 misdemeanor criminal offense, not a traffic infraction or a speeding ticket. For example, Virginia code explicitly defines the act of speeding 20 mph or more above the posted speed limit (or at any speed greater than 80 mph) as reckless driving.

All drivers convicted of reckless driving in Virginia, including out-of-state and foreign (e.g. Canadian) drivers, will have a permanent criminal record that will be indexed in the NCIC criminal database. The conviction will also be added to a Virginia driving record for 11 years, and six demerit points will be applied.


So why bother going it alone? I'm assuming that you don't have a criminal record yet, and would like to keep it that way. There are "collateral consequences" that could impact your career, etc... so I'd get some professional help from an attorney on this one.

If your ticket is in Fairfax County, you should also know that the prosecutor generally won't speak to defendants who aren't represented by a lawyer. And this applies in many other jurisdictions. But if you do go to court, you probably should dress up appropriately, act respectfully and humbly, and look to get a continuance to get a lawyer if you think that you won't be able to win.

Reckless driving is in the same class of misdemeanor as DUI and Assault & Battery in Virginia. Would you go to court without representation on those charges? Really?

Don't know why so many folks are willing to roll the dice, go it alone, and risk a criminal record, since the outcome is far from certain. Beats me...

 
Old 01-18-2010, 03:58 PM
 
Location: Washington, DC & New York
10,915 posts, read 31,385,275 times
Reputation: 7137
We now have an official information thread for all reckless driving tickets for Northern Virginia. Because of various dates, and similar responses, all the existing threads are being closed and redirected to the new thread here: http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...on-thread.html. Please use the new thread to discuss these issues, and if you have any questions DM a moderator. Thank you.
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