VA Reckless Driving Ticket HELP!!

[cryix47]

What is the name of your state? Maryland


Ok heres the deal. I was driving back home to Maryland from a friends open house party in Centerville VA. I was traveling on I-66 and was stopped by a State Trooper. He stated that I was going 85mph in a 55mph zone. I denied it.He issued me a court summons form with July 2nd 2004 as the court appearance date.This is my 1st and only moving violation. Dose anyone have an idea on how to get the violation converted to an Improper Driving Ticket or the Standard Speeding Ticket? I am 20 years old and attending college. Its hard enough paying tuition for my classes so the last thing I need is a increase in my insurance rate and a suspended license. I will admit that I could have been doing 65 I was alittle pre-occupied because I was happy from my friend because he had just purchased a big nice house on his own. Prior to that he was my roommate. I would be more that happy to do a plea of bargain but I have been told that I need an attorney to do this. I understand that if I get this ticket converted to a Improper Driving Ticket or a Stand Speeding ticket that I will not get points because Maryland dose not count out of state speeding tickets. Any information would be gratly appreciated.


Thanks!

You could just not bother to show up, and don't return to VA ever or until you're older with more money to just pay that BS off and not worry about it.

[lwpat]

Anything over 20mph in Virginia is considered reckless driving. You are going to have a hard time getting a 30mph over reduced to a speeding violation on your own. However you probably should try before retaining an attorney.

Show up on your court date with your school information and a copy of your MVR from the Maryland DMV. Talk to the prosecutor and see what type of deal they will offer. If unaccepatble then plead not guilty and retain an attorney.

I understand that Maryland does not assess points for an out of state violation but does post the ticket on your record. This means that it will be available to your insurnace company if they should check. They will assign points for a reckless.

[cryix47]

Hi,


I would like to add that when I go to [url]http://www.courts.state.va.us[/url] there is a option to lookup the Citation via first and last name last name or via date. When I enter "Ransome" In the search box I get a whole bunch of other people with tha last name Ransome but I am not listed. I tried to enter my court date which is July 2nd 2004 and I get a bunch of other people but still my name is no where to be seen. Im wondering if the cop might of screwed up for just felt sorry for me. What do you guys think about this? The ticket was issued June 4th 2004 at 1:24am.

[JETX]

Originally Posted by Sambo83

You could just not bother to show up, and don't return to VA ever or until you're older with more money to just pay that BS off and not worry about it.

First good thing you can do is to ignore this idiots post. Clearly, he has never heard of the "Non Resident Violators Compact" where the state that issues the license notifies YOUR state of the ticket and the outcome. Then, YOUR state imposes the appropriate punishment.

[JETX]

Originally Posted by cryix47

Im wondering if the cop might of screwed up for just felt sorry for me. What do you guys think about this?

Though possible, it is EXTREMELY unlikely. And far more likely that the record hasn't been updated yet due to backlog and the fact it was the Friday before a weekend.

[cryix47]

Hi,


What do you all think will likely happen when I go to court? Is it very likely that the ticket will become reduced to speeding? I am also taking a medication called Wellbutrine which is an anti-depressant which causes dizziness. Should I take into consideration that the medicine played a big role in the Citation? Like I said this my one and only moving violation.

[JETX]

"What do you all think will likely happen when I go to court?"
*** The judge will likely say "Good morning" and it will go on from there. Seriously, no one can even guess what 'might happen'....

"Is it very likely that the ticket will become reduced to speeding?"
*** Not by 'magic'. If you have some reason that you think that is warranted, present it.

"I am also taking a medication called Wellbutrine which is an anti-depressant which causes dizziness. Should I take into consideration that the medicine played a big role in the Citation?"
*** Of course. Be sure and tell the judge that you were driving while under 'dizzy-causing' medication. He will love to hear that.

"Like I said this my one and only moving violation."
*** So far.

"Show up on your court date with your school information and a copy of your MVR from the Maryland DMV. Talk to the prosecutor and see what type of deal they will offer. If unaccepatble then plead not guilty and retain an attorney."

Wouldn't he need to take an attorney with him for his initial July 2nd court date? I'm not exactly sure how it works, but I didn't think that you can just return at a later date by pleading not guilty because you didn't like the deal the prosecutor offered. I thought it was a one day shot - you either show with an attorney or take your chances....

[cryix47]

Hi,

I went back to the VA court site to look at a few finalized cases and noticed that the court dates were always 2 months or more from the issue date. My court date is July 2nd 2004,but my ticket was issued June 4th 2004. Dosent this seem strange? My name is still no where to be seen on the website. Dose anyone a suggestion on how to go about seeing if this court date is real? I dont want to alert VA in any way so that they can fix a possible mistake.

[CdwJava]

It likely takes at LEAST 5 days - probably 10 - to proces sthe citation. And they may not all go on this website your talking about.

And court date distances vary. When I was in San Diego, our dates were almost two months out. Where I work now, ours are about one month - maybe as little as three weeks sometimes.

Carl

[maddoggieD]

Well, based on the info you shared, it would seem that you couldn't make it to court after all.

And you license was suspended as well (60 days). And you were convicted.

Now you have a criminal record too.

[JETX]

Originally Posted by maddoggieD

Well, based on the info you shared, it would seem that you couldn't make it to court after all.

And you license was suspended as well (60 days). And you were convicted.

Now you have a criminal record too.

And what, praytell, made your post so important that you had to make it to a thread that has been DEAD for six MONTHS???
What an idiot!!!

[James Young]

JETX writes:

And what, praytell, made your post so important that you had to make it to a thread that has been DEAD for six MONTHS???
What an idiot!!! [S.M.E.G.M.A.]


Who cares if it is 6 months old? It’s still a problem.

From the unscientific sample of the posts in these fora and from more stringent statistical measurements, it seems Virginia has developed a campaign over the past few years of under-defining and overcharging “reckless driving,” which is then negotiated down to a civil infraction, albeit one carrying a hefty monetary penalty. This creates a problem for all drivers who drive in VA and it exacerbates an atmosphere of distrust. It must be addressed legislatively, a very difficult task for the ordinary citizen when confronting moneyed special interests that benefit from such Draconian enforcement.

Why has this campaign been undertaken? I can only speculate but apply similar behavior from other states and what drove them. Likely, a state-level police official trying to enhance his agency’s political power (hence its budget, work force and his influence) lobbied a receptive legislator to modify an extant law. Or it could have been a program designed to obtain a significant federal grant. Likely both. By requiring that reckless driving be charged in all cases where the observed or estimated speed was xx mph over the posted limit, ignoring other circumstances or behavior, the state created a situation where it could negotiate the charge downward in exchange for an increased fine. Make no mistake, money is the sine qua non of modern traffic enforcement. Increased traffic fine revenue explains far more enforcement behavior than any other factor.

Has it been effective? In a word, no. According to NHTSA, Virginia’s “speed-related” fatality rate worsened, (both absolutely and compared to the US, which improved) between 2002 and 2003. Preliminary stats indicate the same trend for 2004.

[JETX]

Originally Posted by James Young

Who cares if it is 6 months old? It’s still a problem.

You have already been warned once (on 12/3/04).... and you were suspended from the site for one month (on 10/14/04). Care to try for it again???
Aw heck, lets just do it.....