Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Celebrating Memorial Day!
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-19-2010, 07:22 AM
 
25 posts, read 178,097 times
Reputation: 15

Advertisements

Hello all. My fiance and I were driving home after a night dancing in Centreville. She was following me since she didn't know how to get back home and a cop pulls her over. I, of course, pull over, too in order to wait for her since she doesn't know the way.

Well...the cop decides to give both ME a reckless driving ticket and her a speeding ticket. I think he caught us both on his radar, but decided to pull her over since she was behind me. And then decided to just give me a ticket since I had pulled over, too.

Anyhow, he didn't let me talk or explain the situation or anything. He just grabbed my license/registration, told me I was speeding, and left to write up the ticket.

Thing is, I think he was in a rush and just wanted to hand out as many tickets that night as possible because he forgot to ask us to sign the summons.

So...does that mean we're both free? lol


*edit: Sorry for the long story.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-19-2010, 07:44 AM
 
Location: Loudoun Cty, Virginia
738 posts, read 2,957,227 times
Reputation: 630
As far as I've always been told, you're still responsible for the summons/ticket even if it's not signed. People always say that if the colors are wrong, mistakes on tags, names, signatures, etc that you're free to go, but in reality I've heard that it never holds up in court.

The speeding ticket is most likely pre-payable (I don't think reckless is, you may want to consider a lawyer for reckless in VA, do a search) so you can probably log into the online court site to check if the citation is listed on there. I'd definitely call the court to verify your hearing dates, but it may take them a few days to process and update their listing. Reckless is no joke in VA, it stays on your record for a long time and can sometimes be considered a felony I think in extreme cases; definitely don't just brush it off since it wasn't signed, if you go to court and have a clean driving record, most times it'll be dropped to a speeding fine only.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-19-2010, 10:11 AM
 
25 posts, read 178,097 times
Reputation: 15
Well, I'm a sad panda. I should've kept driving and just let her get the ticket and called her afterwards to give directions home.

Oh, well. Thanks for the info.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-19-2010, 04:49 PM
 
Location: Virginia-Shenandoah Valley
7,670 posts, read 14,243,626 times
Reputation: 7464
I saw this a few times in my 30 plus years as a police officer (unsigned summons) and the judges never cared. But you can always try the angle as you never know. The officer will have to identify you if he has to take the stand and will testify he either can or cannot identify you. I don't think this is a fatal flaw but feel free to speak with an attorney.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-19-2010, 05:26 PM
 
Location: Metro Washington DC
15,431 posts, read 25,814,526 times
Reputation: 10450
Why the ticket for him pulling over? I'm not getting that.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-20-2010, 03:10 AM
 
Location: Virginia-Shenandoah Valley
7,670 posts, read 14,243,626 times
Reputation: 7464
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkf747 View Post
Why the ticket for him pulling over? I'm not getting that.

This can be done and it's perfectly legal. If the officer had both on the radar and they were travelling at equal speeds then both can be cited.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-20-2010, 08:29 AM
 
Location: Central Maine
1,473 posts, read 3,201,168 times
Reputation: 1296
Quote:
Originally Posted by lingpanda01 View Post
Hello all. My fiance and I were driving home after a night dancing in Centreville. She was following me since she didn't know how to get back home and a cop pulls her over. I, of course, pull over, too in order to wait for her since she doesn't know the way.

Well...the cop decides to give both ME a reckless driving ticket and her a speeding ticket. I think he caught us both on his radar, but decided to pull her over since she was behind me. And then decided to just give me a ticket since I had pulled over, too.

Anyhow, he didn't let me talk or explain the situation or anything. He just grabbed my license/registration, told me I was speeding, and left to write up the ticket.

Thing is, I think he was in a rush and just wanted to hand out as many tickets that night as possible because he forgot to ask us to sign the summons.

So...does that mean we're both free? lol


*edit: Sorry for the long story.
I'm confused. What is the gender of both drivers, and who got pulled over, and who got which tickets?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-20-2010, 08:48 AM
 
25 posts, read 178,097 times
Reputation: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by bangorme View Post
I'm confused. What is the gender of both drivers, and who got pulled over, and who got which tickets?
Sorry. I know my name says lingpanda, but I'm a man. It refers to something else. My fiance is a woman.

Basically, she was following me home. She got pulled over. I pull over, also, so she can follow me afterwards. And cop decides to give me a reckless driving ticket and her a speeding ticket.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-20-2010, 09:39 AM
 
Location: Central Maine
1,473 posts, read 3,201,168 times
Reputation: 1296
Quote:
Originally Posted by lingpanda01 View Post
Sorry. I know my name says lingpanda, but I'm a man. It refers to something else. My fiance is a woman.

Basically, she was following me home. She got pulled over. I pull over, also, so she can follow me afterwards. And cop decides to give me a reckless driving ticket and her a speeding ticket.
OK, that solves that. But what was the basis for your reckless driving ticket? Was it speed or something else? Were you both driving about the same speed?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-20-2010, 10:06 AM
 
25 posts, read 178,097 times
Reputation: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by bangorme View Post
OK, that solves that. But what was the basis for your reckless driving ticket? Was it speed or something else? Were you both driving about the same speed?
Yeah. Speed. Apparently, I was going 79 on a 55 and she was going 74 on a 55. I should've just kept driving and called her afterwards to give her directions.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia
Similar Threads
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top