BBV: Anyone know Virginia traffic laws??

[rubbrband]

If I were you I would just pay the ticket and never worry about it again.

[BigJohn804]

Wiper,

It basically depends on what judge you get as to what you will be able to get as far penalty. If you take it to court, I would be very surprised if a judge gave you online traffic school for going 21mph over, but ya never know.

It should say on your ticket if he gave you speeding or reckless operation. Anything 20mph over the limit in VA can be written as reckless, which is a felony in VA, and as you said, I think they get discretion on any offense over 80mph as well.

As far as the fines, it's usually $5 for every mph over the limit, plus court costs, plus I'm sure there are additional fines if he's got you for reckless on top of the speeding.

I think I'd at least talk to a couple of the lawyers and see what they say about the jurisdiction you got pulled in and what they might be able to do for you. And I'd definitely check to see if he marked it reckless, because that's when it's really serious business.

[Dave D]

Ok this is the second time I'll say this.

The ticket won't affect your insurance/points etc, it's out of state. Just pay the ticket. Dont bother with the letter, and don't both with the driving class.

[rubbrband]

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Anything 20mph over the limit in VA can be written as reckless, which is a felony in VA, and as you said, I think they get discretion on any offense over 80mph as well.

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LOL @ calling it a felony

[wiper]

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It should say on your ticket if he gave you speeding or reckless operation. Anything 20mph over the limit in VA can be written as reckless, which is a felony in VA, and as you said, I think they get discretion on any offense over 80mph as well.



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the way the officer explained it, anything 15mph over is considered reckless, and i was doing 21mph over, and it definitely says 'reckless driving by speed' on the ticket, which is a misdemeanor 1, it's right here in front of me.

i'm leaning towards just sending in the paperwork, probably with a letter to the judge, and maybe with the receipts from the driving school (to appear proactive)...there's not too much of a chance of me driving down there..

the problem i see with just 'paying the fine', is i don't want the fine to be obnoxious. i'll pay it anyway, but i'm not trying to pay $1,000 because some judge is having a bad day. send me a bill for $200-$500ish, and i'll pay it that day. but i'd just like to know ahead of time if i'll be getting a)points on my license, b) a ridiculous fine, or c) my license suspended.

[rubbrband]

No way will this ticket be over 500 unless maybe you were in a double fine zone or something. I think the officer would have told you if you were.

[Maybe]

[ QUOTE ]

the way the officer explained it, anything 15mph over is considered reckless, and i was doing 21mph over, and it definitely says 'reckless driving by speed' on the ticket, which is a misdemeanor 1, it's right here in front of me.

i'm leaning towards just sending in the paperwork, probably with a letter to the judge, and maybe with the receipts from the driving school (to appear proactive)...there's not too much of a chance of me driving down there..

the problem i see with just 'paying the fine', is i don't want the fine to be obnoxious. i'll pay it anyway, but i'm not trying to pay $1,000 because some judge is having a bad day. send me a bill for $200-$500ish, and i'll pay it that day. but i'd just like to know ahead of time if i'll be getting a)points on my license, b) a ridiculous fine, or c) my license suspended.

[/ QUOTE ]

I got the exact same ticket (85mph) on the exact same road in Virginia this past winter. I'm from out of state as well (MA) and I filled out the paperwork, wrote a note to the judge, and just this past week got my $266.00 fine in the mail. You only have about 10 days to pay it, so don't let it get lost in a pile of bills.....

If you have a clean record, I wouldn't worry about it at all and just pay up.

[wiper]

[ QUOTE ]


I got the exact same ticket (85mph) on the exact same road in Virginia this past winter. I'm from out of state as well (MA) and I filled out the paperwork, wrote a note to the judge, and just this past week got my $266.00 fine in the mail. You only have about 10 days to pay it, so don't let it get lost in a pile of bills.....

If you have a clean record, I wouldn't worry about it at all and just pay up.

[/ QUOTE ]

awesome...that's the response i wanted to see. my record isn't exactly 'clean' driving-wise, though it has been for some time now.

[wiper]

quick update, in case anyone cares: just got the ticket in the mail today...i was convicted of reckless driving, and owe a fine of $471, to be paid before July 16, or else my license will be suspended and/or jailtime and/or reinstatement fees...

fwiw, i never sent a letter or anything, just the ticket in an envelope...

*shrug*

kinda expensive, but then, from what everyone has said, that's Virginia...

[wiper]

but like i said earlier...

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send me a bill for $200-$500ish, and i'll pay it that day.

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self-addressed stamped envelope is already sitting here, ready to be mailed on monday..