[daberlin]

About six years ago I was pulled over when I failed to fully stop while leaving the Dulles Airport Exxon Gas Station (near the long distance parking lots), as well as for running the red light at the adjacent intersection.

Late 30 years old, in my gray BMW E39 528i; nothing flashy. Loudon County LEO asked why I failed to stop at the stop sign. I apologized of course and said I never saw the stop sign he was talking about - he pointed to the one set back on the bank of grass at the gas station. I'd never seen it before and I'd been filling up at that gas station for YEARS. As for the Red light, I again politely apologized and said I honestly thought it was yellow as I went through - truth.

Figured I'd get a ticket for one or the other and be on my way. LEO calmly walks back to my car after what seemed like forever with my Virginia DR (I was in process of moving to California) and simply hands me his clipboard to sign and says 'here is the court date, please drive more carefully'. I look down on the ticket. Reckless Driving. I was floored. It was 9am on a Sunday, barely any cars to be seen. I couldn't believe it. As I proceeded to lift my jaw off the ground, I kept my yap shut, signed the citation, and flew back to LA.

First phone call Monday morning was to a Loudon County Law Office. Lawyer laughed after I sent him all my material explaining the ticket, and said welcome to Loudon County's tax revenue machine. I never even had to appear in court; lawyer said don't even bother flying back for this. Lawyer appeared on my behalf, negotiated with the County Prosecutor, and I was fined about $350 (if memory serves) for a lesser charge of 'unsafe driving'. The legal bill was about $800.

That damn stop sign at the Dulles Exxon Station still mocks me to this day. Amusingly for about two years after my ticket it lay on the ground after someone knocked it down. I'm guessing I wasn't the only one who got zapped at that intersection.

Moral of the story OP, take the advice of the folks here, learn your lesson, get a lawyer, and drive more carefully. Good luck.

[greekcs]

I had a 5 point cell phone ticket dismissed earlier today. Of course I had to hire an attorney. NYC sucks.

[F30Rez]

Geez you don't realize how serious some of these things are until you hear more about them or get caught definitely gonna drive much more carefully, got alittle cocky cause I haven't gotten a ticket in a while.. I'm hiring a lawyer and gonna take online classes for driving improvement to get 5 points back I believe lawyer said it'll look good for court too, appreciate all the stories and advice.

[redbullfan]

Originally Posted by NightWriter

I'm not pretending I never speed; most people do. But weaving around traffic and driving aggressively--especially with escalating aggressiveness between two drivers--is the textbook definition of reckless driving, and troopers should absolutely be citing drivers for it.

Maybe it seemed harmless to you, and perhaps it was relatively benign. But just because a cop wasn't able to get a fixed reading on your speed doesn't mean you're innocent. And if you lost a friend or loved one to an aggressive driver, your outlook might be different.

I totally understand where you're coming from, I had no intent of driving aggressively at all and I do believe I was at fault for it. I was just getting frustrated because the driver in front of me was playing games on the passing lane. I do understand I was partly at fault.

Originally Posted by smithf32

Sounds to me like you're the one who was a dick.

If you need to go 90 to pass someone then you were both already traveling fast enough. If he was going even 60 in a 55 you would have had to do 70 at the most to pass.

You were already speeding (my guess 20 over, based on a 55 limit) and you wanted to go even faster. Please park mommy and daddy's BMW until you learn some responsibility.

Nowhere did I say I was going 90 to pass. I was just quoting that the trooper said he had to go 90 to catch up to me. the reason why he might have gone 90 was because he was stopped and he had to pull out onto the road. Im not saying I wasn't going over the limit to overtake the guy in front of me, but I did not go 90 mph to do so.

With all due respect Smith, I earned the car. Yes, my parents bought it for me, but I did work for it.

I learned from my mistake and have moved on. I just wanted to share what I had gone through. I'm not trying to disrespect anyone on the forum and I appreciate everyone's opinion.

[kadify]

Originally Posted by redbullfan

I totally understand where you're coming from, I had no intent of driving aggressively at all and I do believe I was at fault for it. I was just getting frustrated because the driver in front of me was playing games on the passing lane. I do understand I was partly at fault.


With all due respect Smith, I earned the car. Yes, my parents bought it for me, but I did work for it.

I mean absolutely no offense in saying this but coming from someone who was in your position, wherein my parents bought me a nice luxury car, there are fairly limited ways for a 16-17 year old to actually 'earn' a $50k car. Sorry but it's true. I'm not saying you're not an excellent child and are stellar at whatever it is your parents want you to be good at, but it'd be a lot more humbling to say that 'your parents bought your car for you and you are very appreciative that they did so' rather than trying to justify how you 'earned' a $50k+ luxury vehicle.

Again only giving you this advice because I was in a similar situation when I was younger and I know first hand that people are a lot less likely to automatically judge you on being spoiled if you take a humble approach than to insinuate that you somehow did something that would have netted you in excess of $50k by the time you were 16-17. If you did in fact, do something (ie. start a business, etc.) and did actually earn the money to buy your car and your parents just signed for you then more power to you!

[redbullfan]

Originally Posted by kadify

I mean absolutely no malice in saying this but coming from someone who was in your position, wherein my parents bought me a nice luxury car, there are fairly limited ways for a 16-17 year old to actually 'earn' a $50k car. Sorry but it's true. I'm not saying you're not an excellent child and are stellar at whatever it is your parents want you to be good at, but it'd be a lot more humbling to say that 'your parents bought your car for you and you are very appreciative that they did so' rather than trying to justify how you 'earned' a $50k+ luxury vehicle.

Again only giving you this advice because I was in a similar situation when I was younger and I know first hand that people are a lot less likely to automatically judge you on being spoiled if you take a humble approach than to insinuate that you somehow did something that would have netted you in excess of $50k by the time you were 16-17. If you did in fact, do something (ie. start a business, etc.) and did actually earn the money to buy your car and your parents just signed for you then more power to you!

The car was nowhere near $50k+. It was bought used and it costed as much as a brand new honda accord coupe v6 maybe a bit cheaper. I worked in my fathers business and worked towards it. I wanted the accord coupe v6 at first and I came across the car I have now which was reasonably priced. I used to drive a 7th gen Honda accord 16-19.
Im assuming you think i got the car brand new back in 2013. The answer is no i did not, i got it last august of 2015 and i was 19 at the time, not 16-17.

[kadify]

Originally Posted by redbullfan

The car was nowhere near $50k+. It was bought used and it costed as much as a brand new honda accord coupe v6 maybe a bit cheaper. I worked in my fathers business and worked towards it. I wanted the accord coupe v6 at first and I came across the car I have now which was reasonably priced. I used to drive a 7th gen Honda accord 16-19.
Im assuming you think i got the car brand new back in 2013. The answer is no i did not, i got it last august of 2015 and i was 19 at the time, not 16-17.

I had assumed that but even if you got the car used, I think what I said still stands. Even if you had gotten a new Honda Accord, I think it still comes across a bit less abrasively to say you were very thankful for your parents buying you your car in return for the work you did for them at their business than to try and justify how you managed to earn the money for such a car in such a short amount of time. That's all. Again I'm making broad assumptions that may or may not apply directly to you. I'm just coming from my own perspective and know that people were less... 'put off' I suppose, when I was humble on how I had the car I had rather than trying to explain that I had earned the car somehow working for my parents. I hope this is coming across how I intend. Again no offense intended and this is only friendly advice. You're welcome to say whatever you wish depending on your circumstances =)

[adhrp]

Originally Posted by kadify

I think it still comes across a bit less abrasively to say you were very thankful for your parents buying you your car in return for the work you did for them at their business than to try and justify how you managed to earn the money for such a car in such a short amount of time.

redbullfan You don't need to justify anything to anyone. Certainly, not to random people on a forum. I've noticed on forums many times that teens get all sorts of unsolicited advice (ironically that's what I, too, am doing right now). Save yourself the trouble and try not to respond to anyone with explanations on things that they aren't concerned with, especially when they don't know jack shitte about your background.

[F30Rez]

Just an update on my ticket.. I hired an attorney told him everything what happened all truth, court was on past Thursday, thank god no jail time, he was able to bring it down to a speeding ticket (15 over I believe) and 6 points off with a fine of $250, as he came out of the prosecutors office he spoke to me that it was extremely hard to get it down and the prosecutor wasn't having it she put my speeding in a scenario of me basically going 100 on 55, I was going about 65-70 on 35 as I admitted to the cop he did not detect me, which is jail time he said.. He started to tell me that he begged so hard for me to barely get away with it, I feel like these lawyers do make them sound good, he even said that no other lawyer would've been able to bring it down.. That was a bit cocky of him to say but whatever now, no misdemeanor on my record no jail time no license suspended just a waste of 650 for the lawyer and 317 on the fine and court fee, I also need to take the driver Improvment class to gain 5 points back.. After all this headache/concerning and money wasted I did learn a lot from it.. I no longer do anything stupid

[Aatish]

Originally Posted by F30Rez

Just an update on my ticket.. I hired an attorney told him everything what happened all truth, court was on past Thursday, thank god no jail time, he was able to bring it down to a speeding ticket (15 over I believe) and 6 points off with a fine of $250, as he came out of the prosecutors office he spoke to me that it was extremely hard to get it down and the prosecutor wasn't having it she put my speeding in a scenario of me basically going 100 on 55, I was going about 65-70 on 35 as I admitted to the cop he did not detect me, which is jail time he said.. He started to tell me that he begged so hard for me to barely get away with it, I feel like these lawyers do make them sound good, he even said that no other lawyer would've been able to bring it down.. That was a bit cocky of him to say but whatever now, no misdemeanor on my record no jail time no license suspended just a waste of 650 for the lawyer and 317 on the fine and court fee, I also need to take the driver Improvment class to gain 5 points back.. After all this headache/concerning and money wasted I did learn a lot from it.. I no longer do anything stupid

Good to hear no jail time. I wouldn't call it a waste of money for the lawyer. Probably would have been worse if you went without one.

Either way, this is a somewhat happy ending to what many (including myself) would consider a nightmare.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by F30Rez

whatever now, no misdemeanor on my record no jail time no license suspended just a waste of 650 for the lawyer and 317 on the fine and court fee, I also need to take the driver Improvment class to gain 5 points back.. After all this headache/concerning and money wasted I did learn a lot from it.. I no longer do anything stupid

Doesn't sound like a waste to me. No misdemeanor, no jail time, no license suspension sounds like GREAT use of $650

glad it worked out for you OP

[F30Rez]

I meant waste as in I shouldn't have been speeding in the first place, but yeah glad I basically got the least punishment possible

[Beek]

$650 for the Lawyer was the best money you ever spent. Considering some of the possibilities if I were you I'd buy some lottery tickets, this could be your lucky day. Thanks for sharing your story, I'll be honest and admit it got me thinking about some of the stuff I've gotten away with and planning some track time so I can maybe do some of that stuff again, without needing my Attorney. Good Luck!

[eluded]

Has the OP not lawyered up yet?

A wise bird once told me, in order for it to be reckless there has to be others on the road. The juror did acquit.

[RAK92]

Great to hear it all worked out. Yea, I did the Driving Improvement Course BEFORE my court date. The judged looked at my "clean" driving record from IL (guess Virginia DMV doesn't get the info over to IL DMV with speeding tickets - lol) and said "faulty equipment, $50 fine". With the court costs and lawyer fee which was $300, I came out OK.

The lawyer really didn't do anything in front of the judge. I wanted to be there so I could personally hear what was said. I think judges take that into account when handing down the sentence (the fact that the accused took it seriously and retained a lawyer, etc). I wonder what would have happened if I (or you) didn't have a lawyer. I mean, it's not a trial with a lot of legal mumbo jumbo, but I'd be willing to bet we'd be looking at reckless driving on our records!

[435MSport6Speed]

Originally Posted by F30Rez

Just an update on my ticket.. I hired an attorney told him everything what happened all truth, court was on past Thursday, thank god no jail time, he was able to bring it down to a speeding ticket (15 over I believe) and 6 points off with a fine of $250, as he came out of the prosecutors office he spoke to me that it was extremely hard to get it down and the prosecutor wasn't having it she put my speeding in a scenario of me basically going 100 on 55, I was going about 65-70 on 35 as I admitted to the cop he did not detect me, which is jail time he said.. He started to tell me that he begged so hard for me to barely get away with it, I feel like these lawyers do make them sound good, he even said that no other lawyer would've been able to bring it down.. That was a bit cocky of him to say but whatever now, no misdemeanor on my record no jail time no license suspended just a waste of 650 for the lawyer and 317 on the fine and court fee, I also need to take the driver Improvment class to gain 5 points back.. After all this headache/concerning and money wasted I did learn a lot from it.. I no longer do anything stupid

I think you did well.

[fecurtis]

Reckless is considered a misdemeanor in VA, spend a couple hundred bucks and lawyer up.

Depending on your driving record, you can just get it dropped to speeding in most cases and be on your way.

I used to live in P-Falls, where'd you get pulled over at?

EDIT: I see you got the usual outcome around here. Glad to see it all worked out. The whole jail time thing is overplayed from that stupid Jalopnik article. You have to either:

1. Have a horrendously shitty driving record, with a history of reckless behavior.
and/or
2. Be going exceptionally fast over the speed limit (90 mph is a risk, 100 mph+ you're going to jail).

All other times, it's common that it's reduced to speeding.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by RAK92

I wonder what would have happened if I (or you) didn't have a lawyer.

but I'd be willing to bet we'd be looking at reckless driving on our records!

+1 on that

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by redbullfan

I totally understand where you're coming from, I had no intent of driving aggressively at all and I do believe I was at fault for it. I was just getting frustrated because the driver in front of me was playing games on the passing lane. I do understand I was partly at fault.


Nowhere did I say I was going 90 to pass. I was just quoting that the trooper said he had to go 90 to catch up to me. the reason why he might have gone 90 was because he was stopped and he had to pull out onto the road. Im not saying I wasn't going over the limit to overtake the guy in front of me, but I did not go 90 mph to do so.

With all due respect Smith, I earned the car. Yes, my parents bought it for me, but I did work for it.

I learned from my mistake and have moved on. I just wanted to share what I had gone through. I'm not trying to disrespect anyone on the forum and I appreciate everyone's opinion.

LOL. Yeah, you earned it by existing and breathing air. Congrats!

Originally Posted by kadify

I mean absolutely no offense in saying this but coming from someone who was in your position, wherein my parents bought me a nice luxury car, there are fairly limited ways for a 16-17 year old to actually 'earn' a $50k car. Sorry but it's true. I'm not saying you're not an excellent child and are stellar at whatever it is your parents want you to be good at, but it'd be a lot more humbling to say that 'your parents bought your car for you and you are very appreciative that they did so' rather than trying to justify how you 'earned' a $50k+ luxury vehicle.

Again only giving you this advice because I was in a similar situation when I was younger and I know first hand that people are a lot less likely to automatically judge you on being spoiled if you take a humble approach than to insinuate that you somehow did something that would have netted you in excess of $50k by the time you were 16-17. If you did in fact, do something (ie. start a business, etc.) and did actually earn the money to buy your car and your parents just signed for you then more power to you!

[F30Rez]

Originally Posted by fecurtis

Reckless is considered a misdemeanor in VA, spend a couple hundred bucks and lawyer up.

Depending on your driving record, you can just get it dropped to speeding in most cases and be on your way.

I used to live in P-Falls, where'd you get pulled over at?

EDIT: I see you got the usual outcome around here. Glad to see it all worked out. The whole jail time thing is overplayed from that stupid Jalopnik article. You have to either:

1. Have a horrendously shitty driving record, with a history of reckless behavior.
and/or
2. Be going exceptionally fast over the speed limit (90 mph is a risk, 100 mph+ you're going to jail).

All other times, it's common that it's reduced to speeding.

Yeah but I'd rather be safe than sorry had a +2 record and it was on wiehle in farifax county

[WHL102]

Glad to hear that everything worked out for the best! Hopefully, you learned from it.

Take it easy on the kid. Go yell at mom and dad, lol! They are the enablers in this situation. Their roof, their rules. Right?

[F87_LCI]

Wow. The good old USA, where cops pull guns on soccer moms for driving 5 miles an hour over the speed limit. Jail? Really? Same offence up here would net you a a $350 fine and 4 demerit points. You don't even need to go to court. Glad I live somewhere else.