hot to deal with VA speeding ticket

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't pay the ticket- hire an ttorney to get it reduced- the courts are full of people who are there for their third reckless driving, DUI etc.. you have a +5 record which is the highest. They aren't there to get people like you. A coworker just went through this and he went to court- got this 10+ year proof of no citations from the DMV, dressed up, talked to the DA who already knew who he was since he had a +5, told him she'd drop it, pay court fees ($50) if he took an online course. Don't take an online course before court- it only adds points. If you have +5 you can't add anymore points. I also got a ticket- I have a 15 year no citation record- got it in good old OBX- I was going really fast (same thing- spaced out, late) and in NC you have to to go to court or hire an attny). I hired an attny who said with my record he was sure he could get it reduced to a non moving violation. I paid a lot (so they got their money) but I didnt get hit with the points.

Check out city-forum for advice like this- if you have a clean record- you should always try to get it reduced- those points will hit your insurance!

Sorry, but I disagree. I went to court, dressed in a suit, completely professional with a perfect driving record. Didn't work. The DA wouldn't talk to me (this is Fairfax County). Paying for a lawyer, court fees, etc? That is way more than the $217.00 + the slight increase in your insurance. I learned it is NOT worth the gamble.

DH hired a lawyer for a 20+ reckless driving. Perfect driving record. Took the course. Judge reduced the charge. Cost about $2000.00 total.

[Anonymous]

You're feeling so bad and this is all because you got caught.

Just suck it up and pay for the consequences. Literally.

[Anonymous]

The same thing happened to me. I was going 17 over. My mother is an atty from the south and told me to see if they have traffic school. I asked the judge if I could go to traffic school and she said yes. It is online and basically a refresher of all the traffic laws. I did it in one weekend. I also had to pass a test at a testing center (it came with the cost of traffic school). Once I passed I took the certificate to the court and they didnt put the ticket or any points on my record. I only paid for the class (85$) and court cost (60). It was great and it helped me brush up on my driving skills.

[Anonymous]

I also got a Virginia speeding ticket last week. I was NOT cited for reckless driving and the fine is about $190. I fully admit I was speeding. It was mid day and I was late.

Prior to this I have 21 years of no tickets of any kind. (last ticket was at age 17). I feel like an idiot for speeding as I am usually very careful. I was on a 55mph road and entered a 35mph curve and didn't slow down fast enough. Stupid, I know.

If I go to court am I risking getting the charges up to reckless driving? (I was going 22 miles/our over)? The police officer was extremely nice and never mentioned reckless as a possibility and said he was sorry he had to ticket me.

Will taking an online or inperson course in advance of the hearing reduce the points? I'm confused about the above responses.

[Anonymous]

I don't know about VA, so this is more of a PSA for DC residents. A lot of people don't know about DC's "good points" system. For every year you have your license in DC and don't have any citations, you accrue two "good points" which serve to offset the points of an eventual citation. I had eight good points on my record for four years of clean driving on my DC license. A VA speeding ticket I got a few months ago carried four points, which leaves me with no points on my record, and four "good points".

Check and see if VA has a similar system (though I expect someone would have mentioned it by now if there was one).

Otherwise, you have my sympathy. Feels awful to get a speeding ticket when you're a habitual rule-follower.

[Anonymous]

VA has (or had) a + points system, I think +3 is the max.

What county? That matters. In Arlington you might be able to meet w/ the prosecutor and cop beforehand and see if you can get it reduced to 19 over, that should affect fine, etc.

OTOH you already caught a break with no reckless so it just depends on how lucky you may get. In Fairfax I don't know how they handle it.

[Anonymous]

VA has a +5 max - those of you at first telling OP to just the pay the fine given her stellar driving record are IMO in la la land. Do you really think the judge will oversentence her for even trying to get some mercy from the court?

Whatever, made my case just last month of having a stellar record for over 11 years (most VA DMV can go back) even more compelling to give me some consideration since 1) most of you are scared and will pay the fine (even if you have a good record) 2) the only people showing up to court are repeated DUIs (no choice/obligatory court appearance), repeated reckless driving- mainly people who are mandated to court. I had no issue and yes, I did go over but they really are after the problem childs- I am not the problem child with a 11 (really more if it went back) clean record).

One ticket/instance of going over does not mean you have to ruin your record- points-wise or insurance (again- if you have a good record). There are so many defeatists here.