OMG bad speeding ticket....any advice?
 

Um..tittle says it all. I cant believe i was going to fast. Anyone with any tips on reducing the fine? I've in deep wreckless territory.
:shakes head::shakes head::shakes head::shakes head:
Thanks all


*Edit* Adding this up here to make it easier since alot of people are asking how fast I was going. I was doing double the speed limit in a 55mph zone.

Umm, how fast above the posted speed you be going? Then maybe we can give you some advice.

How fast were you going? I think VA is one of the worst states in the country for speeding penalties.

Hire an attorney.

If you have a clean record you may be able to ask for a deferral......means pay the fee and the ticket stays off your record if you stay clean for ~3 years. Nice deal for WA people.

How fast were you going? Fast enough to be wreckless driving? Not sure about VA, but in NY, if the cop don't show up for court, the ticket is thrown out (except for wreckless driving). You might also be able to plea bargain and claim guilty to a lesser speed (I was cited for 15 over, but at court cop bargain with me and will knock it down to 5 over for insurance purposes...but still had to pay fine/court fee for 15 over)! Last, but not least, is to hire a lawyer.

In Virginia.....cops will show up for the most minimal of minimal tickets/fines. They're like that....attorney is the way to go in VA. Trust me.....I've been there on numerous occassions. :rolleyes:

Hope you get the book thrown at you. There should be no tolerance for excessive, unsafe, reckless speeding.

That sounds like Salem, and Marion county sherriffs.

Get an attorney. It will cost more money, but it'll save your license.

lol please tell me you have never gotten a speeding ticket?

give him a break

seriously - enough with your self righteous bull crap - people speed once in a while... you wake up and smell the coffee

As posted above hire a lawer, pay the price, stay out of jail.

Then stay low for the duration of the probation. GL

I have lived 8 years in VA and I have definitely gotten my fair share of speeding tickets there. I dont think you should worry too much about it, especially if it is your first speeding ticket. If it is your first speeding ticket the judge will most likely put you on probation and only make you pay court fees. Or he might just make you pay for the price of the ticket and drop the wreckless part off your record. I know VA has changed the law regarding traffic violations recently but I have never had to go to jail or something like that for wreckless driving.

To answer everyone's question...the speed limit was 55. I was going double that.:icon14:
I'm pleased to say the car handles speed EXTREMELY well. However, my 5 seconds of fun (i mean litterally i was only on it for a few seconds) has completely screwed me over. Again, i dunno how i could be so stupid.

JoeD you are absolutely correct. I should, because I was a total idiot. It was such a nice and open stretch of road I should have just bit my tongue. I totally regret that stupid dicision to nail it.

This is my third speeding offense. My other two werent reckless but they werent exactly slow either. :ughdance:

Does anyone have any idea how much a lawyer will cost?

oh man.. last July 4th weekend i got slapped with 4 tickets @ the same time cruising home from Atlantic City, NJ. i was doing about a buck ten speed limit was 45. the SP put 90 in a 45 though. he also got me for Failure to Maintain lane, WRECKLESS DRIVING, and a BS ticket (view obstruction) for my radar detector which was at that time mounted via suction cups to the windshield.

prior to those tickets, my record was CLEAN though..

i hired an attorney. i was supposed to get 12 points with license suspension. but i got to keep my license and the points cut down to 5 points. judge dropped the charges except for the 90 in a 45 and the Obstruction of View. so all i had & have now is 5 points on my record. will be erased in 3years if i dont commit any more moving violations!

get a lawyer, pay the fines, dont do it again ;)

thats what happened to me lol.
i was crazy b4. every sports car i see i'd down shift, chase, then leave em in the dust lol. it FELT REALLY F*CKING GOOD but very irresponsible.

TRUST that i'm a different man now :)
now, i leave the craze & speed @ the tracks!
theres a right time for everything!

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR CASE!

Ok you seem to be more of a lunatic than I am. :tiphat:
So I guess the best thing to do is hire a lawyer then. I don't mind paying lawyer fees just so long as they can somehow reduce the charge or not get my license suspended or something. I can't afford to not be able to drive ya know what i mean?

yep i feel u. i was the same way, i couldnt RISK to lose my license cuz i had no other way of getting to work. and w/o my job i have nothing.

I'm sure hiring a lawyer is the best way to go :tup:

Exactly. I feel the judges won't care enough to give me the time of day to plee this case. I was going too fast and i know i shouldnt have done it.

Ouch! I can only say this, back in 1990 I was going thru the glorious mountainous area of VA just before you cross into West VA. 7% down grade so you can just lift off the gas and the car will just keep on speeding up, which of course I did.

Hit the bottom of the hill and at 110 (in a 55) I passed two VA state police. I was done, and I knew it. I was going so fast that I actually went ahead and pulled over and when they came after me they almost passed me back! :p

End result? They gave me a ticket and actually let me go. Court result? I got no lawyer but I did bring a friend because I knew I wasn't going to be driving home. Police officer did show up. Judge suspended my license on the spot for 90 days & the total fines ran me almost $500.

Remember, that was almost 20 years ago.....:icon14: Not trying to freak you out....just being honest about what happened to me. And no, that wasn't my first ticket and it hasn't been my last. :rolleyes:

Heh..I called the first law office. The prognosis is not good.

If they offer you the option of taking the "Safe Drivers Course" DO IT! I've taken it once....it was once a week, in the evenings for about a month. The good thing? It adds +5 points back ON your license. At least it did for me back in the late 90's.

(Yeah, the 90's were a rough decade for me!) :icon17:

I'm doing that and community service. Seeing wut i can sign up for as we speak....Srsly fellow owners DO NOT speed. I know its a fast car but save it for the track or a road course or something. Totally not worth the headache.

You may have answered this already but was it local or state that gotcha?

fairfax va

You should get a job in law enforcement. This will give you “carte blanche” with traffic law violations!!

Best bet is to show up in court, and not say a thing until they start offering plea bargins.

Sometimes, at least in our case...

Cop pulled over my wife for going 79 in a 65. Said he would write the fine for 5 over so it doesn't show up on DMV report.

********.

He wrote the ticket for going 97 in a 65. Wrote the fine for 5 over.

We plead guilty by paying the fine.

2years, 3 months later, I'm checking insurance rates. Ticket on record, insurance rates are stupid. Lucky us, our previous carrier didn't know about it. Courts won't change it without an attorney. 9mo wait is cheaper.

Supragtsxr I'm gonna be straight up. I am in the law enforcement business and it doesn't look good for you at all. Your just gonna have to take your lumps, because theres nothing a lawyer can do. It's like trying to make water out of dirt, theres just nothing you can do even if you hire help.

Just my own opinion

Some advice from ehow.com:

"When you go to court, you most likely will appear before the clerk magistrate, before seeing the judge.
Tell the clerk magistrate or judge what happened. Be honest and tell him/her that you believe the fine is excessive and that you cannot afford to pay it. Explain that you are not denying responsibility, but you do not have the financial means to pay a fine that high. Most likely, your fine will be substantially reduced, and the issuing officer will not object to it. Good luck!"

We can't have a thread on here without extremist drama queens.
Both of u guys need girlfriends or a hobby or somethin. Seriously dudes. RELAX.

DUDE WHO GOT THE TICKET... SH1T HAPPENS. NO ONE IS PERFECT.
SO NO 1 HAS THE RIGHT TO BE SELF RIGHTEOUS EXCEPT THE MAN UPSTAIRS N HIS SON WHO DIED FOR OUR SINS.
SECONDLY. U BOUGHT A SPORTS CAR. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS EVERY NOW AND AGAIN.
MY ADVICE, TRY FOR A DEFERRAL OR TAKE THE DEFENSIVE DRIVING COURSE IF OFFERED AS A RESOLUTION.
LASTLY BRUH! BUY YOURSELF TOP SELECT RADAR FROM ESCORT AND OR VALENTINE ONE.
I ALSO RECOMMEND A JAMMER. THIS IS NOT A GUARANTEE U WON'T GET PINCHED BUT,
BUT IT WILL REDUCE YOUR CHANCES BY 80% THIS $800-1500 INVESTMENT WILL SAVE U BUNDLES LATER.
N don't stress these negatives in the forum always tag teamin on sum1 who is askin for help. Don't justify to or respond to them. Or they go on and on and on and on about how u bad of a person u r for speeding. Lol what a life to live? Lmao!
:gtfo2:

You too....and Keep the religous crap off the forum please..

quit yelling too.....No one likes a LOUD drama queen.

People speed once in a while, usually between 5-15 over. But double the limit in a 55? C'mon.

This guy isn't driving a bucket, this is a relatively new $35k sports car, and he was doing double the speed limit. I honestly don't think the judge will fall for the BS and it will only make it worse, and if you don't have a lawyer to help reduce the charges and fines, he might keep the fine as it is, seeing as how you shouldn't do the crime if you can't do the time.

That's like robbing a bank, and telling the judge you don't have that many years left to live at the age of 30, and to please reduce the sentence.

Supra: You received community service? Did you have a lawyer with you, or points on the license?

I dunno man. I had to sit in traffic court for a couple hours waiting on my chance to argue a ticket. Everyone but 1 person who asked for a reduction got it. The only guy who didn't was doing over 150 on a bike, and being very argumentative with the officer in the court.
-For what it's worth.

VA is tough, but it really depends on the county. In my misspent youth, I got a reckless driving ticket Fairfax county, which is has to be the toughest. I was going 92 in 55. I didn’t take it very seriously. My license was suspended at first, I then appealed and ended up w/a restricted license for 6 mos.

Judges want to see you pay, as in pay for a lawyer. Judges were once lawyers. My lawyer was around $800, the actual fine for the violation was only $160 or so.

Don’t fool yourself, this is a big deal. Get a layer. The cop will show up. Your previous tickets matter. Take a defensive driving course. Get you speedometer calibrated, then be prepared to have you *** handed to you. I pled no contest w/an explanation on my first time around, I plea-bargained on my appeal. You never know how it will end up, but prepare yourself for the worst and hope for the best.

Good luck.

Agreed that the cop will show up. You would have a chance if this was a small ticket, but not for this one. Hopefully you were really cool toward the cop, because that could make a difference in court.
dps, you think calibrating the speedo will matter for a 110mph ticket?

Let's hope his judge is having a good day then. :tup:

lol, got that right :bowrofl:

Research VA law.....its one of the few states left that radar is illegal. I understand why you suggested it but he doesnt need more fines on top of the speeding ticket. Heh...after the court date, he wont need one anyways.....no license most likely. (Sorry had to go there and be honest)