reckless driving ticket in Bland Virginia, due to emergency (crime, how much)

[ammed]

My wife and I were returning from Atlanta, last Monday and we were stopped dead in traffic before one of the tunnels on I 77 north in Bland Virginia. My wife was driving and she had to get to a bathroom. She suffers from anxiety and has Lupus. We noticed someone getting out of traffic and going off the on ramp. She decided to do the same and we were met by VA troopers, who we explained our situation, but they were not sympathetic or could care less. They held us up for another 20 minutes and writing her a reckless driving ticket, when it seems to me a warning would have been sufficient for such an emergency. We understand the severity of such a ticket and she is a school teacher with a clean driving record. She will have to lose a day of work and whatever other costs to appear in court 2.5 hrs. away. We cant really afford a lawyer for this.
Does anyone know what other options we might have?
Thanks for any help!!

[Flamingo13]

Yet another "had to go to the bathroom" excuse....

[VA Yankee]

Your wife's career is immaterial, this is the 21st not the 19th century and a teacher with a traffic ticket is not going to be fired. Plead no contest, pay the fine and write it off to sh*t happens.

[White Wolf]

Wow...some real nice Virginians we have here....

[Bigfoot424]

I have a feeling we are not getting the entire story. No offense OP but the bathroom story is used so often that officers get tired of it. You said it took 20 minutes for the troopers to release you. The bathroom apparently waited.

That said. Depending on the entire story you may go without an attorney and explain the story and plead for a break to improper driving. If it appears it's not going well request a continuance and hire an attorney.

[LakeLifePA]

Originally Posted by ammed

We cant really afford a lawyer for this.

Sorry, but you need to get a lawyer. RD in VA is very serious. The good news is that should you get a lawyer, she most likely won't have to appear in court and will not lose a day of work.

[CSD610]

Originally Posted by ammed

My wife and I were returning from Atlanta, last Monday and we were stopped dead in traffic before one of the tunnels on I 77 north in Bland Virginia. My wife was driving and she had to get to a bathroom. She suffers from anxiety and has Lupus. We noticed someone getting out of traffic and going off the on ramp. She decided to do the same and we were met by VA troopers, who we explained our situation, but they were not sympathetic or could care less. They held us up for another 20 minutes and writing her a reckless driving ticket, when it seems to me a warning would have been sufficient for such an emergency. We understand the severity of such a ticket and she is a school teacher with a clean driving record. She will have to lose a day of work and whatever other costs to appear in court 2.5 hrs. away. We cant really afford a lawyer for this.
Does anyone know what other options we might have?
Thanks for any help!!

Could you afford the ticket?

If she had to go to the bathroom that bad and you were held by the police another 20 minutes she would have wet her pants.
Unfortunately it is an old excuse used by so many and the Police Officers have more than likely heard that story 10 times already that day and they are just doing their jobs.

[TheSpecialOne]

OP, No one cares about the bathroom excuse. Even the judge would not want to hear that They hear it all the time.
Do not hesitate to hire an attorney. Is it just about the money?
An attorney would represent her in court and she would not have to take a day off.
How much does your wife earn a day. Let's say she makes $25/hour. That's $200 a day if she works 8h.
If an attorney charges you $500, it would really only cost you $300. It will be even less if you account for the cost of driving 2.5h to court.

Why would you want to lose your pay and go fight in court yourself when you can use that same money to pay an attorney to fight for you ?

[Blondebaerde]

Originally Posted by TheSpecialOne

OP, No one cares about the bathroom excuse. Even the judge would not want to hear that They hear it all the time.

Why would you want to lose your pay and go fight in court yourself when you can use that same money to pay an attorney to fight for you ?

Smartest words on this thread so far.

Bottom line is: Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

I was busted in south Oregon for (cough) going quite a bit over 55mph, a year ago. Allegedly. Three hundred something bucks later, which was a bummer, the State of Oregon is that much wealthier. I called lawyers in south Oregon and none would make it go away, unlike how it's handled in Seattle area, without me making an appearance. Screw that.

That's the way it goes. Tough luck on me. It was the car's fault, it had to go to the bathroom? More like "Porsche tax," I figured, and blew it off. I decided I could "afford" an attorney before I got behind the wheel, day I bought the car.

And tough luck on OP. "Can't afford a lawyer" isn't really an acceptable story, either. They charge about $300 in Seattle for simple offenses, with high success rate in dismissal. Guessing reckless would be $1,500 to a couple thou to defend here; I know of one guy who plead it down from reckless to a lesser offense with help from an attorney for roughly the former amount (that was about ten years ago, though).