Virginians... lend me your ear?

[Sherrypooh]

Ok, long story short, driving through the lovely state of virginia and my 20 yo was caught speeding. Yes, he was speeding, Yes he broke the law.. I get it. My question is... how hard are they going to hit us? any experience? We live in ct and have to appear in court end of January (yes he was speeding that much). Any helpful hints on how to attack this? I understand he will pay the fine, and he needs to. Just trying to get some helpful hints?

TIA

Sherry

 

[Mickeyluver37]

It has always been my experience when getting out of state tickets that you just pay the fine, and you don't get any "points" on your license since you are not licesnsed in that state. Therefore, it doesn't create an insurance issue. Has this changed?

Does he have to go to court or can he just pay the fine? In MD it is standard practice to get a court date for every traffic violation, or you can just pay the fine and assume guilt.

 

[Dictator]

In VA over 20 is reckless. That's a mandatory court date. VA doesn't play around.

 

[NCRedding]

Talk to an attorney in VA. I was speeding in Virginia with an out of state license. I ended up taking an 8 hour driving class online, and sent them a certified copy of my driving record. They dismissed the ticket upon payment of court fees of about $55.

If he was driving in excess of 80 (or 20 miles over the speed limit), then he was probably charged with careless and reckless, which can be serious, and might result in increased insurance points, even if you don't live in that state. SC doesn't report speeding violations to other states, but I think VA might. Also, if you hire an attorney, they can probably appear for him without him having to make another trip to VA.

 

[disney_mommy]

Did they give you an option to pay online? Look to see if that little box is checked. Even going 20 miles over, you still may have that option, if there were no other extenuating circumstances. Besides taking a driving class, your best bet is to just pay the fine. Dictator is right - Virginia doesn't mess around.

 

[allison443]

Some states report viiolations to the home states of ticketed drivers. You could probably find that out on google. .

 

[agnes!]

I hate to say it but the fine should be the least of your concerns...at least if you are a resident of Virginia. It used to be that those 20+mph over points stayed on your driving record for ten years. And yes, I do agree with the posters who say Virginia doesn't mess around.

And God help you if you speed on any of the National Parkways around DC (like George Washington Parkway or Baltimore-Washington Parkway)...those are under the jurisdiction of the US Park Police & you'll have to go to US Eastern District Court to pay your fine and plead your case.

I'm not kidding, but I really think that as an underage driver your son (or you and he gets to pay you back) should probably hire a local attorney. It used to be that a driver could ignore out-of-state tickets & summonses but computers and the Internet have pretty much put an end to that.

agnes!

 

[Green Tea]

Which county or city issued the ticket? It seems to be a county by county thing on how strict the judge is with traffic violations.

 

[Fortune1211]

We literally just had to deal with this. You can google to find an attorney for the county he was speeding through and contact them to find out if they feel he will need to appear in court or not. My DH did not have to, the attorney was there to represent. We had to pay a fine of $500 plus court fees, we're still not sure how it's going to transfer to our state for points/insurance. Good luck!

 

[Binnie]

Those who said that Virginia does not play were dead-on! Reckless driving is charged for anyone driving 20 or more over the limit, and it's a 6-point violation (and a misdemeanor!) in Virginia, and if convicted, it's a jailable offense. Same applies if it was over 80 MPH.

Some juridictions are really tough on offenders, but others are much more lenient. Get an attorney, no matter what. The attorney will advise what to do (usually traffic school), and will have the best chance to striking a deal with the judge or "arresting" officer.

Don't mean to be scary, but this is one to take seriously.

 

[hereyago]

We should have a sign at the borders of Va that say" welcome to Va, just give us a couple hundred dollars now, because we are going to get you".

There is a stretch on 64 from Richmond to Williamsburg especially that it has wooded medians and there are places that the state police can sit and wait and no one can see them until it's too late.

Also, unmarked cars, it is hard to try to keep up with the models they use.

 

[ajk912]

We should have a sign at the borders of Va that say" welcome to Va, just give us a couple hundred dollars now, because we are going to get you".

There is a stretch on 64 from Richmond to Williamsburg especially that it has wooded medians and there are places that the state police can sit and wait and no one can see them until it's too late.

Also, unmarked cars, it is hard to try to keep up with the models they use.

I know the stretch you are talking about, and yup, I very much agree to watch it there!!!

 

[IbeAbitGOOFY]

As a Virginian, I can agree, our state troopers don't play. We had a short lived law that said out-of-state drivers could be fined up to $1,000 for reckless. As said, reckless is a misdemeanor crimal offense and stays on your record for 11 years. VA does report to other states. What is more important here, is that the crimal offense goes on record in a national database. It could preclude him from getting/keeping insurance, getting jobs and holding security clearances (needed for government and some other jobs).

If he was going over 80 MPH or 20 over, hire an attorny. Not that they will be able to get you out of it, but they can help you navigate through it.

Best of luck.

 

[LukenDC]

Something similar happened to someone I know. I'm not sure of all the particulars, but shortly after my friend got his ticket he received a solicitation from a law firm offering to represent him. The firm was legit and for $1,500 was able to reduce the charge and get it off his record. My friend also had to attend a driver safety course.

 

[disney1990]

OP - how fast was he going?

Why is everybody talking about him going 20 miles over the speed limit -- she said he was 20 years old.

 

[Green Tea]

OP - how fast was he going?

Why is everybody talking about him going 20 miles over the speed limit -- she said he was 20 years old.

In VA 20+ is reckless driving and requires a court appearance. I think everyone assumed the ticket was for at least that many mph over since she said he had to appear.

 

[Binnie]

In VA, 20 miles over the speed limit is a magic number, after which reckless driving citations are issued instead of straight speeding tickets (usually). After the 20 miles over, you cannot pay the fine without appearing (or having someone appear) in court.

 

[Sherrypooh]

Just to clarify... ds os 20 he was doing 82 in a 55 in Richmond. Yes hw was speeding, yes he is paying every dime. Thanks for advice... kinda not good but knew it was bad. He has to appear and no I will not be allowing him to drive. Again thanks for the advice.

 

[Christine]

Just to clarify... ds os 20 he was doing 82 in a 55 in Richmond. Yes hw was speeding, yes he is paying every dime. Thanks for advice... kinda not good but knew it was bad. He has to appear and no I will not be allowing him to drive. Again thanks for the advice.

From everything I've read on these charges (locally) you should contact one of the VA lawyers who specialize in this. They can probably get his reckless charge dropped to a regular speeding violation.

 

[Green Tea]

Just to clarify... ds os 20 he was doing 82 in a 55 in Richmond. Yes hw was speeding, yes he is paying every dime. Thanks for advice... kinda not good but knew it was bad. He has to appear and no I will not be allowing him to drive. Again thanks for the advice.

You need an attorney.