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So on Friday at 2:55 I got pulled over by an officer of Fairfax city. He used the radar to determine I was going 77 mph in a 35mph zone, this is my first time pulled over. I've had my license for almost 3 years now if not already. My record is clean and I have plus 3 points. I'm 20 years old. I've been freaking out and feel like crying. I know I messed up. Being completely honest with you guys I didn't realize I was going that fast. I know it sounds stupid but I'm telling you guys the truth. I work full time and go to school on Tuesday and Thursday after work. I have never had any problems with the law. What do you guys think the court will do to me for the reckless driving ticket with the things I've told you.
Thank you for your time
Boy, after reading the responses to your thread....YOU ARE GOING TO BE CRYING!
A reality check (which has been given by well meaning folks) is hard to swallow, but it looks like its needed in this case.
OP, don't sweat it too bad. Hire a lawyer to represent you, I would expect to be out of pocket $600-800 for this whole debacle. If you're going to speed, keep it on the highways, <40mph zones generally means there is a good chance you will encounter a human being walking/running/biking on or near the roadway. Good luck.
I stand corrected on the points issue - it's certainly something I never encountered because I've never had a driving infraction. On the other hand, I still think the OP's license needs to be temporarily suspended.
Get a a lawyer to help defend yourself and minimize the damage. Thats all you CAN do at this point, other than slow down! Oh and be glad it was not worse. Locally they just convicted someone to a long prison term for aggravated vehicular manslaughter when they struck an oncoming car and killed the driver... the person was doing over 70 in a 30 and lost control.
I am not sure I understand how you did not realize you were doing 77 in a 35. Things fly by pretty fast at 77.
If you didn't notice you were going 77 in a 35, you must have been driving a Porsche 911 turbo, or a Mercedes S550/E550, BMW M5, or any high powered luxury sport car/sedan.
If you come back and say you were driving a Toyota anything, no one is going to take you seriously and you REALLY need to have the book thrown at you for being so clueless.
What a dumb post from a "supposedly" reasonable poster
Basically if you drive what this poster drives then it's alright to go 77 in 35 otherwise not.
The amount over is pretty egregious, and at 2:55 am or pm, big difference? Are you a Virginia resident? Was your mind on something traumatic like a death in the family, for instance? I'm just saying, it's pretty hard to do 70+ and not notice when you are on a in-town road. The judge is going to make it clear that you messed up big, but also isn't going to want to ruin your life over it - You said you are a student? Do yourself a favor and enroll in some preemptive driver's ed, listen to what your attorney recommends, and relish in the fact that you haven't gotten anything on your record before. You'll probably be okay, but it is going to be expensive.
OP, don't sweat it too bad. Hire a lawyer to represent you, I would expect to be out of pocket $600-800 for this whole debacle. If you're going to speed, keep it on the highways, <40mph zones generally means there is a good chance you will encounter a human being walking/running/biking on or near the roadway. Good luck.
You can't be serious. $2K to $3K for the lawyer in a high cost metro-DC suburban area. $500+ for the fine. Another $250 for court costs. Probably a $100 license reinstatement fee. Easily $1,000/year in jacked up insurance premiums for a half-dozen years. Most places, figure a DUI or reckless driving citation ends up costing $10,000. A really good lawyer well connected with the prosecutor might be able to get the charge reduced for a first offense. That would knock the total costs down considerably; mostly from less hit to insurance. If that isn't negotiated ahead of the court date, it's bound to be that enormous insurance hit and a license suspension.
So on Friday at 2:55 I got pulled over by an officer of Fairfax city. He used the radar to determine I was going 77 mph in a 35mph zone, this is my first time pulled over. I've had my license for almost 3 years now if not already. My record is clean and I have plus 3 points. I'm 20 years old. I've been freaking out and feel like crying. I know I messed up. Being completely honest with you guys I didn't realize I was going that fast. I know it sounds stupid but I'm telling you guys the truth. I work full time and go to school on Tuesday and Thursday after work. I have never had any problems with the law. What do you guys think the court will do to me for the reckless driving ticket with the things I've told you.
Thank you for your time
After reading some of the responses, I agree with "Get a lawyer, pay them as they can minimize the damage"....From the sounds of it, the fines are NASTY>.............
Doing 45mph over the speed limit is definitely going to end up teaching you the difference between 35mph and 77mph.
For those who don't know, 50 KPH = 30 MPH
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