Reckless Driving in Wythe County - this is info, not a question! (Roanoke: rental car, rental)

[Trix123]

I found great info on this site, but over on the N. VA forum. Since I found that by googling, I thought I would just respond to this thread with info that might help someone who gets a ticket on this side of the state, specifically in Wythe County.

I got a 87/70 on 77 coming home from MI on 12/28/11. Driving since 4AM, rental car, holiday traffic, trying not to speed but hitting brakes cut off the cruise control, drifted up in speed, he got me. Long story short, I was shocked by the reckless driving charge. I got online, read stuff here, decided to take my chances without a lawyer, I live about 170 miles away.

Court was today. Showed up at 8 for 8:30 court time. There were no deals in the hall with the cop or the DA. Old lady judge and 8-10 atty's in the courtroom, representing mostly out of state people who weren't there, plus a few people that were there. Everyone was charged with RD, everyone got a similar deal - Improper Driving ("ID" - 3 pts) and a fine in the 250-400 range plus driver improvement school ("DIS"). or Defective Equipment ("DE" - 0 pts) with a fine in the 100-225 range plus DIS. I didn't hear any speeds for the people that weren't there.

Then they did the "w/o lawyer" group. There was a young guy 85/65 - he got the DE with DIS, $200 fine. A young girl 89/70, student, she got DE with DIS and $100 fine. A soldier got the only reduction to "Speeding" I'd heard - I didn't hear his speed, but I think it was really fast. She didn't seem like she wanted to do it, but he got a $400 fine, no DIS.

Driving record was important, so was "polite and cooperative" with the cop. So was something to the effect of "did his speeding endanger the cars around him." Dress code didn't seem to matter so much, but nobody was slobby. Didn't matter if you pled guilty or not - she still asked for your side, listened and treated it like not guilty.

I got up there, pled not guilty, cop said I was polite & respectful (I thought I actually gave him a pretty hard time - not abusive, but asking lots of hysterical questions), not endangering anyone around me, the judge didn't ask about my driving record thank God, my excuse was "I just didn't know I was going that fast" which was true. So I ended up with DE, DIS and $100 fine. No lawyer. Couldn't believe it. I must have gotten 10 letters from local lawyers telling me how much I needed them - misdemeanor, high fines, insurance hikes - and I ended up with -0- pts and about $250 in fine, court costs and DIS. Plus gas & hotel.

After watching all that, I think I saw a pattern. DE if your driving record was good - $100 fine if less than 20 over, $200 if 20+ over. ID if your record was not good, higher fine. And higher fines in general for both if you had a lawyer. I can see why they do the lawyered ones first - I would be really mad if I watched unlawyered people end up with the same or better deal than I got. What a racket!

I'm not suggesting that you do anything in particular, depends on your individual case. I just don't see how a lawyer helped in THAT courtroom.

[brugetsb]

Thank you Trix123. After reading your post, I decided to go to my court date in Wythe county.

I am from Florida, and received a reckless driving citation on I-77 while driving back to Florida from New York. It was 4:55 in the morning, and I was doing 85 in a 70. I can honestly say I had an almost identical experience as what you mentioned. I had a panic attack right before entering the courtroom about not hiring a lawyer, and for no good reason.

The people with attorneys went first, as you mentioned, and all reckless cases were fined between 200-400 dollars depending on the speed/location etc and given "improper driving" instead of reckless. I was the second of the people without lawyers to stand in front of the judge ( I didn't hear what his outcome was).

I plead not guilty. The police officer had nothing in his notes about whether or not I was "polite and cooperative" (which I was, but he said he didn't have a comment on it). I explained my side of the story to the judge (I simply did not realize how fast I was going and that there was no one on the road). I also presented an 8 hour drivers safety certificate from a course that I attended in Florida, as well as my previous driving record (which in all honesty is not that great- I rolled through a stop sign earlier this year and was in a fender bender a few years ago).

I think the fact that I was prepared, decided to make the effort to drive back to Wythe for my appearance, and was dressed relatively professional went a long way with the judge. After telling the judge my side of the story he took a minute to look over the certificate and information I gave him- then dismissed my citation completely. No ticket, no misdemeanor, no fines what-so-ever. My jaw must have hit the floor because I swear the judge laughed at me when he saw my expression after telling me he was letting off completely.

As you said, every case is different, but I too do not see how hiring a lawyer if you were simply speeding would help your case at all.

After reading all of the posts on other websites, and like you mentioned- all the lawyer letters, I kept coming back to your post feeling that it was the most genuine and logical. I appreciate your input and hope that other people looking for information about Wythe county reckless driving citations can learn from our experiences.

[thelorax55]

I just got spanked for 84/65 on I-81 in Roanoke County. I live in PA and was wondering what driving course you took...was it for Florida or for Virginia? I noticed that the VA online courses say you have to take a final exam in person at specific locations, and that is not going to work for me. Did you just do a random online course? Was it VA DMV approved? I'd like to be proactive also, but I don't want to waste money and time on a program that the court won't recognize. Thanks for any info you can provide!

[j1n]

I think you all need to slow down.

[Kreutz]

Originally Posted by thelorax55

I just got spanked for 84/65 on I-81 in Roanoke County.

They're gonna stick it to your wallet good.

[thirty-eight]

Thanks Trix and Brug for sharing your experiences. Similar situation. Will have to fly in for court date and would hope to be completely prepared....driving record, DI course, etc. It is good to know self-representing is not frowned upon by the court.

[bncamp91]

For anyone
did you all do the in person DI course or the online??

[kh2589]

Hi,

I recently received a reckless driving citation in Wythe County. 85/70. I am on a F-1 Visa, what should I do? Initially I was planning to go for a lawyer but after reading this, I am not sure if I can do it without a lawyer. I have a NJ license so I am not sure what implications will this charge have on me. Can anyone please advise me what I should do? If I need to hire a lawyer, do you have any recommendation?

Thank you so much for your help!

[Vacanegro]

Hire a local lawyer (in Whthe county) that is probably most of the reason you got the reckless charge was so you can support the local legal community.

Your lawyer will represent you in court you will get a fine + probable reduction in the charge + lawyer's fees of course.

You really have very little choice unless you plan to return on your court date.

[kh2589]

Thank you so much for your prompt response. If I hire a lawyer, is there a chance that the charges are dropped completely or this doesn't happen? The reason I ask this is because my company would be filing a work visa and I don't want to have a charge on my application. And do you have any idea about the fine and lawyer fee for all of this? And if I plan to visit the court would it be helpful? I have the license for a year now and have completely clean history.

Thank you so much for your help. Much appreciated!