kNOwtheLAW
Member
What is the name of your state? PA
I thought the outcome of my experience might help others who get the Reckless Driving Speed summons in Virginia. Accordingly reckless driving in Virginia is a serious criminal charge with possible ramifications to one's career, security clearance, and insurance costs. Reckless driving is a Class 1 misdemeanor - in the same classification as a DWI charge. As stated clearly in the Code of Virginia, the penalty parameters for reckless driving are up to one year in jail, and/or up to $2,500 in fines. Reckless driving also carries the possibility of a suspension of driving privileges for up to 6 months.
In May this year I was traveling southbound on I-81 when I came upon a state trooper facing me in the median as I rounded a curve. I looked down at my speedometer; it read 80 mph. I was actually charged with 81 in a 60 zone. The speed limit reduced from 65 to 60 about a half mile back and that put me at 20+ mph over the limit.
I have been driving for 35 years and put about 30k to 40k miles on annually. I never had an accident or a suspended license, but I have had a few speeding tickets, more so in the earlier years. However, my driving record has been crystal clean for over 6 years. I learned early on that it ALWAYS pays to ask for a hearing. In Pennsylvania, the District Judges have been willing (with no exception) to reduce the speed to 5 mph over the limit. That equates to a traffic conviction, but with no points assessed to your record.
In this instance, when the Virginia state trooper handed me the summons he stressed the fact that this was a RD SPEED charge and this was a summons to appear in court. I COULD NOT just pay the fine. He made it clear I had to appear in General District Court on the date stated on the summons. The date in June was inconvenient so I contacted the Clerk of Courts and got a date for July instead. They were more than willing to accommodate my request for the date change, but did stress the severity of the charge and the importance to appear. Since I had past experience I decided not to retain an attorney even though it was a 700+ mile roundtrip to appear in person. Fortunately, I had the ability to schedule business appointments so I had reason to return to the area.
I was scheduled for 9:00 am but in Virginia 9:00 am means you show up and wait your turn. I quickly figured out the attorneys worked out their deals first, then it went alphabetically (by officer) and then alphabetically by respondents cited by that officer. Since my name is near the end of the alphabet I had time to gain invaluable insight by watching others appear before me. There were many speeding violators, a few DUIs, but at least three before me were cited RD Speed. The Judge fined them in the $200 to $350 range, plus court costs. The one thing I noted that was different from the PA District Court is in PA you must plead not guilty to get the hearing.
In Virginia most everybody was pleading guilty to their charge. Upon entering their plea the Judge would then ask if they wished to make a statement before he passed judgment. The unfortunate few who plead not guilty did not appear to receive the Judge's compassion. At that point I decided to plead guilty as charged.
My name was called and I approached the bench. The Judge read the charge and asked for my plea. I plead guilty. He then asked if I wished to make a statement on my behalf. I explained my occupation, that the 'privilege' of a drivers license was very important to my livelihood, that my occupation requires I be professionally licensed by each state where I serve clients, and that the state departments that issue the professional license have been known to fine and or rescind professional licenses of individuals who have a 'criminal' misdemeanor on their record. I handed the Judge my PA driving record showing that I had no DUIs, suspensions, accidents, or violations. I explained that I understood this was a very serious matter and that I placed myself at the mercy of the court.
The judge asked if I had ever been to driving school. I reminded him that I was an out-of-state driver and I would not be able to attend a Virginia driving school. He stated they have driving schools in most all states and asked again if I had ever been to driving school. I stated I had not. He then stated he was willing to DISMISS the case if I attended driving school. He went on to say that I could take the course on the Internet if I wanted, but the Court would have to approve the school and the course. He stated that I would have no fine but to pay court costs of $66.
EPILOGUE
The Court approved an 8 hour online driving school for Pennsylvania drivers. The course cost was $29.95. I submitted the Course Completion Certificate prior to the deadline set by the Court. The case was dismissed.
Why did I get such a break? I can only surmise that it was due to my demeanor, my honesty, my respect for the court, the officer and the process, a clean driving record, and the fact that a misdemeanor on my record would cause a severe hardship for me professionally. Out of 50 or so respondents in the courtroom for the 9:00 am session, only two of us were in business suits.
As you read through this forum you see an unusual amount of reckless driving speed. There is no doubt that many states are stepping up efforts to dissuade people that for whatever reason - speed. I for one have made a conscience effort to slow down.
I consider myself fortunate that I did not find this forum until after my hearing. There are quite a few individuals on this forum (some with tens of thousands of posts) that provide a great deal of disingenuous advice. I've been reading the archives of this forum for weeks now: https://forum.freeadvice.com/archive/index.php/f-13.html. Clearly there are a lot of people who receive moving violation citations. Each state has the right to enforce its laws by citing the violators. It's our right when cited, guilty or not, to tell our story to the Judge.
KTL
I thought the outcome of my experience might help others who get the Reckless Driving Speed summons in Virginia. Accordingly reckless driving in Virginia is a serious criminal charge with possible ramifications to one's career, security clearance, and insurance costs. Reckless driving is a Class 1 misdemeanor - in the same classification as a DWI charge. As stated clearly in the Code of Virginia, the penalty parameters for reckless driving are up to one year in jail, and/or up to $2,500 in fines. Reckless driving also carries the possibility of a suspension of driving privileges for up to 6 months.
In May this year I was traveling southbound on I-81 when I came upon a state trooper facing me in the median as I rounded a curve. I looked down at my speedometer; it read 80 mph. I was actually charged with 81 in a 60 zone. The speed limit reduced from 65 to 60 about a half mile back and that put me at 20+ mph over the limit.
I have been driving for 35 years and put about 30k to 40k miles on annually. I never had an accident or a suspended license, but I have had a few speeding tickets, more so in the earlier years. However, my driving record has been crystal clean for over 6 years. I learned early on that it ALWAYS pays to ask for a hearing. In Pennsylvania, the District Judges have been willing (with no exception) to reduce the speed to 5 mph over the limit. That equates to a traffic conviction, but with no points assessed to your record.
In this instance, when the Virginia state trooper handed me the summons he stressed the fact that this was a RD SPEED charge and this was a summons to appear in court. I COULD NOT just pay the fine. He made it clear I had to appear in General District Court on the date stated on the summons. The date in June was inconvenient so I contacted the Clerk of Courts and got a date for July instead. They were more than willing to accommodate my request for the date change, but did stress the severity of the charge and the importance to appear. Since I had past experience I decided not to retain an attorney even though it was a 700+ mile roundtrip to appear in person. Fortunately, I had the ability to schedule business appointments so I had reason to return to the area.
I was scheduled for 9:00 am but in Virginia 9:00 am means you show up and wait your turn. I quickly figured out the attorneys worked out their deals first, then it went alphabetically (by officer) and then alphabetically by respondents cited by that officer. Since my name is near the end of the alphabet I had time to gain invaluable insight by watching others appear before me. There were many speeding violators, a few DUIs, but at least three before me were cited RD Speed. The Judge fined them in the $200 to $350 range, plus court costs. The one thing I noted that was different from the PA District Court is in PA you must plead not guilty to get the hearing.
In Virginia most everybody was pleading guilty to their charge. Upon entering their plea the Judge would then ask if they wished to make a statement before he passed judgment. The unfortunate few who plead not guilty did not appear to receive the Judge's compassion. At that point I decided to plead guilty as charged.
My name was called and I approached the bench. The Judge read the charge and asked for my plea. I plead guilty. He then asked if I wished to make a statement on my behalf. I explained my occupation, that the 'privilege' of a drivers license was very important to my livelihood, that my occupation requires I be professionally licensed by each state where I serve clients, and that the state departments that issue the professional license have been known to fine and or rescind professional licenses of individuals who have a 'criminal' misdemeanor on their record. I handed the Judge my PA driving record showing that I had no DUIs, suspensions, accidents, or violations. I explained that I understood this was a very serious matter and that I placed myself at the mercy of the court.
The judge asked if I had ever been to driving school. I reminded him that I was an out-of-state driver and I would not be able to attend a Virginia driving school. He stated they have driving schools in most all states and asked again if I had ever been to driving school. I stated I had not. He then stated he was willing to DISMISS the case if I attended driving school. He went on to say that I could take the course on the Internet if I wanted, but the Court would have to approve the school and the course. He stated that I would have no fine but to pay court costs of $66.
EPILOGUE
The Court approved an 8 hour online driving school for Pennsylvania drivers. The course cost was $29.95. I submitted the Course Completion Certificate prior to the deadline set by the Court. The case was dismissed.
Why did I get such a break? I can only surmise that it was due to my demeanor, my honesty, my respect for the court, the officer and the process, a clean driving record, and the fact that a misdemeanor on my record would cause a severe hardship for me professionally. Out of 50 or so respondents in the courtroom for the 9:00 am session, only two of us were in business suits.
As you read through this forum you see an unusual amount of reckless driving speed. There is no doubt that many states are stepping up efforts to dissuade people that for whatever reason - speed. I for one have made a conscience effort to slow down.
I consider myself fortunate that I did not find this forum until after my hearing. There are quite a few individuals on this forum (some with tens of thousands of posts) that provide a great deal of disingenuous advice. I've been reading the archives of this forum for weeks now: https://forum.freeadvice.com/archive/index.php/f-13.html. Clearly there are a lot of people who receive moving violation citations. Each state has the right to enforce its laws by citing the violators. It's our right when cited, guilty or not, to tell our story to the Judge.
KTL
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