MCP486

To start off, I live in Alexandria, VA and was busted by Fairfax County Cops. I was driving home this evening at about 2AM, not many cars on 495 doing about 90, and of course to my luck, I was paced by a cop car and pulled over. He made me get out of the car and stand on 1 foot for 30 seconds, searched me, my friends, and my car, and asked me why he shouldn't take me to jail. I am a quiet courteous person by nature, so he didn't give me too hard of a time. But here's why I am fucked. I got a reckless driving ticket for going 92, which according to the cop has mandatory jail time, unless I get a good lawyer that can reduce the punishment. I am only 18, still in High School, have a sweet girlfriend, and really don't feel like going to jail....What the hell should I do to get out of this one? I am probably going to have to get rid of my R to pay my way out of this one, which is killing me to think about. I dunno, can I argue that his speedometer may have been inaccurate, since he paced me? My grades average out to about a 2.5 GPA, but I scored a 1280 on my SAT, and I was the head of the Student Disciplinary Committe at my old school. Any bonus points there? Anyways, your help/encouragement is welcome.

Thanks,

Matt

P.S. Any offers on a CW 98 Type R w/ 91,000 miles are welcome.

Spoon97R

If its your first time, i wouldnt worry too much about it, just tell the judge the truth, dont argue with the cop, its your word against his. i had the same problem 5 years ago(i was about 16-17) but i got a racing ticket which i did commit, they'll appoint you a lawyer, just talk to him, dress nicely and the judge will reduce your sentence, prolly to a speeding ticket. good luck with your case.


[Modified by Spoon97R, 10:07 AM 3/1/2003]

Warren

Here's your chance to screw your head on straight. Hire a lawyer. Do not mess around. If the reckless sticks, then it stays on your record for 12 years. It is also considered a misdemeanor, so you will have a criminal record. Your insurance rates will go through the roof for 7 years as well.

Hire a lawyer. Preferably one that plays golf with the judges.

Oh yeah, by the way, hire a lawyer.

edit: regarding jailtime. It's one day for every mph over 90. There is also a possibility that you will lose your license for up to 6 months, and/or get slapped with a huge fine. Reckless in VA is no joke.

Warren


[Modified by Warren, 5:39 AM 3/1/2003]

J_Edwards

This isn't anything to be taken lightly, yet at the same time it isn't anything to worry tremendously over. Hire or talk to lawyers who have dealt with situations such as this and find out what your options are. As a first time offender, considering the situation, I doubt the judge will be as strict as possible. Just do everything that you can to protect yourself, learn everything that you can. I am sure that things will turn out alright in the end.

itr537

get a lawyer...but also find out last time cruiser had speedo calibrated ?? also did the officer have the actual speed of speedo measured but another officer with radar..?? does he use that car every day for patrol ?? how far did he pace you from ie car lengths behind you ?? did he ever loose sight of your vehicle during the pace ??? what lane you were in and if you made any lanes changes ?? just a few things you should be checking out.... and remember always check your rear view mirror....hope that helps good luck...

ALLBLINE

well like the rest said get a good laywer thats what i had to do or else the public pretender WILL screw you this is just from experience w/our lovely law enforcements

nEoMuGen

Wow....VA is strict!

Me and my crew were hitting around 90mph on the speedometer pretty frequently when coming back from VIR on I95. Glad we didn't get caught.

Oh, yeah, like everyone else suggested. Hire a lawyer is your best bet. Post in the General Discussion group and see anyone in VA and recommend you a good traffic lawyer.

Cosworth

Virginia = Communist state

Do not drive faster than 79mph in VA. Ask me how I know. I was "lucky" since I was barely over 80mph, so my "punishment" wasn't bad. All VA cops care about is fund raisinig.

Over 90mph, you'll get screwed with even the best lawyer (anything over 80mph is reckless driving... over 90mph is asking for it). Also, it doesn't help that you're practically a new driver (18 y.o. w/ maybe 2 years of experience). I IM-ed you, check your IM.

-Sean

owen_the_soyboy

Hey, there is NO chance with getting that ticket dismissed by trying to accuse the police officer of having inaccurate equipment or any other cop's fault ideas. TRUST ME.

I got caught in my Integra GSR for driving way too fast on a highway... the officer caught me when I was stopped at an offramp stoplight and wrote me 4 big tickets, yes, 4. OUCH.
I was VERY lucky he didnt tow my car and haul me in, because in NY you can lose your license on the spot for driving 30mph over the limit. So he wrote me up for 95 in a 55, even though I was rockin' 115 at one point, plus a three other tickets, with Reckless Driving checked off as a misdemeanor.....

In NYS a reckless driving ticket can be checked off on the ticket as a misdemeanor... and yep that was me, so the judge required me to get an attorney before he would hear the case. Actually that worked out in my favor.

GET AN ATTORNEY NOW, they will most likely be able to get you out of the ticket(s) completely but may require you to plead guilty to something like I did.. "Disorderly Conduct" ... which was not a driving offense and had NO penalties on my license or Insurance . So, the Attorney's fee will be the big problem here, mine was a $750 bill plus the $300 fine for Disorderly Conduct.

I had to go to Court 9 times in 8 months to get this resolved with the help of the Attorney so I did lose a lot of personal and work time... but I would do almost anything to save my license!

But in the long run I am so much better than if the Judge did not require me to get an attorney... because I could have been found guilty, been thrown in jail for manyy weks, also could have lost my license for one year (!) and then had my insurance DOUBLE because of the reckless driving charge.

And now I drive like my grandma on the street, no joke. I want lower insurance so I can finally somdeay afford to drive an S2000!

SpiceyRice

I got a reckless in GA (105 mph).

a). haven't had a speeding ticket since.
b). they took me to jail, and I had to bailout for $340

When my court date came, I 'no lo contendro'ed' and they took my bail money as the fine. Dunno how long it stays on my record, but my insurance company didn't bitch.

00MRSi

Well, this will be a bigtime learning experience for you. I agree with the others: get a good attorney that specializes in traffic law. Either way you're gonna be paying big fines. Good luck and don't do stupid **** anymore..

Tweakmeister

take a look at this thread...

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=425787

uNF$@#!

btw, you make a plea bargain with the district attourney. not the judge, as some people will swear by.


[Modified by Soup ****, 1:12 PM 3/1/2003]

jond

So 140 would be almost 2 months in jail? Good God!
This has been an eye opener for me.

Good luck to you Matt.

Anyone have any recommendations for a good layer in the Va area?

Ohlias

Some of you guys in the States have it pretty bad. I really feel for you.

Unless you're doing twice the speed limit here, in Montreal, you don't have a problem. You can't go to jail for speeding here, even if you're doing 300km/h in your Porsche. I guess that's why alot of you guys cut up through Ontario to travel to Detroit....

When I was younger, I got caught racing a guy, then I tried to get away from the cops, pulled a u turn to get a way from him, and he only caught me cause my friend convinced me to stop. It sounds like if I did that in VA I'd be sitting next to "bubba", hoping he doesn't like skinny little white kids.

I've learned my lessons, but I'm glad I didn't have to go to jail to learn 'em.

All I got was 10 demerit points (we're allowed 15 before they yank your liscence) and a $700 fine ( ~$450 USD ).

Please drive safe guys. It's not worth the Money/JailTime/Risk of hurting your self/someone you love/or an innocent bystander... take it to the track

That's it for me and my preaching


[Modified by Ohlias, 11:44 AM 3/1/2003]

Hugh Bowie

just got back form court in lawrenceville GA

i had 6 citatitions and was looking at mandatory susp of license and comm service + fines

i hired the attorney thats known the judge for 20 years and i walked away with only a 1250 $ fine which im happy to pay instead of being suspended or living in GA again

urbanlegend21

you don't need a lawyer, and defienetly do not accuse the cop of wrongdoing, he is just doing his job, regardless of what anyone tells you about how cops in VA are out to get you remember that you were doing 90 in a 55.

My stepmother is a judge in Stafford county and here is her advice.
Don't argue, you were at fault, take the cards dealt and play your hand. Always answer yes sir/yes ma'am and no sir/no ma'am. I know that sounds like a simple rule but be sincere because it does make a difference. Dress nicely, my stepmother says a poorly dressed defendant is an insult to the judge. Also, do not lie, regardless of how good you thin you can lie a judge can smell it from a mile away, remember that they have been doing this for years and have heard it all.

Now if you have a clean record, meaning no speeding violations or other moving violations then as a first offense 7 times out of 10 the charge will be dropped to a "improper driving" ticket, which is a ticket that a judge can only give out. Depending on the officer though you may get a reduced speeding ticket. If he says you were cooperative and polite than odds are in your favor. I f you were lippy and rude the officer won't testify in your behalf.

There is also an oppurtunity to talk to the Commonwealth Attorney before hand. Use that time to ask if there is something you could do, legallywise ie. driving classes, community service, etc., that will help you reduce your reckless ticket.

Always remember though that YOU are at fault. You were speeding and you know it. As long as you are not a repeat offender and have an attitude than things will go alright.

urbanlegend21

oh yeah and the fine won't be over $250 if reduced

also it is mandatory jail time for anything over 100 mph, not 90 mph

SpiceyRice

A friend got caught 104mph in Soperton, GA (I16 to Roebling Road from ATL). $1000 for 100mph, and $100 for each mph over 100. He was also on a suspended. He ended up paying $2800 to get out of that mess.

Needless to say, I take it easy to Roelbing Road from now on out.

owen_the_soyboy

/\

urbanlegend21, I really do not know if your advice is the best to offer a super young kid that was just caught going over 90mph.
Some judges will throw th ebook at him, others will not.
One thing I do know is that an Attorney will make the cards stack in his favor.

His situation is not good.. his license is clean, but that is what, one or two years of cleanliness? That is a far cry from someone who has maintained a clean record for ten years... and that ten year clean record is the thing that would get a Judge to let a 30 year old person off without much of a fine.
*Any 18 year old is asking for bigtime fines or worse if they plan on representing themselves in front of a judge on a reckless driving charge Note that you do not know how bad the Trooper will make the story out to be.... you never know!


[Modified by owen_the_soyboy, 12:08 PM 3/1/2003]

urbanlegend21

he is 18 though, there are a lot of factors involved, but he will spend more money on a lawyer than he would any ticket he recieved regardless of reckless or not, because it is a first time offense

if he understands his fault and is remorseful for his actions than a judge will see that
honesty and remorse will get him by just as good as a lawyer will

but I digress, it is not my desicion

myhatchrips

well i got a ticket for going 95 mph in a 55 zone. the chp was traveling on the the other side of traffic. he turned around and caught up to me. the thing was i tried to ditch him and take the side streets to my cousins house which wasnt to far away. ended up giving me a ticket. he said that im lucky that hes a cool cop otherwise i wouldve been charged for a misdemeanor for trying to ditch the pig. is that wreckless driving? other than that he just gave me a speeding ticket. its funny cuz i flew right by him in 4th gear vtec haha


[Modified by myhatchrips, 9:45 AM 3/1/2003]

92sleepR

You DO NOT want to get caught doing 90 in VA. I have a heavy foot but I try to never exceed 85. Its frustrating yes, when you know your capable of so much more but thats just part of being a responsible citizen

Mike

Freelance-GSR

God damn im glad i moved to California, that reckless driving **** is just BS.........90mph on a deserted freeway and you get jail time that is such bullshit...i got pulled over here on the freeway going 100mph+ and all i got was a $100 fine

Im_In_There

Virginia cops ( ) are the worst . I just got a Ticket form them about a month ago. I live in NY and went to Florida with a friend of mine and we drove back to NY. We drove over night since there wouldnt be any traffic, and at all places we only got pulled over once and that was in Emporia, Virginia. The cop gave me a speeding ticket for 87 in a 65 and told me that I had to attend court, but that since i was from outerstate to just call the day after the trial. Well i called the day after and thanks to the cop giving me a ticket for 87 and not 84 which was real petty, I ended up getting charged with reckless driving and my license suspended for a month and had to pay a $300 ticket. I called the court and all they told me was that if i wanted to appeal that I would have to drive down all the way to Emporia and appeal it and then return back on the court date, but to keep in mind my license was suspended. Well i got lucky because i went to the NY DMV to ask how many points I had and to find out exactly when my license was going to be reinstated and they told me the best thing anyone could "NY AND Virgnia are too DIFFERENT things what happens with them stays over there it does not come over HERE". . All i can tell you buddy is GOOD LUCK. One would think that whole state's economy revolves around speeding ticket.