Reckless Driving in Virginia

What is the name of your state? Virginia

I was driving on a dirt road near my house when i swerved to miss a dog and my truck fishtailed on the gravel, I ended up upside down on the side of the road after hitting a tree. No other cars were involved, no one was hurt. I was going about 35-40 through the turn and there was no posted speed limit.

Some guy stopped by and i used his phone to call my mom and she then called a tow truck. Apparently somewhere in there the police were called (I didnt even think about it, shaken, only me and the tree involved).

When the officer got there the tow truck guy had already flipped the truck up and had it loaded up. The cop says that we arent supposed to move it until he gets there so he can see what happened. Again didnt really think about it.

The cop does his usual report but i end up with being charged with 46.2-853 Reckless Driving: Failure to maintain proper control. That law states:

§ 46.2-853. Driving vehicle which is not under control; faulty brakes.
A person shall be guilty of reckless driving who drives a vehicle which is not under proper control or which has inadequate or improperly adjusted brakes on any highway in the Commonwealth.

Now my brakes are fine and the vehicle was controlable normally but i lost control during the wreck.

My questions are thus:

I lost conrol, is that still covered under that law?
Is that little unpaved backroad still considered a highway?
There was no posted speed limit so that cant come into the case?
Should I try to bargan for Impoper Driving or defend this in court?
Also the officer said i was a female on my Ticket (incorrect) does that carry any weight?

In the end just my truck was messed up, the stupid dog and VDOTs tree were fine. Nothing else was involved.

[Robbie0723]

Wow! Sounds like quite a ride, glad you wern't hurt.

In general you are expected to keep you vehicle under control under all conditions. Rolling it is a pretty good indicator you didn't.

But is sounds like the officer may have cut you a break (no pun intended).

Check to see if the charges will be dropped if you get the brakes checked and fixed if they are defective.

[maddoggieD]

Get a lawyer. R/D is a criminal offense in Virginia. You need a lawyer to fix it properly. A conviction means a criminal record.