alpinadvl

Was only a matter of time.....

Picked up my car on Monday , received ticket Friday night....technically Saturday at 1:30 am.

I was driving on 495, with relative free and fast moving traffic....got a "92 in a 55." which is "reckless driving" in VA - I was actually caught off guard by the number...because I was sure I was going 80 or so. I am also sure I was singled out by the cop (he must of heard about my "good deal on the 993!"

The ticket was in Fairfax County, Virginia.
It has errors : such as my physical description, the year of the car is incorrect, and my birthdate is incorrect. I asked the officer at the time (was very polite - I almost thought I would walk away from this one) if I can see the radar or get a printout - he said "we dont do that in virginia" (wtf ??)


Anyway, I have read the majority of the posts on this forum (especially the great writeup by PeterS ) last night and this am.



-->I was wondering if any fellow members can give specific recommendations as far as legal counsel, and also maybe write the outcomes of your own experiences with high speed tickets / "reckless driving".



ps: what bs......I had plenty of spare room to reach 168 !
(maybe the "legal limit" should be 40mph below your car's stated top speed......hmmmm....."Sir, but I was ONLY going 201mph !!" - McLaren F1 owner)

slider172

I got one going 10 mph over while bringing my car back from Tuscon.Everyone was going 10 over at the time. I just happened to be the guy going 10 over in a Porsche.I would say you will be wise to hire a lawyer for this one! Then get a V1 ( I know illegal in VA) and pay attention . Good Luck !

Wilder

I believe errors on a ticket = get out of jail free card. Talk to a lawyer but I think you just got off lucky.

911URGE

Not always. My brother had a ticket with errors similar to the one above and the ticket "stuck". Judge stated officer poor at copying information but the details of the infraction (descript/ code) were accurate therefor he had to pay the fine.

Quadcammer

nope, if he got the plate number, the license number, and the day and road correct, you aren't gonna get very far on technicalities.

Best bet is to go to court (if its near you), speak with the prosecutor, and get the points dropped. If they don't do points down there, you might as well just suck it up and pay the fine.

Dudley

Wrong, speak to a lawyer first. If you don't have a specific referral, call the local ABA for a someone with traffic court expertise.

993MAN

I am used to getting tickets mate. I just pay up and shut up.
They do single Porsches out all the time, we are easy bait. There's dozens of grumpy posts about speeding tickets. Slider is right, get a V1 but keep it a bit hidden away.
It won't be too long before radars are illegal everywhere soon. ******.
Good luck.

Quadcammer

How is a lawyer gonna prove he wasn't speeding? Sure you can get into the calibration of the radar gun, but any decent police officer will calibrate as necessary. Even worse if it was a pacing situation.

Not to mention that the lawyer will most likely cost as much or more than the fine, and if no points are issued, then it really doesn't have terribly much of an affect, given that your driving record isn't bad and your insurance isn't real stingy.

alpinadvl

That's my feeling too. I think the technicality-thing works better for parking tickets.

I am thinking of just going to the court house prior to my scheduled hearing (Feb 14th) and just getting an idea. Siit around in court to listen to others' cases. I can do some business by text messaging on my cell phone while I am spending my time there (so wont ba a complete waste of time)

I am getting mixed signals as far as attorney vs. no attorney ....yesterday I was convinced about getting legal counsel....today, I am thinking about representing myself.

foolish? or good learning experience? anyone with firsthand experience in Virginia?

Berkley

A good local lawyer can get it knocked down from "wreckless driving" to speeding........add another $2,000 to the cost of your Porsche though

Your best hope is that policeman is a "no show" in court

95 C4 993

1. Take your medicine and pay it.
2. Spend some $$$ and see if a lawyer can make some ground in getting it reduced.

Regardless, your probably going to end up with some type of speeding ticket. I dont think the minor errors on the ticket will justify a ticket thrown out.

If it were me, I would just deal with it and take my medicine. I dont have time to waste with court and lawyers over a ticket.

Either way, your out some $$$ and insurance increases-most likely

Dudley

Best of luck.

billhart

Virginia is known to be very tough on speeders, and has put folks in jail for a few days, just to show that they mean business. You should absolutely hire a lawyer. As I indicated in another thread here about dealing with a speeding ticket in Pa., I am not of the mind to accept the charges at face value, since they have long term repercussions on your record. For that reason alone, I would get counsel, to attempt to have the charges reduced. As indicated, I am a lawyer, and would never represent myself in these matters. You need someone who knows the particular court and the players. Good luck.

Slow Guy

I would be very careful about this esp. in VA, for offenses like this they can and will cart you off to jail for 30 days as soon as you plead guilty in court.

On 10 - 15 mph over I pay the fine, consult a lawyer on this one.

JFScheck

Go to court - admit you were speeding but traveling with the flow of traffic and at no time did you ever see your speedometer exceed ## (make one up that you feel comfortable with) speed.

Don't hire the lawyer. Too much money. Try to get them to drop the points and sometimes they will lower the speed amount as well.

Don't forget to tell them that you were surprised at how fast the officer said he clocked you at and that when you asked to see this speed his said "No - We don't do that here". Also tell them you had your speedometer checked at the shop and that it is good.
Bet you they lower the speed you exceeded and zero points.
It has worked for me before in that damn Commonwealth south of Maryland!!!

What I want the judge to agree with here is that this is too serious an offense not to be shown some sort of evidence!!!