Reckless Driving and Court Etiquette

[vanvan]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia

So I was driving on i95N out of Richmond at around 80mph at 7:30AM on a friday when I got pulled over for speeding. A bit of background story, my mother is out of the country so I go home every Friday to take care of my brother who is a minor (who is taken care of during the week by my uncle who happened to fly out the same day) and to take care of the house and the other necessities (she is also a single parent) the cop pulls me over and asks me why I was speeding, I inform him that my mom is out of the country and I am just going home to care for my brother. He then proceeds to write me the ticket stating I was going 81mph and that it was a reckless.

So now I am due in court for a reckless ticket, after talking to a few friends and such they said I don't need a lawyer and that I could obtain a copy of my driving record and perhaps records proving my mother was out of the country. I am a recent college graduate and this would be the 2nd ticket on my record. The first being failure to obey highway sign (it was dark and I made an illegal U-Turn, but I went to traffic school and that was taken off my record as far as I know).

So I guess my question after that story is.

1) Do I need a lawyer? I'm broke as it is and a lawyer would knock a hole in my pocket.

2) If I proceed to court by myself and the court asks me what I plead, do I plead guilty and hope they lower it to a speeding ticket and traffic school? Or do I plead not-guilty and try to get it appealed, I'm new to the traffic court thing so I don't know what to do

3) I am a good student and was told that if I brought documents showing that I am in good standing with the school and that my mother was indeed out of the country and that I haven't gotten a ticket in about 4-5 years or so, then maybe they can reduce the fine?

4) Would reiterating my story that I have told you all give me some brownie points with the Judge?

Any replies would be great as I am slowly freaking out right now.

All the best,

vanvan

[FlyingRon]

This is a fairly serious charge. How fast were you actually going. When (and in what state) was your previous violation. If you were going slower you can try to beg traffic school for either a reduced or dismissed charge. You need to talk to the commonwealth's attorney prior to going up before the judge. It's going to cost you BIG TIME anyhow. If you were going fast enough, you could end up in jail for a few days. It might be worth at least discussing it with the lawyer familiar with the particular court as judges vary. I've only got experience in Northern Virginia and Montgomery County, VA (Christiansburg).

Why does you being a college graduate or having a mother out of the country justify your reckless speed an disregard for the laws of the commonwealth?

[vanvan]

Originally Posted by FlyingRon

This is a fairly serious charge. How fast were you actually going. When (and in what state) was your previous violation. If you were going slower you can try to beg traffic school for either a reduced or dismissed charge. You need to talk to the commonwealth's attorney prior to going up before the judge. It's going to cost you BIG TIME anyhow. If you were going fast enough, you could end up in jail for a few days. It might be worth at least discussing it with the lawyer familiar with the particular court as judges vary. I've only got experience in Northern Virginia and Montgomery County, VA (Christiansburg).

Why does you being a college graduate or having a mother out of the country justify your reckless speed an disregard for the laws of the commonwealth?

It doesn't, I just wanted to throw it out there.

As for my speed I was going probably 75MPH in a 65MPH zone, cars were slowing down for no reason in front of me so I sped past them, minute after doing so I was pulled over and the cop had stated I was going on a pace of 81 MPH on the straightaway. My previous violated was doing a U-TURN in an area that did not allow it, it was dark and I didn't see it, I did traffic school to get that expunged from my record. It was also in Virginia. My plan was to go in, plead guilty and then see how it goes from there.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by vanvan

It doesn't, I just wanted to throw it out there.

As for my speed I was going probably 75MPH in a 65MPH zone

You already said you were driving at 80 mph.

And, one good thing to learn about driving is that cars don't slow down for "no reason". Just because you can't see the reason doesn't mean there isn't a reason. And, if you can't SEE the reason, it would be wise to also slow down so that you don't cause an accident due to the unseen danger. At the very least, don't speed up.

[FlyingRon]

I don't care what the reasons are and neither does the judge. You still didn't answer the questions. I don't care the reason for your careless lawlessness. I wanted to know how long ago was the previous charge. If it was more than three years, you can try the traffic school again. If less you are less likely to get it. You can still try inquiring with the commonwealth's attorney the day of your appearance (get there early) to see if he'll bargain it down to careless driving or such.

At least at 81 you're just looking at a hefty fine in most courts.

[vanvan]

Thanks for the replies, both of you. I understand my carelessness and I definitely understand that the judge won't take any ****. My last ticket was ~3-4 years ago and I hadn't received anything since then. So as I understand it, my options are to speak to the commonwealth attorney?