What is the name of your state? Virginia
Hi, I'm a 22 years old female with a reckless driving ticket for going 96 on a 65mph highway. This ticket is issued at Botetourt Court - about four to five hours away from where I live. I know that I don't have a choice whether or not to show up to court b/c the officer told me that I will be jailed if I don't show up. According to DMV, I currently have a pretty good record of +3 (which should've been even better if it weren't for my ticket in 2002 for "failure to obey traffic signal". Other than this, the only other glitch in my record is a suspension in year 2000 for 3 tickets while under age. Besides my youthful mishaps/bad luck with traffic violations, I've maintained a good record in my recent years and have been able to achieve the current +3.
I've been told that this reckless driving will stay on my record for 11 years and that there is a good chance of another suspension of my license. *What is it that you recommend to me at this point? I really don't have the financial means to hire a lawyer and would like to try to fight this the best I can on my own. I've heard that I could request to see the officer's notes and when the radar was calibrated; issue a plea bargain with the prosecutor (which I have no idea how to do); and/or take a driver's improvement course? *Do you recommend that I do all of those following things; if so, how? *If I choose to take a course, should I take it before the court date and plea for the ticket not to show up on my record given that I've taken the course and my relatively clean record? *Lastly, when I go to court, should I plea "no contest" - & what does this mean?
One last bit of information is that when the cop approached me, I did not admit guilt, but when he asked why I was going so fast, I told him (out of pure anxiety for not knowing what to say) that I had my period and needed to go to the b-room. He asked, "Then why did you pass the exit I was sitting on?" I said I didn't see it. He probably wrote these notes on his ticket information, so I know that I need to now take this stupid excuse into consideration when I go plead to the judge. How can I fight this case given all of these circumstances?
Thank you so much in advance for your help! I greatly appreciate your time and wisdom with regards to this case.
Hi, I'm a 22 years old female with a reckless driving ticket for going 96 on a 65mph highway. This ticket is issued at Botetourt Court - about four to five hours away from where I live. I know that I don't have a choice whether or not to show up to court b/c the officer told me that I will be jailed if I don't show up. According to DMV, I currently have a pretty good record of +3 (which should've been even better if it weren't for my ticket in 2002 for "failure to obey traffic signal". Other than this, the only other glitch in my record is a suspension in year 2000 for 3 tickets while under age. Besides my youthful mishaps/bad luck with traffic violations, I've maintained a good record in my recent years and have been able to achieve the current +3.
I've been told that this reckless driving will stay on my record for 11 years and that there is a good chance of another suspension of my license. *What is it that you recommend to me at this point? I really don't have the financial means to hire a lawyer and would like to try to fight this the best I can on my own. I've heard that I could request to see the officer's notes and when the radar was calibrated; issue a plea bargain with the prosecutor (which I have no idea how to do); and/or take a driver's improvement course? *Do you recommend that I do all of those following things; if so, how? *If I choose to take a course, should I take it before the court date and plea for the ticket not to show up on my record given that I've taken the course and my relatively clean record? *Lastly, when I go to court, should I plea "no contest" - & what does this mean?
One last bit of information is that when the cop approached me, I did not admit guilt, but when he asked why I was going so fast, I told him (out of pure anxiety for not knowing what to say) that I had my period and needed to go to the b-room. He asked, "Then why did you pass the exit I was sitting on?" I said I didn't see it. He probably wrote these notes on his ticket information, so I know that I need to now take this stupid excuse into consideration when I go plead to the judge. How can I fight this case given all of these circumstances?
Thank you so much in advance for your help! I greatly appreciate your time and wisdom with regards to this case.
Last edited: