"Reckless driving" ticket in Va., how handle?

Couple of days ago, I got a reckless-driving ticket near Charlottesville, Virginia. I slid off an unmarked, wet, 90-degree corner on a two-lane I'd never seen before, and I guess they decided that was prima-facie evidence of "reckless driving."

In any event, the problem is that the summons clearly says I _must_ appear in court, can't plead guilty by mail, etc. etc. This requires a 1,200-mile round trip from my home in New York, and I'm wondering if there's some other way such things are handled. Any Virginnys out there who know whether I can hire a lawyer to appear on my behalf, or whatever?

Stephan

If they are nowing requiring you to appear, they should have given you the option to pay at the time the ticket was written. And how can you be now go to ANY court and not be allowed to plead? You have been charged with an infraction by an officer of the law. The judge, or court, should then decide, based on your plea and explanation, what the penalty actually is. I have never paid a fine for anything I appeared in court over. In every case I was given the chance to plead 'not guilty' or 'no contest with explanation' (my favorite). Call AAA and see what they say about these things that could be illegal.

That's serious dude, not something you just want to pay through the mail. Most insurance companies treat that charge just like a DUI as far as coverage loss and rate increases. I'm thinking legal council/advice is warranted

It's impossible for the cop to prove you were reckless if he did not witness such activity. You slid on wet pavement that you never were on before. Get a lawyer in THAT town and plead down or get it dismissed. You could have swerved to avoid a cat or squirrel etc. etc. And call the AAA

In light of the mother who was hauled off to jail for failing to wear a seatbelt, feel lucky you weren't taken outside of the car and beaten.
Just kidding.

I'd call the DA and talk. What they want is your $, that's all. They don't care about making you suffer or creating a big stink. Tell them you're willing to pay but that you cannot appear in court, and be friendly, polite, and willing to accept whatever they say.
They might cut you some slack. Politeness!


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Kurt B
'84 Carrera Cab.
carrera_cabriolet@yahoo.com

I disagree with Kurt for a change, I think. Insurance companies do think of Reckless Driving tickets as equivalent to DUIs. Wet, unfamiliar road with no warning signage, perhaps poor road paint? Still, there are unanswered questions. How fast, my friend? How far did you slide off the road?

If this is truly just and understandable bit of slight over-driving, then I'd bargain for a reduction in the charges.

Perhaps I'm agreeing with Kurt. The local prosecutor makes this call, really. Pleading guilty to reduced charges will preserve your insurance premiums, but there may be a fine. And all should be do-able with no personal appearance.

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'83 SC

When I got in my accident I believe I was 'reckless driving'. There were two police officers across the highway and although they didn't see anything, they deffinetly heard it. I wasn't charged with anything, not even driving with someone elses plates or dirving without insurance. (two VERY stupid things)

Talk to someone, see if they'll cut you some slack. I can't see how you could be charged if you nobody saw anything, even if you were going WAY too fast.

Adam

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1978 911SC 3.0
roseneck@cyberbeach.net

Well personally I can speak form experience seeing as how I have four tickets and currently reside in VA. One of them is a reckless for speeding. In Va a reckless offence is distributed at the officers discretion and as far as I know the violator must appear in court and you cant hire a lawyer to represent you if you are absent. You may however call the # on the summons and ask for a postponed court date and since you are out of state there may be someway you can get around not coming back. If you fail to appear in court than you will be charged with the reckless and a warrant will be sent out to your state for your arrest. VA is really ridiculous when it comes to tickets. Also no payment option is given when you get a reckless because whatever penalty you recieve is determined by the judge(in my case I believe it was 350$). When you go to court it will be just you the officer and the judge no DA or prosecuting lawyer. Also if it was a state trooper be well prepared because they will be. Good luck!

As a soon to be lawyer (Dec. 2001..woo hoo), and currently working for the criminal law clinic, I cannot urge you enough to get a lawyer. As already mentioned, reckless driving is big time in most states Here in Indiana, 3 "biggies" (including DUI, reckless, driving suspended, etc.) in a 10 yr span and you lose the license for 10 yrs! Worse yet, they will import such tickets from other states and they count! Get a lawyer, make the trip, get it reduced. The atty will talk to them b4 you get out there and set up a nice plea agreement, so all you'll have to do is sit and smile.
Not to stir the pot, but rarely do cops just pull up at an accident and say "gee, looks like reckless driving to me." There are always two sides to a story, and something tells me his will be grossly different than yours. Was it a 35mph speed limit? Did your skidmarks go for 100 yards? Was your car another 100 off the road? There has to be more, or he wouldn't have hit you with such a serious charge. Either way, don't just pay it; you'll regret it later. Hire an atty out there to deal with it.

Colby

Stephan - -
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Strongly recommend that you read a recent post on the PCA-Potomac site that I put up several weeks ago. http://www.pcapotomac.org/ubb/Forum17/HTML/000007.html
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It responds DIRECTLY to your question regarding how to handle a Reckless Driving citation in VA - and recommendations. As you will note, I received the posting from a local VA BMW fellow who has "been there, done that" several times.
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Chuck in Reston
83 SC

[Winter]

Some good advice here.

Personally I would:

1. Get a local attorney who knows and works with the local DA.
2. Have him plead the charge down prior to your court date.
3. Take the offer, pay the fines, go on your way.

It might also be helpful if you could provide evidence for your legal representation.
This will assist in the plea and save you money if you can do some of the legwork yourself.

1. Provide detailed weather reports and road conditions from the time of the incident. Anything that can show that road was wet (however, you don't want to illustrate you were driving too fast for hazardous conditions).
2. Lack of clear signage for the road in question. Poor asphalt conditions, etc. A road that has not been properly maintained by the authorities is a hazard, make the case that government is at fault for the neglect and that said neglect was a contributing factor in the incident.
3. Any other items, such as failure of anyone to witness the accident, a past clean driving record with no crashes, etc. that can help with your cause.

This will be expensive up front, but cheaper in the long run. As someone said, they're looking for you $$$$. They'll probably knock the charge down as long as you make a case for yourself and pay up when they do the deal. But, if they don't want to do the deal, then fight like a cornered elephant (and make it clear that you'll do so). That creates a time consuming and costly proposition for them, something that the authorities usually like to avoid with plea agreements.

Good luck.

[SpeedracerIndy]

Originally Posted by Winter

Some good advice here.

Personally I would:
....

Check out the date on this!!! It's from 2001 and was revived by a spammer. Let it die!