Here’s some truth for you, a reckless driving by speed ticket in Virginia can be very sneaky. It’s sneaky because it looks like a simple traffic violation—even the yellow paper the officer gave you looks like a traffic ticket. You were just going a little too fast, right? Time to just pay the fine and move on, right? Nope, I hate to break it to you but you’ve actually been charged with a crime!
Reckless Driving is a criminal offense in Virginia
It is criminal reckless driving in Virginia if you are driving over 20 miles per hour over the posted speed limit or if you are traveling over 80 miles per hour anywhere in the Commonwealth. This is much more than just a traffic ticket. You cannot simply pay a fine—you must appear to defend yourself, meaning the stakes are pretty high.
Reckless Driving by Speed is a class one misdemeanor, the highest Virginia misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $2,500.00, and/or a loss of your license for 6 months. Like I said, these are some pretty high stakes.
Now, a first offender rarely sees the maximum punishments, but perhaps even more importantly is that, if you are convicted, you will have a criminal record for the rest of your life. It is not possible to expunge a criminal charge in Virginia after you have been convicted in a court. Again, it is not a traffic ticket, and definitely not good.
I’ve been charged with Reckless Driving…
Ok so, you’ve been charged, now what? My advice is to download a free copy of my book entitled How Much Trouble am I in Now? The Surprising Truth about Reckless Driving in Virginia. (You can also request a hard-copy of the book be mailed to you). Then give us a call at 757-656-1000 or email us to set up a legal strategy meeting with us to discuss your case.
Finally, try not to worry too much—at our first meeting with you, we guarantee that we will answer all of your questions and at that meeting, we can get your defense started.
Be sure to call as soon as you can. Reckless Driving cases usually come up in court pretty fast and the sooner we can get your defense started, the better for everyone. We look forward to meeting with you and to help to get you through this. See you soon.
Want to know even more about Reckless Driving in Virginia, find more of our blog posts here.