Speeding ticket in Maryland

[meix]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? we are from PA but got the ticket in Maryland...so are unaware of the laws...please help
My boyfriend and I were on our way to Baltimore this past weekend. We were driving on I-83 when out of no where a police officer WALKS out into the middle of the road and flags our car down. So we pulled over. Apparently, my boyfriend was going 101 in a 65. The officer told us nothing about paying a fine, just that we would wait for papers to come in the mail to go to court in Towson, MD. SO many people have been telling us different things because as I was looking at the ticket...at the bottom it has a box checked off that says "you have the right to stand trial and contest your guilt or to waive the court hearing and pay the fine shown above." Then above there is a box checked off which says "$275". I was just wondering a few things. 1. Does this mean that he does not have to go to court and he can just pay the fine? 2. Will he get points on his license since it was out of state? 3. Will he lose his license for this? and if so for how long?


PLEASE HELP!! Thanks in advance!

[fedcop110]

We were driving on I-83 when out of no where a police officer WALKS out into the middle of the road and flags our car down.

Maryland Troopers are notorious for doing this. I still think that they are crazy SOB's.

Apparently, my boyfriend was going 101 in a 65. The officer told us nothing about paying a fine, just that we would wait for papers to come in the mail to go to court in Towson, MD.

Sounds like he was charged with reckless driving (which he should have been.)

at the bottom it has a box checked off that says "you have the right to stand trial and contest your guilt or to waive the court hearing and pay the fine shown above." Then above there is a box checked off which says "$275".

I don't know why the officer would have written this. I would venture to guess that this is a reckless driving charge and not a prepayable offense.

Does this mean that he does not have to go to court and he can just pay the fine?

Depends on the statute that he was charged under. My guess is that he will have to go to court. He is lucky that he wasn't arrested on the spot. If I had stopped him for 101 in a 65 he would have been going to the lock-up.

Will he lose his license for this? and if so for how long?

Losing his license is a very real possibility. In VA a reckless driving charge is a class 1 misdemeanor, meaning it is punishable with up to a $2500 fine and 12 months in jail. Maryland is probably similar.

[meix]

In response....on the ticket...there were several things that could have been checked off but the only one was for the maximum speed. we saw reckless driving on the ticket but it was not checked off or circled. So if he would be charged with that I'm assuming that would be in court, or would it have been on the ticket? Is 12 months the max or is it up to 12 months in jail?

I'm sooo dumb when it comes to this stuff...I just got my first ticket myself 2 weeks ago...but I was only going about 84 in a 65. So definately didn't reach his peak! He definately learned his lesson!
thanks for the help though, we appreciate it!

[fedcop110]

What is the actual statute written on the citation?

In VA, it is up to 12 months in jail. 12 months is the max.

[meix]

What do you mean by statute? On my ticket (this is the boyfriend now), the only thing that was checked off was Exceeding Maximum speed, that is all. No reckless driving, nothing else. The only other things checked were the $275 fine and the option to go to court if I wished. I don't have the ticket on me right now. But, if there is any other information on it that can help you come to any conclusions, let me know. All of your help is greatly appreciated... thanks a lot!

[fedcop110]

I was asking for the statute number that is written on the ticket. Something that would correspond with the state traffic code. It sounds like if the exceeding the maximum speed limit was checked and not the reckless driving, that he was only charged with speeding.

In any case your best bet to find out what the ticket means is to call the clerk of the court that you would appear in. Ask the clerk whether it is a prepayable offense or a mandatory court appearance. Hope this helps