What constitutes reckless driving in VA?
I was in almost the same situation (VA charge of reckless driving for speeding). I called the court and got the phone number for the prosecutor. I called him and basically made my own plea bargain to a reduced charge for a fine only (and points I think) and no court appearance. He wanted to see my driving record, which was clean. It was a simple process and nice to save myself a trip to court.
Egad. This is why I work in the humanities: no math skills. OK, here is what I dug up: FORMS OF VIRGINIA RECKLESS DRIVING: (1) The most common form of reckless driving is speeding 20+ over the speed limit; § 46.2-862. Exceeding speed limit – A person shall be guilty of reckless driving who drives a motor vehicle on the highways in the Commonwealth (i) at a speed of twenty miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limit where the applicable speed limit is thirty miles per hour or less, (ii) at a speed of sixty miles per hour or more where the applicable maximum speed limit is thirty-five miles per hour, (iii) at a speed of twenty miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limits where the applicable maximum speed limit is forty miles per hour or more, or (iv) in excess of eighty miles per hour regardless of the applicable maximum speed limit). This makes you sound OK, but then there is this: (7) Driving to fast for traffic conditions; § 46.2-
I know exactly where you got nailed. You’re lucky — it was just a few months ago that the speed limit was raised from 55 to 60 along that stretch. (Like 4ster, I live one county north, in Albemarle.) A couple of years ago I rear-ended someone on 81, about two hours south of where you were. It was low-speed, in stop-and-go traffic, and though my Volvo was totaled, there was virtually no damage to the van that I hit. I was charged with reckless driving, but when I showed up in court (in Roanoke County) I was well-dressed, respectful, and extremely contrite. I forget what the charge was lowered to, but it involved no punishment. The officer pointed out to the judge that, as I was borrowing my parents’ car, surely there had been punishment enough. If the charge is reckless, get your tuchus down here, point out to the judge that you drove all the way there to face the charges, and be totally contrite. You’ll be fine.
Bobby: I’m not your lawyer. You are not my client. I may or may not ever have practiced law in Virginia, but I most certainly do not today. For all you know, I’m the prosecutor and I’m out to screw you. Now that that’s out of the way… Look at the summons. It will tell you which General District Court has jurisdiction of your citation. If you have ANY DOUBT AT ALL about what the charge is, call up the Clerk of Court for that GDC, give them your citation number, and ask them what the charge is. Ask them if it’s a mandatory court appearance (they may not be able to tell you that). If this is a reckless charge based on a 14-over-the-limit, call the prosecutor for that county. They’ll have a “desk attorney” who handles the calls in most places. They probably won’t have assigned the case to anyone until very close to the proposed hearing date, but tell them you’d like to discuss a possible plea deal and see what they say. The worst they can tell you is “no.” If they tell refuse to take a p
