VA Driver get NY ticket, question on law

[WindedDragonBoy]

What is the name of your state? Virginia


My wife just got a ticket in New York State driving 81 in a 65 zone. We live in Virginia and she has a Viginia driver's license. In Virginia anything over 80 mph is considered reckless driving, however in NY it is not considered reckless driving (I read somewhere you had to be 30 over the speed limit for it to be considered reckless). On VA's DMV site it says points will be given for tickets in other states, but my question is will they put it on her record as reckless driving. She was not being reckless and even the state trooper said she wasn't.

We were planning to plead guilty when we mail in the ticket, but if it would be considered reckless it might be better to try and plea it down (even just 1 mph). Does anyone know if this would be considered reckless by VA or if they go by NY's findings?

The ticket lists "offense type" as "traffic Infraction" and gives the description as "Speed in Zone" and further lists it as 81 mph in 65 mph zone.

I did a little more searching around and found the following passage from the Virginia traffic law:

§ 46.2-862 Exceeding speed limit - A person shall be guilty of reckless driving who drives a motor vehicle on the highways in the Commonwealth (i) at a speed of twenty miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limit where the applicable speed limit is thirty miles per hour or less, (ii) at a speed of sixty miles per hour or more where the applicable maximum speed limit is thirty-five miles per hour, (iii) at a speed of twenty miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limits where the applicable maximum speed limit is forty miles per hour or more, or (iv) in excess of eighty miles per hour regardless of the applicable maximum speed limit).

This seems to say that it is only reckless driving if the ticket is for driving in Virginia at above 80 mph. But I am still not sure if the New York ticket would be considered reckless by VA.

[Robbie0723]

Be sure you check it out with the VA DMV and an attorney before you plead guilty.

I'm not familiar with VA bu in NC, this would be an automatic suspension of licence when reported back to NC. People have been shocked to receive letters in the mail 2-3 years later announcing the suspension.

[poohmantbb]

Follow the above advise, but I would think that if she wasn't charged in NY for Reckless, then it wouldn't in VA. Unless I am mistaken, it will only show the violation name (i.e. Violation of Designated Speed) and nothing about Reckless. The laws differ in the two states, and she wasn;t charged with Reckless, so you may be in the clear. Check it out though.

[lwpat]

New York will not report the violation back to VA so VA law will not apply. You can probably get the fine reduced if you plead not guilty.

[zeeluker]

i got a ticket in VA and was wondering where you where able to find a copy of the VA laws online

[You Are Guilty]

Originally Posted by lwpat

New York will not report the violation back to VA so VA law will not apply. You can probably get the fine reduced if you plead not guilty.

VA DMV says something different:

Demerit points will also be assigned to your record for traffic convictions incurred in other states.

[url]http://www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/citizen/drivers/points_assess.asp[/url]

I also vaguely recall hearing that NYS reports all out-of-state violations as 2-pointers, but my quick search didn't locate and support for that, so I could be in error. (It does not seem that VA has 2-pointers anyway, so this may be moot).

[WindedDragonBoy]

I wanted to thank everyone for their helpful responses and update you on what else I have learned in case anyone else has a similar situation.

I spoke with the Virginia DMV. They told me that if NY puts it in the national database they will assess points (no surprise there) but they did not know if NY would put it in (they thought yes and I checked with New York and they said usually they do put it into the database). However, VA DMV told me NY would put in the conviction and how much over the limit so if NY puts it in a simple speending (16 over) it would not be reckless driving in VA unless it is more than 20 over the speed limit (which it was not).

So it appears that the answer to the question is this would be considered simple speeding (which is a 4 point violation) by VA and not reckless driving.

Thansk again for all the help.