reckless driving in VA.. first viper ticket. any advice????

[PaulH]

Hi all,
I was on my way from PA to VIR for the Viperdays event, when I got pulled over going 84mph in a 60mph zone. In VA, anything over 20mph over the speed limit OR anything over 80mph is considered reckless driving. Usually, I think you're not allowed to prepay and you have to appear in court. The officer checked off a box which allows me to prepay and NOT appear in court. Is this still a full reckless driving charge? Can my license be suspended or anything?
and bottom line... Should I hire a lawyer??
Thanks for any help....
Paul.

 

[Kelly06]

Before you go the way the lawyer, check to see if you can go to traffic school. This will save you a lot of hasseles

 

[Sellshomesdrivesviper]

Don't pay the ticket, they will assess points, insurance goes up, not good.
If you can, go to driving school but only if they withhold adjudication, if not, hire a competent traffic attorney.
Good luck.

Disclosure: I am not an attorney, I only played one in a movie, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn (30-years ago)

 

[BLUESNAKE367]

To the best of my knowledge WV/PA are reciprocal States with VA, which means what ever happens in court here will go against your drivers license in your home state.

I do not know which jurisdiction ticketed you, but, you are very lucky, 84 in a 60 mph zone will typically get you in front of a magistrate facing a class 1 misd charge of reckless driving and getting your car inpounded...

Your defense, not much if the officer got you on radar( was he cutting you any slack at all?).

My opinion, I am a retired cop not an attorney, depends on your driving record and some other factors.but, if you plead guilty and pay now you are totally screwed, your best chance if your record is clean, and you have many years of driving behind you, is to see the judge and hopefully get defensive driving school, or maybe he will suspend judgement for a year and see how you do..needless to say if your driving record is bad and the officer gets your home record, well, you can have some problems before you, and I suggest pre-pay now and take your chances with point loss and your states license board.

Do you need an attorney ? tough one, again depends on your record, Virginia is very ******* reckless driving offences, like they say, sometimes better to have one and not need him, then to you know what....

hope this helps, sorry you were welcomed to VA. with a ticket

 

[Vipera Russelli]

I received a ticket for going 65 in a 45 on the GW Parkway in Virginia from a federal officer. I called my insurance agent, who I consider a friend, for advise on the matter. He asked if the ticked was marked "reckless." When I told him "no" and that the box was checked that I could pay by mail without a court appearance, he said I was very lucky. Apparently, in VA, anything 20 mph or more over the speed limit could be reckless, but it's at the discretion of the ticketing officer. Since I could pay by mail and my ticket wasn't marked "reckless," my ticket, for insurance purposes anyway, was just a simple moving violation, no different than an illegal u-turn or failure to completely stop at a stop sign. My insurance agent advised me not to bother fighting it unless I could get it tossed out completely since a mere reduction in speed would have no effect on the ticket's affect on my insurance. If I had received a "reckless" on the other hand, it would have been equivalent to a DWI (or DUI) for insurance purposes. With all that said, we didn't discuss the impact of the ticket on my driving record for VA licensing purposes since I otherwise have a pretty spotless record. Maybe in your home state, your insurance company will treat it differently, I don’t know.

 

[Marcus]

Virginia ***** for that..(speeding) I got pulled over doing 162mph in a 45mph by a state Trooper on my Suzuki 1000cc bike....good thing the cop was a rider and let me go with a simple warning. I live in Hampton for 4-years while in the military.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I'm no longer a believer in the insurance vs points thing. I sat with an agent once who went to a website that showed traffic violations. Motorists were listed for each violation with a corresponding points column. He said insurance companies just counted the number of rows a motorist was entered and never even added the point column.

Dunno, just relaying what I was told.

In 30 years of driving I don't think my insurance premiums have ever decreased.

 

[NOTV8]

Hi all,
I was on my way from PA to VIR for the Viperdays event, when I got pulled over going 84mph in a 60mph zone. In VA, anything over 20mph over the speed limit OR anything over 80mph is considered reckless driving. Usually, I think you're not allowed to prepay and you have to appear in court. The officer checked off a box which allows me to prepay and NOT appear in court. Is this still a full reckless driving charge? Can my license be suspended or anything?
and bottom line... Should I hire a lawyer??
Thanks for any help....
Paul.

Paul,
Any update on what was the outcome or what you did? Just curious.