What should I do with this speeding ticket?

[sonyyy]

I got caught on I-85, with reckless driving 81/65. It's my first time getting ticket, I just got my license couple months ago. It requires me to appear in court in Lawrenceville, VA. What should I tell say to get myself out of there? It's my first time, I'm a new driver, I just got this car, no experience? What else can I say? Will this increase my insurance? How much do I need to pay? Should I plea guilty or not guilty?

Thanx!!!

 

[notfred]

If it was here, you'd show up in court, and tell the judge you were driving fast, but not recklessly. He'd reduce the charge to speeding, give you the minimum fine, and you'd get 1 point on your license.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

You *might* get it reduced on your own, but I wouldn't take the chance. Get a lawyer.

 

[Angrymarshmello]

What they said. You could also take that drivers ed to have it not appear on your record....not sure can someone with your experience take it though.

 

[Cerebus451]

If you live in Virginia, you can plead guilty and ask the judge that you be allowed to take a defensive driving class to have the ticket expunged from your records. However, some judges will not allow this if the reckless driving is tacked on. I am guessing the reckless driving was tacked on by the officer since normally in Virginia it's not automatic until you are 20 over. Were you weaving in traffic as well? It will depend on the judge what he will or will not allow. As for the fine, unless they have changed things recently, it's $3 per MPH over the limit ($48 in your case) plus court costs, but I cannot remember what the reckless adds on top of that.

As for asking to get out of the ticket, my advice is this: You were speeding, you got caught, pay the fine, and stop speeding.

 

[MichaelD]

The cop was being a typical d!ckhead and trying to get over on you b/c you are a young, new driver.

You were doing 16mph over. Big fat, hairy deal. :| Unless you were weaving and cutting people off, you don't deserve a "reckless" tacked on to that ticket.
What did the cop say to you? If all he did was mention your speed, then do what Cerebus451 suggests. Cops can be such asses.

 

[Optimus]

Wait - was this reckless because of speed, or reckless and speeding?

 

[Hossenfeffer]

<< Cops can be such asses. >>

Yeah, how dare they fine you for speeding after you've:
-been taught to obey speed limit signs
-been told that going faster than the posted speed limit will carry a fine.

The bastards... how dare they.

 

[sonyyy]

It is reckless driving by speed 81/65 zone. It was almost 1 am and I couldn't even see a car ahead or behind me, I was driving in the left lane and he was at the ramp somewhere, when I saw him, I knew I was dead so I started to pull over before he started moving his car after me.

 

[MichaelD]

<<

<< Cops can be such asses. >>

Yeah, how dare they fine you for speeding after you've:
-been taught to obey speed limit signs
-been told that going faster than the posted speed limit will carry a fine.

The bastards... how dare they. >>



I was talking about the reckless part. But we still haven't ascertained whether it says "reckless" on the ticket. That is very important. 16mph over the limit is not reckless in any sense of the word. Especially if it was the middle of the night and the roads were dry and the highway empty.

 

[dabuddha]

<<

<<

<< Cops can be such asses. >>

Yeah, how dare they fine you for speeding after you've:
-been taught to obey speed limit signs
-been told that going faster than the posted speed limit will carry a fine.

The bastards... how dare they. >>



I was talking about the reckless part. But we still haven't ascertained whether it says "reckless" on the ticket. That is very important. 16mph over the limit is not reckless in any sense of the word. Especially if it was the middle of the night and the roads were dry and the highway empty. >>



if it was in the middle of the night, it was reckless
if the posted speed limit is 65, its not that hard to go the speed limit, you just slightly raise your foot off the accelerator and watch how the car slows down

 

[Nitemare]

Nice sig MichaelD

Sounds like the cop is being a jerk, 16 mph over the speed limit on an empty road at 1AM does not deserve a careless and reckless. I'm sure the judge will see this as well. You didn't wise-off or so anything bad to him did you?

My wife got pulled in Va in a speed trap coming back from Virginia Beach. The only reason why he pulled is is because it was a newer vehicle with out of state plates and we both looked young(ball caps)..She was going maybe 5 over the speed limit, but he allegedly clocked her going 12 or so over. Virginia law says that he didn't have to show us the actual speed on the radar gun which he refused to do...She saw him from a distance and even slowed down below the speed limit before she got within 1000 feet of him. ...The lying pr!ck. We got a lawyer to get us out but we still had to pay court fees

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Similar thing happened to me back in 94 (when I started driving), I got a 60/45 and reckless driving. I got the reckless driving charge dropped.

 

[Viper GTS]

16 over got you a reckless driving?

Sucks to be you. I got a 17 over here in Oregon, it's only a class C ticket. (Class D = 1-10 over, Class C = 11-20, Class B = 21-30, Class A = 30+). Paid $75 to the clerk, didn't even bother talking to the judge.

Viper GTS

 

[Cerebus451]

If it was the middle of the night, then I am surprised by the reckless getting tacked on. That was solely at the discretion of the officer. He might have tacked it on just to scare you once he saw how young you are. I was caught doing 74 in a 55 (19 over) at 3 AM on a Sunday morning, but there was no reckless involved. I showed up in court, pleaded guilty, took the defensive driving class, and that was that. A friend was caught doing 24 over, and when he showed up in court the judge announced at the opening of the session that he would not allow someone to take the defensive if they were going more than 19 over. It depends on the judge. You should be able to take the class and get out of it (class will cost you $45 plus 1 Saturday).

Actually, one wrinkle is the fact that you are underage. This might be another factor, and the judge may deny the class on this fact. Another problem is if the judge does allow you to take the class, you have to have a legal guardian attend the class with you (the class I took had a young girl that had to drag her mother along).

Oh, and dabuddha and Nitemare, one thing you may not realise is that since Virginia is the lone state that still outlaws radar detectors, the cops drive down the road with their radars constantly turned on. Once you see the cop, you are clocked and have no chance to slow down. In both instances where I got tickets while living in Virginia, I was caught by a cop traveling in the opposite direction, and even though I slowed as soon as I saw them, it was too late.

 

[punkrawket]

biggest thing you could do is try to get it lessened from reckless to careless... there is a big difference... and pay the fine

 

[MichaelD]

<< if it was in the middle of the night, it was reckless
if the posted speed limit is 65, its not that hard to go the speed limit, you just slightly raise your foot off the accelerator and watch how the car slows down >>



Oh, as opposed to him speeding in the middle of the day, say 5:00PM rush hour when the highway is packed? Puh-leese, he was prolly the only car on the road. The reckless part was pure piggy discretion. He's getting screwed because he's underage and that's the bottom line.

His best bet is to ask for defensive driving and act real sorry. (sad puppy eyes work well)