Reckless Driving by speed in VA, advice please.

[silver03svt]

. That does not constitute legal advice. It is a suggestion and it does help with the judge as it shows that you are taking responsibility.

+1 on this. It is not the LEO giving you legal advice. LEO is making a suggestion to you (based on our experiences in front of the judges) as to how to HELP your situation. VA statute does not give us any leeway as to how we write the summons. If you're travelling at a speed that is defined by statute as reckless, we have to write it as such. I can also suggest to the person to bring a certified speedometer calibration for the vehicle to court. That isnt legal advice.

 

[Oldsracer]

Not to steal the OP light but I was coming home from VA two weekend's ago heading towards Philadelphia (seriously) and I got a 83 in a 70 with the same write up, reckless driving due to speed. I was going down I95 if that matters. My fine is only 138.00 including court fee's which isnt bad at all and the points/suspension do not carry over to Pa. Now if I pay the fine am I suddenly going to have an offense on my record as major as a DUI?? If so it looks like im looking for a lawyer because theirs no way im gonna let 13 mph on I95 screw me over down the line.

 

[NateV8]

Thanks for all the advice guys, I got a continuance and a lawyer. I will update this thread after the hearing, I don't even have to be at the hearing.

 

[S8ER01Z]

GL... it's going to cost you a lot...hopefully you won't end up with a black mark on your record.

I know speeding is frowned upon and such but it blows my mind that the punishments are so extreme. I see a lot of accidents (majority of the time alcohol
is involved) and I can't say any of them have been because someone was simply going 20mph faster than the speed limit. I don't think everyone should just start running 80 in 55 zones but it appears we are headed towards a society where 20 over can screw your entire future (especially with people pushing for it to be a felony). Am I crazy or does that the punishment not seem to fit the crime here?

 

[SVTORANGE]

Thanks for all the advice guys, I got a continuance and a lawyer. I will update this thread after the hearing, I don't even have to be at the hearing.

That is a great start glad it worked out for you to obtain counsel.:rockon:

 

[ASRacer]

GL... it's going to cost you a lot...hopefully you won't end up with a black mark on your record.

I know speeding is frowned upon and such but it blows my mind that the punishments are so extreme. I see a lot of accidents (majority of the time alcohol
is involved) and I can't say any of them have been because someone was simply going 20mph faster than the speed limit. I don't think everyone should just start running 80 in 55 zones but it appears we are headed towards a society where 20 over can screw your entire future (especially with people pushing for it to be a felony). Am I crazy or does that the punishment not seem to fit the crime here?

Here is my take on speed. 99% of the drivers have just enough driving skill to get from point A to point B under ideal conditions. The instant that ANYTHING goes wrong they can't handle it and crash. LEOs see this every day. Now add speed into the mix and the combination of poor training, bad habits, poorly maintained cars, creates a recipe for disaster.

How many people here have done any driver training other than driver's ed? (Keep in mind that this group - SVTP members - is going to have a higher probability of answering this question positively than the general population.) But for the most part the number of people on the road who have advanced driver training is a fraction of a percent.

So these are people who want to drive a car faster, giving themselves less time to react, geometrically longer distance to stop, and vastly higher kinetic forces. Explain to me why just allowing people to run as fast as they want is a good idea? If we had German-style driver training here I wouldn't have a problem with it. But the reality is that almost everyone on the road has only minimum competency behind the wheel.

Even with advanced training you are still sharing the road with a bunch of people who have no driving skill, talent, or education. They're on the phone, they don't use their signals, they don't know the driving laws, they don't know common driving courtesy, and they don't use their mirrors. Driving fast around these idiots is taking your life in your hands even at normal speeds.

If this country would adopt more stringent licensing requirements then there would be no need for strict speed enforcement.

 

[CWCobra]

Even with advanced training you are still sharing the road with a bunch of people who have no driving skill, talent, or education. They're on the phone, they don't use their signals, they don't know the driving laws, they don't know common driving courtesy, and they don't use their mirrors. Driving fast around these idiots is taking your life in your hands even at normal speeds.

.

I could not agree more. I am constantly amazed at the total disregard of the law in two areas in particular: cell phone use (including texting) and failure to yield the left lane. But then again, I really have to wonder to what degree, if any, driving is excess of posted limits, in and of itself, actually contributes to the accident rate. Sure, when speed in excess of posted limits is combined with substance abuse, cell phone use, failure to yield, et al, there is little doubt as to the affect on accident rates.

Nevertheless, I still maintain that today's cars are much, MUCH safer at 100 mph on today's interstates, than were the cars of my youth at the then-legal posted limits of 65 mph for 2-lanes and 75 mph for 4 lane highways.

But it's a dear price one must pay for even a slight violation of today's limits. I suspect it has much to do with relative ease of detection, apprehension, and assessment of penalties for speeding, as compared to other crimes against persons or property. Low hanging fruit, perhaps.

 

[ASRacer]

I could not agree more. I am constantly amazed at the total disregard of the law in two areas in particular: cell phone use (including texting) and failure to yield the left lane. But then again, I really have to wonder to what degree, if any, driving is excess of posted limits, in and of itself, actually contributes to the accident rate. Sure, when speed in excess of posted limits is combined with substance abuse, cell phone use, failure to yield, et al, there is little doubt as to the affect on accident rates.

As a driving instructor, race driver, etc., I can tell you that the problem comes from several different factors:
1) Following distance. The safe following distance at 35 MPH and below is the traditional 2-second rule. At 35 MPH this is a following distance of 102.6 feet. Increase the speed to 36-45 MPH and the safe following distance is 3-seconds (this is a departure from traditional driver's education and represents the newer methodology) or about 198 feet. Go above 45 MPH and the recommended safe following distance is 4-seconds:
Speed - 4sec. Distance
55 MPH - 322.6'
60 MPH - 352.0'
70 MPH - 410.6'
80 MPH - 469.3'
90 MPH - 528.0'

So at a speed of 60 MPH you should be following farther than a football field's distance. With the average reaction time of about 1.5-seconds under ideal conditions, visibility, driver attention, etc. you'll cover 88 feet (nearly 1/3 the total distance) leaving you with 264 feet to react. But you also need to add movement time and device response time. Device response time is typically about .3 seconds. So total reaction time is about 1.8 seconds covering 158.4-feet.

If you have no option but to stop given the Shelby's 60-0 of about 105 feet you've just chewed up 263.4 feet of total travel from identification of stimulus to complete stop. So subtract 263.4 from 352.0 and we get 88.6 feet. This yields a cushion of 1-second.

Now let's kick the speed up to 70 MPH. Where stopping distance goes to 155-feet. Safe following distance is now 410-feet if we're using the 4-second rule. With our reaction time and braking requirements we chew up 339.8-feet leaving a cushion of 0.69-seconds.

I don't have any braking numbers for the higher speeds, but if we make the very, very conservative estimate that each 10 MPH yields an additional 50-feet then the numbers get interesting.

At 90 MPH your safe following distance is 528-feet @ 4-seconds. You are covering 132-feet every second. To get the car stopped would leave you with only .27 seconds reaction time buffer. Realistically the braking numbers from 90 MPH would be more in the 300-foot range.

2) The other problem is speed differential. Since we can't mandate that everyone drive the exact same speed if you have a majority of cars at the 85th percentile speed and a few cars well beyond that you have a serious problem. The greater the speed differential the greater the danger. This is why lane discipline is so terribly important. And in this day and age in America people simply don't follow it.

3) Poor vehicle maintenance. Having taught advanced street driving schools for many, many years now I have seen some serious crap-boxes roll into our courses. Some vehicles have so little braking capacity that they cannot even apply enough force on the brakes to engage the ABS. This has happened on numerous occasions. The number of people running around with under-inflated tires is probably 75%.

Then there are patched tires where the speed rating has been destroyed. Lug nuts that haven't had their torque checked. Broken safety equipment on the car, defective air bags, tie rod ends, wheel bearings, etc.

4) Most importantly the lack of driver training is the sole constant that causes crashes.

Nevertheless, I still maintain that today's cars are much, MUCH safer at 100 mph on today's interstates, than were the cars of my youth at the then-legal posted limits of 65 mph for 2-lanes and 75 mph for 4 lane highways.

I agree; however, we are still killing over 38,000 people each year in car crashes. Over TWO MILLION people will be injured in the same time frame. So #4 above has some serious bearing.

But it's a dear price one must pay for even a slight violation of today's limits. I suspect it has much to do with relative ease of detection, apprehension, and assessment of penalties for speeding, as compared to other crimes against persons or property. Low hanging fruit, perhaps.

When you look at the sheer volume of traffic out there on the road, to get pulled over is statistically improbable. I'll take the case of one road that I know of. Throughout a 24-hour, weekday, period approximately 47,490 cars travel down this road. In that 24 hour period probably no more than 25 tickets will be written. So for every ticket that driver was doing something that 1,900 people were NOT doing. Those are pretty good odds. Break that down and it's slightly more than ONE ticket per hour. That means that you have to be doing something pretty stupid to make yourself stand out like a sore thumb to get a ticket.

Now, consider this. How do the following people get around:

• Bank robber
• Murderer
• Car-jacker
• Burglar
• Pedophile
• Gang-Member
• Drunk
• Suspended Driver
• Illegal Alien
• Terrorist
• Drug Dealer
• Rapist
• Wife-beater

EVERY ONE of these criminals gets around in a car. You would be amazed at the number of scum bags that have gotten locked up from a simple traffic stop. So what you may consider "low-hanging fruit" is in reality one of the most reliable methods for catching criminals.

The police are a reactive force only. They are not there to protect your property. They are not there to protect you. Personal safety is the responsibility of the individual. So to expect them to know where a crime is going to happen, who is going to do it, when it is going to happen, and to be there ready and waiting for it is ludicrous. Police have no more predictive powers than anyone else. When we catch someone in the act it is usually sheer luck.

Again, the traffic stop is one of the most effective investigative tools in law enforcement.

 

[ASRacer]

... snip...
When you look at the sheer volume of traffic out there on the road, to get pulled over is statistically improbable. I'll take the case of one road that I know of. Throughout a 24-hour, weekday, period approximately 47,490 cars travel down this road. In that 24 hour period probably no more than 25 tickets will be written. So for every ticket that driver was doing something that 1,900 people were NOT doing. Those are pretty good odds. Break that down and it's slightly more than ONE ticket per hour. That means that you have to be doing something pretty stupid to make yourself stand out like a sore thumb to get a ticket.
...snip....

Consider this, the odds of winning ANYTHING in the VA lottery scratchers game is 1:4.03. Break this down a little further.

The chance of any driver getting a ticket on the aforementioned road is 0.0526426%.

The chance of winning the following money from scratchers lottery tickets is as follows:
$5 - 13.364%
$10 - 10.016%
$15 - 3.339%
$20 - 5.009%
$40 - 0.751%
$75 - 0.250%
$100 - 0.3764%
$250 - 0.0056%

So until you reach the $250 level are you more likely to win the lottery than get a ticket on that road.

I wouldn't call that "low-hanging fruit."

 

[quad]

Here is my take on speed. 99% of the drivers have just enough driving skill to get from point A to point B under ideal conditions. The instant that ANYTHING goes wrong they can't handle it and crash. LEOs see this every day. Now add speed into the mix and the combination of poor training, bad habits, poorly maintained cars, creates a recipe for disaster.

How many people here have done any driver training other than driver's ed? (Keep in mind that this group - SVTP members - is going to have a higher probability of answering this question positively than the general population.) But for the most part the number of people on the road who have advanced driver training is a fraction of a percent.

So these are people who want to drive a car faster, giving themselves less time to react, geometrically longer distance to stop, and vastly higher kinetic forces. Explain to me why just allowing people to run as fast as they want is a good idea? If we had German-style driver training here I wouldn't have a problem with it. But the reality is that almost everyone on the road has only minimum competency behind the wheel.

Even with advanced training you are still sharing the road with a bunch of people who have no driving skill, talent, or education. They're on the phone, they don't use their signals, they don't know the driving laws, they don't know common driving courtesy, and they don't use their mirrors. Driving fast around these idiots is taking your life in your hands even at normal speeds.

If this country would adopt more stringent licensing requirements then there would be no need for strict speed enforcement.

Good point. Many drivers in the USA suck. I've driven in other countries and quite a few people here have no clue when it comes to using the correct lanes or even utilizing indicator lights.

 

[SVTORANGE]

Great information ASRACER :rockon:

 

[mammothcar1]

Great information ASRACER :rockon:

Agreed! Very well articulated.

 

[SVTORANGE]

^^agreed^^

 

[silver03svt]

To sum it all up, you pay to play. One day, your number is up, you get caught, you pay the penalties. Chances might be slim, and you have a greater chance you may not ever get caught. But better trying to fight a Reckless Driving in court than a Manslaughter charge.

 

[S8ER01Z]

To sum it all up, you pay to play. One day, your number is up, you get caught, you pay the penalties. Chances might be slim, and you have a greater chance you may not ever get caught. But better trying to fight a Reckless Driving in court than a Manslaughter charge.

I agree. (Also agree with above postings.. good info on the braking aspects).

I have no issue with pay to play aspects.... just seems extreme to end up with a criminal conviction for passing someone on the highway. I'm sure I'm just looking at it the wrong way. I also tend to forget that the US just hands everyone a drivers license for just having a pulse. :beer:

 

[97snakebite]

REALLY??? you live in AZ, he lives in VA. Are you an expert on VA law? I am assuming that you are licensed to practice law in AZ and VA since you chimed in with this load of crap. he needs a lawyer, reckless driving carries 6 points and stays on your driving record for 11 years in Va. Maybe you should actually do a little research before you open your pie hole about stuff you know nothing about.

dont be a *** guy.... no one said " hey follow this". instead of ranting on my previous post maybe you should concentrated your efforts on his post. I do see the OP now has a lawyer. Hope all goes well with you.. you'ed figure CA/AZ would have higher punishments then VA... Is there a street racing prob out there?

 

[RDJ]

Don't think I am the one being a *** "guy". Your post was one of the most ridiculous I have seen in here for quite some time. It just screams for SD type treatment but I had to avoid that. The op was given very sound advice before you posted so there was no need for me to "concentrate my efforts on his post"

dont be a *** guy.... no one said " hey follow this". instead of ranting on my previous post maybe you should concentrated your efforts on his post. I do see the OP now has a lawyer. Hope all goes well with you.. you'ed figure CA/AZ would have higher punishments then VA... Is there a street racing prob out there?

 

[silver03svt]

dont be a *** guy.... no one said " hey follow this". instead of ranting on my previous post maybe you should concentrated your efforts on his post. I do see the OP now has a lawyer. Hope all goes well with you.. you'ed figure CA/AZ would have higher punishments then VA... Is there a street racing prob out there?

Street racing has it's own separate statute in VA and it is also a Class 1 Misdemeanor. If you are CHARGED with street racing, statute says you car WILL be impounded and CAN BE forfeited to the Commonwealth of VA. Judges also will give out a stiffer penalty from the get go for street racing.

And yes, we do have our street racing issues out here.

 

[NateV8]

Update:

My lawyer went to the hearing. Sent me a letter saying it was lowered to a speeding ticket, 74 in a 55. $186 fine.

Total cost of doing 78/55 in VA = $786 :bash:

 

[RDJ]

Update:

My lawyer went to the hearing. Sent me a letter saying it was lowered to a speeding ticket, 74 in a 55. $186 fine.

Total cost of doing 78/55 in VA = $786 :bash:

you got lucky... very very lucky. price is cheap compared to what it could have been lol!