minla007

sup yall. i'm pretty fucking pissed right now. to make a long story short, i got a reckless ticket last night on the toll road. 80 in 55. the cop was a major dickhead. he said i was going 87 but he knocked it down to 80...big fucking deal!!!, i think he was lying anywyas...well, no use crying about it now. I need some advice. I've never gotten a speeding ticket before, this is my first offense. What can i do to get out of this as smoothly as possible? will i get my license suspended? does a cop pacing you stand up in court? will i/ should i get legal representation? any lawyers on this bb? any advice would be appreciated.

its really not my fault, i blame it on the type S. she talks to me whenever i get in it..."go faster....see how fast you can take me...etc."...hahaha...

NOVAwhiteTypeS

DAmn, did you have enough time to hide your detector?

man, best you can do is go to traffic school and get some points back before the court date and get a good lawyer.

Since its your first offence they'll probably reduce it.

go here
www.IwillNotSpeed.com better than staying in a 8 hour class. just read the webpage and go take the test in manassas.(you can cheat) its only 50 bucks and gives you 5 points. you can finish it in like 3 hours.

Good luck man. And see ya at the BBQ

minla007

thanks yo.. i didnt have the detector on, it was in my glove...do you really think i need a lawyer for this shit? how'd u get off on ur ticket?..man, i cant afford a lawyer...fuck...i know insurance is gonna rape me now...btw, what bbq? sorry, i been out of the loop...anyone else got any advice??

NOVAwhiteTypeS

heres teh bbq info
http://www.acura-cl.com/cgi-bin/ulti...c&f=1&t=008527

around 30 peole so far.

also if u take the traffic school thing the judge will probably be more easy on you if your not going to get a lawyer. but man you should get one, way better to pay a little for a lawyer then get rapped from insurance for years to come.

Dyno_CL-S

Shes a lawyer on this board.

PLease refer to this post NUM NUTS

charliemike

You go to court, they knock it down to "Improper Driving" and you pay a $200 fine and walk funny for a few days from the sandpaper condomed assraping they give you =)

TypeSKid

Where on the toll road were you at, and what time? I NEVER speed on the toll road, they run radar thru there almost daily!

Good luck!

minla007

right past wiehle ave...he didnt use radar...he said he paced me goin 87...does pacing hold up in court?

MyBigBlack S

for pacing, I believe he has to have a recent check on his speedometer. Regardless, get a lawyer dude. It'll be like 250 at least, but it's just sooo much better than getting bent over by a judge and your insurance.

minla007

Yah, everyone is telling me to get a lawyer, i guess thats what i might have to do. i'm not tryin to have 'da man' hold me down again...NOW, the question is, ANYONE KNOW OF A GOOD TRAFFIC LAWYER IN VA/MD/DC??? Joe, did u use a lawyer? if so, hook up the digits.

NOVAwhiteTypeS

703-591-8703 John Lawerence. he hooked me up on my thing couple months ago. Tell him I told ya. he has like madd experience and works right by the court house and seems to know alot of peeps(officer,judge) so call him up.

mfnlaw

MyBigBlackS is right...Pacing is allowed as long as their speedometer has been certified. And definitely get the lawyer because more than 20 miles over the speedlimit can be trouble with points...not to mention you have more bargaining power with the judge.

That said, you should be able to get out of most of the points through traffic school since it is your first offense. But be careful please. There seems to be a rash of these going around.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

-Maria

P.S. Dyno CL-S, thanks for the business.

sundance_gold

Thanks for the warning! I travel the toll road all of the time and usually do speed! Good luck with your ticket!

minla007

yeah, its the end of the month and i am assumming they need to make their "ticket quota"...so beware...if you saw a black cl-s pulled over on the left shoulder yesterday around 6:45pm, it was my sorry ass...i saw a silver cl-s w/spoiler drive by me yesterday as i was waiting for popo to give me my early bday present...bastards...

minla007

mfnlaw - can i ask the cop to present a document that verifys that his speedometer is certified? what would happen if he can produce proof of his speedometer being certified?...just curious...i'm just tryin to find anyway to get out of this crap. how often do cops have to get their speedometer checked? i think i'm gonna call a lawyer.

mfnlaw

Of course you can ask the officer to present the document showing that his speedometer is certified. It actually would be one of the first things you do, because if he fails to produce the certification at the hearing the ticket is dismissed. The speedometer must be checked at least once a year, and some jurisdictions require it more often.

And this is for everyone--please be careful. I like my current job and I don't want to have to quit because advising you guys on tickets is more lucrative.

-Maria

minla007

mfnlaw - thanks for all the info. it is much appreciated. what do you think will happen if the cop does have the certified speedometer doc, but he didn't bring it to the trial? will he be able to submit it later to verify that his speedometer is ok? i really hope this cop doesn't have his documentation, but i can't bet on that...i gotta have some back-up tricks up my sleeve...maybe you can become the official lawyer for acura-cl.com members!

mfnlaw

No, he won't be able to submit it later. It's a one shot deal; he forgets the certification and you are off the hook. No points, no fine, no higher insurance rates. Don't let them know you are bringing a lawyer though. If they do know, they will be more inclined to have everything with them. If they are under the impression you are representing yourself, the officer might think he can get away with not bringing all the info/documents he needs.

You are right not to count on that though. Talk to your lawyer, tell him everything and he will know exactly what to emphasize. If this is your first offense, it's a good bet you will get traffic school.

[ 07-26-2001: Message edited by: mfnlaw ]

Roos

Don't get a lawyer what a waste of money. The only thing you should do is check to see if the pig has been certified to use the laser gun, then find out when the gun was last calibrated. If he's not certified then you have a case, usually the gun will be calibrated so that one is a lost cause. As for driving school if it's your first offense don't bother it won't affect anything, the 6pts will be there for 3yrs and it takes 12 for probation and 16 for you to lose you license. By the way this reckless driving ticket, 20 or more over the limit, will cost you around $105 + court fees and 6pts.

minla007

he didnt use a laser or radar gun. he paced me. it was written on the ticket "80 in 55 PACED". thats why i was asking mfnlaw about a speedometer certification. i don't know if i will get a lawyer to appear in court w/me. maybe i can just consult a lawyer and have the lawyer evaluate my situation. hopefully it won't be too bad since this is my first offense. also, can you have negative points? i think the officer told me i have -4 pts cuz of my good driving record. i don't know if he was bullshitting me or not.

NOVAwhiteTypeS

WHAT!!!! are you nuts, reckless driving in VA stays on your record for 10 years. its in the DMV points booklet. I got a copy right in my car. even speeding 10-15 stays on your record for 4 years and its 4 points.

And for not getting a laywer? hmm I wouldn't bet that. Better safe than sorry. also much better paying for a lawyer now than paying insurance for couple years.

And traffic school only does good, no harm. Even it it doesn't help him in court he still have 5 plus points so next time he does get a ticket of reckless or anything he has 5 points to spare. Trust me worth every penny. If they let me do it more than once every two years, i'll be doing it every summer.

minla007

10yrs!?????...r u sure man? thats a long ass time...but if it says it in ur booklet then i guess it is...i guess i should call that lawyer u recommended...

brian_h_kim

check out:
http://www.vatrafficlaw.com/reckless.html

CLTypeR

hey i got a reckless driving ticket in VA for going 85 and i was sick and threw up in fron tof the cop he didn't drop it down. he did show up for court and it was also my frist ticket, best thing you can do is go to court you can't really do anything about it the judge was really nice to everyone else but me so just go to court and pay the ticket, mine was $200. he probaly won't take your license and he might take the points down (reckless driving is 6 points). best of luck GO TO COURT!!!!

CLTypeR

oh yeah one more thing i know i sounded pretty annoying saying go to court a million times sorry..... traffic school sounds really good, try that and be really nice to the cop and when in court give your guilty with an excuse.

NOVAwhiteTypeS

Sorry its actually 11 years not 10.

heres the proof atleast from DMV.






i swear VA treats traffic tickets like a criminal case.

GTPguy97

Damn, I feel sorry for you VA guys. Reckless driving for only 25 over?? Hell, 80 is the average speed on our Tollways. I got tagged for going 92 in a 55 about 4 years ago and got a $150 fine and a 8 hour traffic school. Reckless driving? You want to see reckless driving? Man, that's BRUTAL!

Later,

NOVAwhiteTypeS

That's why I use a radar detecotr. I know its illegal but its a non moving violation and only cost 35 plus court fee 30 ticket. vs. speeding which stays on your record for ever. and insurance rates!!

minla007

EXACTLY!...avg speed on toll road is about 75-80, no one goes the speed limit, so i don't know why this punk ass cop wanted to fuck w/me...anyways, i was just curious to see if anyone has been in this same situation before adn what they did about it adn what the outcome was. i'm hoping the judge will be cool and let me go w/o a reckless on my record...since its clean...and i'm hoping the cop doesn't bring his docs certifying his speedometer...i know its not the end of hte world, but i can't believe this crap happened to me...its such a pain in the ass

minla007

joe, i went to go see john lawrence today. he said i have a good chance of getting it knocked down to speeding instead of a reckless cuz of my good driving record. he said the cop will most likely bring calibration of his speedometer, so i can't really count on that. he also said that even if hte cop doesnt bring it, he can ask for a continuation and bring it at a later date...what do yall think of this? is my lawyer doing everytingn he can? i get a feeling that he's not, but what do i know...

NOVAwhiteTypeS

Yo you tell him I told ya? yeah he seems like he ain't doing shit but he is. he seems to know alot of peeps and some cops too. the day I was at court like 20 something people came up to him and said hi.

Remember a good lawyer knows the law, the better lawyer knows the judge and cops.

minla007

i told him u refered me and he's said cuz of a referral i get a discount...thanks for the referral...

i guess my dilema is this: I'm tryin to decide whether or not its worth it to hire him. he's not cheap, gonna cost me around $700 for lawyer, prob around another $200 in fines and court fees.

if i use him, he said he'd prob get it knocked down to speeding instead of reckless. do you guys think i can represent myself? i'm sure my insurance is gonna go up no matter what, but is it worth $700 to get a speeding instead of reckless? i only have one more yr till i turn 25....i really need some advice cuz i'm dont have much money to spend....