Reckless Driving - Speeding ticket!

[Mojo77]

What is the name of your state? VA

Would really appreciate some advice on what to realistically expect on court date/penalty.

Got a reckless driving speeding ticket this morning while driving to work, for doing 72 in a 50 on the beltway(55 is normal speed limit, but was reduced in this part for some reason) in Northern VA. To make matters worse, realized registration had expired about 20 days ago and got a ticket for expired registration. We have another car that we recieved the renewal in the mail but never did for this car, so did not realize it was also expired(reason for not renewing - fyi). Took action right away and renewed registration after getting to work today until 2008, but it's after the fact.

Looking at attorney options for mandatory court date in a couple of months. How much are attorney fees for something like this?
Also, when all said and done...how much $$ and points could one be looking at? Driver's license history is pretty clear(maybe a parking tix, etc).

[The Occultist]

I don't know anything about attorney prices, but I can tell you that if your record is as clear as you claim your lawyer should be able to plead you down to zero points (you might even be able to do this yourself if you talk to the DA, but a local attorney will be do a better job of delivering what the court wants to hear). As for the registration, there is a chance (I promise nothing!! ) that proving that you are now compliant may result in getting that charge dropped, or at least a reduction in the fine.

[Mojo77]

Thx for the advice...we'll prob just dish out the $$ for a lawyer, it's prob a safer bet.
Reading up on this I see all the penalties including, jail time, $2500 fines, several pts, having job issues b/c of misdemeanor. I understand they're stating the worst case scenerio but is this something we have worry about for the next 2 months until court date?

[The Occultist]

The courts typically don't make a habit of "throwin the book" at those with a relatively clean record unless you give them a reason to do so. So in this respect, my advice is, quite simply, don't be an idiot

[koritora3]

I was just in traffic court this morning (NC). I was going 64 in a 45. I was freaking about the misdemeanor thing and license suspension. Well, I bit the bullet and just pled guilty. For pleading guilty, they changed the charge to 55 in a 45 and let me off w/ court costs. (which was only 110.00) Not even a fine.
As for the expired, the fact that you rectified the issue in a timely manner will definitely bode well for you. (just happened to see that case while I was waiting)
The judge was very understanding, of course, not all of them are...

Good Luck.

[Mojo77]

Originally Posted by koritora3

I was just in traffic court this morning (NC). I was going 64 in a 45. I was freaking about the misdemeanor thing and license suspension. Well, I bit the bullet and just pled guilty. For pleading guilty, they changed the charge to 55 in a 45 and let me off w/ court costs. (which was only 110.00) Not even a fine.
As for the expired, the fact that you rectified the issue in a timely manner will definitely bode well for you. (just happened to see that case while I was waiting)
The judge was very understanding, of course, not all of them are...

Good Luck.

64 in a 45... is that a Misdemeanor in NC? In VA, from what I understand, RD for speeding is for going 20mpg over or >80mpg. You were doing neither of those? Are the laws even stricter in NC?

[cepe10]

You know you have a traffic school option and good points in the bank already probably.

Safe Driving Points are assigned for each full calendar year that you hold a valid Virginia driver’s license and drive without any violations or suspensions. In some cases, you may also earn safe driving points by completing a driver improvement clinic. You can accumulate a total of five safe driving points and you may use these safe driving points to offset demerit points.

I would still attempt to plea or fight.

VA alos has some very strict statute based requirements for the speed measurement devices.

[lwpat]

Originally Posted by koritora3

I was just in traffic court this morning (NC). I was going 64 in a 45. I was freaking about the misdemeanor thing and license suspension. Well, I bit the bullet and just pled guilty. For pleading guilty, they changed the charge to 55 in a 45 and let me off w/ court costs. (which was only 110.00) Not even a fine.

This is what happens when you go into court without knowing what you are doing. You could have negotiated down to a 54 in a 45 and received no points and no insurance increase. Now you have both. You could also have used your PFJ. You did the right thing by contesting your ticket but failed to find out anything about the options in your state.

As for the OP, attorney costs usually run 250 to 750 depending on the county and the attorney. You should ask for dismissal with court costs which usually run around 300.