VA 79/40, but I'm only 17!

[xcait]

What is the name of your state? Virginia

Hi all.

It was 3am (#1: curfew violation) this past Wednesday, and I was on my way home from a friend's. I had fallen asleep at my friend's house, was past curfew, and just wanted to get home. I was on the GW Memorial Parkway, which for those of you who don't know, is just a parkway that doesn't see much traffic except for during rush hour. Also, the parkway goes thru a few counties, and so it is considered to be under the jurisdiction of the Park Police. Their website states that they follow STATE law.

The road was empty..COMPLETELY empty. No cars for MILES. I was going about 75 in the left lane, when I saw a black car up on the grass on the side of the road. I knew I had been caught. I slowed down and got in the right lane as the car turned their headlights on and followed me for a good 1/2 mile. The policewoman turned her lights on, and I immediately pulled over. Gave her my license+registration, and she gave me 2 tickets. One for 79/40 speeding and one for reckless driving (20mph+ over the limit). She didn't really explain anything to me, just told me that now I had to go to court (she was not pleasant at all). I was very calm for the first few minutes, but when she handed me the tickets I started crying. I came home, and my parents told me that I had just made a really dumb mistake and that it would be ok. My court date is Sept. 16th, 2004.

I'm going to start off with all of my lame excuses as to why my character should help me get my charge lowered. I am 17 years old, about 9 months away from being 18, and I received my license on November 11th, 2003. I have never been pulled over before, and I consider myself to be a very safe driver. My parents obviously trust me with their car, and my friends aren't terrified to drive with me! I have attended very well respected schools my entire life, and have maintained good grades. This past year, I had straight A's. I have done community service for a long time, and I hold a full time (during the summer) job. I have held a job for a year and a half. If it would help at all, I have family friends, my employer, and teachers who would be happy to write a letter to the judge reaffirming my integrity.

I will go get my car's speedometer checked, and will get copies of my grades and my driving record for the court date. Should I get a lawyer?

Thank you SO much. I'm a very emotional person and have lost sleep over this stupid stupid mistake.

[xcait]

Blah just put 2 and 2 together..I'm being charged in FEDERAL court. Since I live in Alexandria, VA..that means in the same courts that the terrorists are being charged.

[enjay]

Chances are that the tickets will stand because of your age. The judge will want to send a strong message to you. No one will care that you have good grades or go to good schools.

In the grand scheme of things, this is not a big deal though your insurance will probably go way up. Slow down. Good drivers don't go almost double the speed limit, especially on the GW Parkway where there's a cop every 10 feet.

[BelizeBreeze]

And because you violated the law on Federal land, you'll be in Federal Court. Or do you think littering in the Grand Canyon will be handled in Flagstaff night court?

I agree with enjay, you got caught. Nothing will change that. Even that mean old copper. Take it and try to learn. There ARE no excuses for speeding.

[xcait]

While both responses are appreciated, they don't answer my question.

Should I get a lawyer?

[Maxthedog]

I would get a lawyer because he will have the best chance of plea bargaining a reduction for you. The court doesn't care if you have good grades or are a girl scout. The bottom line is that you broke the law. Take it as a lesson learned but don't lose sleep over it. A traffic lawyer will probably know the prosecutor and take good care of you. Take it seriously but don't stress yourself out over it.

[abezon]

1. Fight the reckless driving ticket. 79 mph does not seem reckless by definition to me. It depends on the way the road's built & the traffic/visibility conditions. You'll need to double check the exact wording of the statutes you're charged with violating. It's probably worth it to hire a lawyer to fight the reckless driving charge -- your insurance premiums will skyrocket & stay there for 5 years. Talk to a couple attorneys & see what they say.

2. You're probably stuck with the speeding ticket.

I'd try for a deferred finding of guilt. With this deal, you admit guilt but the court doesn't enter a judgment against you immediately. Instead, you pay a "fee" & if you don't get another ticket for 1 year, the original ticket disappears as if it never existed. This saves your insurance premiums, since there are no points on your record. If you do get a ticket within a year, the deferred tickets are automatically reinstated & you have to pay the full fine amounts. You can't fight the orriginal tickets later.

[xcait]

Thank you all for the replies.

[xcait]

Just posting a quick reply to update y'all on what happened.

Prosecutor came up to my parents and me before court and offered a plea bargain..they'd drop the reckless charge as long as I paid the fine and took the points for the speeding. We accepted, and sat for our turn.

My name was called, and the judge asked me to speak on my own behalf. I told him that I was a good student, that I had a job, and that I had just made a mistake and I was very sorry. Afterwards, the other prosecutor stood up and asked the judge that the previous plea bargain be voided and offered the following (often referred to as a deferred judgment I believe):

If I stay out of trouble for 9 months, and complete 39hrs of community service, the case will be dismissed.

The judge wasn't too pleased, but accepted it.

[James Young]

Originally Posted by xcait

Just posting a quick reply to update y'all on what happened.

Prosecutor came up to my parents and me before court and offered a plea bargain..they'd drop the reckless charge as long as I paid the fine and took the points for the speeding. We accepted, and sat for our turn.

My name was called, and the judge asked me to speak on my own behalf. I told him that I was a good student, that I had a job, and that I had just made a mistake and I was very sorry. Afterwards, the other prosecutor stood up and asked the judge that the previous plea bargain be voided and offered the following (often referred to as a deferred judgment I believe):

If I stay out of trouble for 9 months, and complete 39hrs of community service, the case will be dismissed.

The judge wasn't too pleased, but accepted it.

Not bad. Usually all they want is the money. In this case they get 39 hours of free labor (@ $10 per hour is $390 to them) and most important of all you get no points so your insurance doesn't skyrocket.

[Robbie0723]

Congratulations Xcait, sounds like you handled yourself well.

I did community service once and it turned out to be one of the best experiences in my life. Try to hook up with something worthwhile.

[xcait]

Hello, and thank you for the replies.

I am of course very happy with the results as well. No lawyers fees, no court fees, no points, no fines. That is, as long as I keep my act together for 9 months, which I'm sure I will.

I am excited to do community service, and I plan to do more than required just to prove to the judge that I am seriously sorry.

[BelizeBreeze]

Originally Posted by xcait

Hello, and thank you for the replies.

I am of course very happy with the results as well. No lawyers fees, no court fees, no points, no fines. That is, as long as I keep my act together for 9 months, which I'm sure I will.

I am excited to do community service, and I plan to do more than required just to prove to the judge that I am seriously sorry.

Just an aside. Once you get done with community service volunteer to help clean floors or other instruments at the Morgue or county hospital. I guarantee you that will keep your act together for the rest of your life. Especially when you see a child laying dead on the slab after someone plowed into them going 100 and drunk.

Or worse still, finding yourself there.

[James Young]

BelizeBreeze writes:

Just an aside. Once you get done with community service volunteer to help clean floors or other instruments at the Morgue or county hospital. I guarantee you that will keep your act together for the rest of your life. Especially when you see a child laying dead on the slab after someone plowed into them going 100 and drunk.

Yeah, just what we need is more scared drivers out there. Scared drivers are unsure drivers and unsure drivers are unsafe drivers. Your Signal 32 tactics were trite 50 years ago. I would far rather have competent and attentive drivers than scared drivers around me.

I DID work in the ER at a major trauma hospital as an orderly for a short while when I was in college. While my skepticism was already well established, seeing the results of crashes reinforced my resolve to improve traffic flow and traffic safety performance. The way to do that was, of course, a scientific, measured, logical approach.

When one takes the statistics provided by a biased source – cops – and runs it through a biased agency – NHTSA – the results still do not indicate that speed too fast for conditions accounts for any more than about 8% of fatal crashes. Then you want to go and compound the exaggeration by combining speeding with drunkenness. Why don’t you throw in some red lights and a busload of nuns for good measure? Shame on you.

Xcait, take some real advice: find yourself a good high-performance driving school (mine was Bondurant) and learn their techniques and, most importantly, their attitudes and approaches to driving. CONTROL! CONTROL! CONTROL! and ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION! are their mantra. You’ll learn how to make good and safe decisions that serve you in all areas of your life.

[Robbie0723]

Originally Posted by James Young

Xcait, take some real advice: find yourself a good high-performance driving school (mine was Bondurant) and learn their techniques and, most importantly, their attitudes and approaches to driving. CONTROL! CONTROL! CONTROL! and ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION! are their mantra. You’ll learn how to make good and safe decisions that serve you in all areas of your life.

Autocrossing in SCCA Solo events are another way to get schooled on driving without a big hit on your budget, lots of fun.

[URL=http://solo.wdcr-scca.org/noviceInfo.php?PHPSESSID=c0c3f9aa6b43cba9f5003f7072377c10]Example SCCA Club[/URL] Novice info.

Take care!