Reckless driving 83/70 non citizen (insurance, felony, lawyer)

[travelcarne]

Hello everyone,

I'm an European citizen and the 3rd of July I was pulled over for RD 83/70 plus failure to signal when I switched lanes (my fault, I thought I did, i was driving a friend's car).

I've been in the US for 10 months and I'm waiting for my work visa approval (should be approved in the next couple of days). I have a NC driving licence but it's unlikely whether I will work in NC or maybe even in the US.

The state trooper ticked the "no need to show up in court" box. Should I pay the fine, go there by myself or hire an attorney ?

Thank you !

PS: I haven't contracted to any insurance and my driving record is clean

[grouse789]

Pay the fine and move on.

[countryswan]

Virginia is tough on speeders. Sorry you have to endure this.
I would pay the ticket and drive in Virginia as though you were taking your drivers test.
If you're ever driving up I-81 be extra cautious about not speeding through Maryland.
A mere 8 mile stretch of highway has to make them some money so they are
very dilligent to hand out tickets.

[Bigfoot424]

Don't listen to these people for crying out loud. If you can afford an attorney then hire one. Otherwise go to court and try to work out a deal for Improper Driving or Speeding 79/70.

[countryswan]

Will the lawyer try to prove he wasn't going 13 miles an hour over the speed limit?
If he was doing 83, how can he avoid the truth of the fact?

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by countryswan

Will the lawyer try to prove he wasn't going 13 miles an hour over the speed limit?
If he was doing 83, how can he avoid the truth of the fact?

Lawyer doesn't need to prove anything. Deals are made everyday on minor cases to keep the courts from bogging down from too many trials. OP may be guilty but no reason they can't take advantage of the system that benefits thousands everyday across the state, and country.

[CSD610]

Originally Posted by countryswan

Virginia is tough on speeders. Sorry you have to endure this.
I would pay the ticket and drive in Virginia as though you were taking your drivers test.
If you're ever driving up I-81 be extra cautious about not speeding through Maryland.
A mere 8 mile stretch of highway has to make them some money so they are
very dilligent to hand out tickets.

Seriously? Sorry he has to go through this? He admitted he was speeding and he has no insurance.
How sorry for him would you be had he hit your vehicle?


Original Poster: Pay the fine, slow down and quit driving until you get insurance.

[countryswan]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Lawyer doesn't need to prove anything. Deals are made everyday on minor cases to keep the courts from bogging down from too many trials. OP may be guilty but no reason they can't take advantage of the system that benefits thousands everyday across the state, and country.

Now this may be true, but it certainly sounds corrupt.

Thank you for your input.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by countryswan

Now this may be true, but it certainly sounds corrupt.

Thank you for your input.

Nothing corrupt about it. The whole justice tempered with mercy thing. I saw many days where there were anywhere from 100-300 traffic cases on the docket in just ONE courtroom and there were numerous courtrooms. There would be anywhere from 5-15 officers. Many of these also had misdemeanor and felony cases as well. If deals were not made the system would be so deadlocked it would be horrendous. These deals made by the prosecutors allow things to keep moving at a decent pace and even then you still see long days as they (prosecutors and defendants) will refuse to plea and deal. So no, not corrupt.

[TheProgrammer]

At this speed, it is a lot easier for lawyers to reduce it down to a simple speeding ticket. Do NOT pay the fine otherwise you will get a misdemeanor on your record, and that's not good. Get an attorney to work on this for you.