Ughh...VA Cautionary Tale

"The Jevans" (thejevans1)
09/27/2013 at 14:17 • Filed to: None

Oppo, I had a bad night. It started out great. I joined up with several other FR-S/BRZs and went to see Rush at Tysons Corner in VA. The movie was awesome. I am going to go see it again, but what happened after sucked, and I feel like an idiot.

I left in a convoy with others and we split at 495. Myself and another FR-S were going North and we decided it would be a good idea to speed. The roads were mostly empty, so we went for it. not 30 seconds later, a cop threw his lights on from far in the distance behind us (1/4-1/2 mile) and came and pulled us over. We both got reckless driving citations and in order to fight this it's going to cost almost $2,000 and lots of time. I will also probably have to stay a night in jail. I had heard how it would be really bad to get a ticket in VA, but I never really respected that. I'm paying for it now, and it hurts that I was so stupid. Please, here me when I say: Do not get a reckless driving citation in VA. It really is that bad.

DISCUSSION (25)

dinobot666 > The Jevans
09/27/2013 at 14:21

How fast did he clock you going? Was that part of the reckless driving citation?

The Jevans > dinobot666
09/27/2013 at 14:22

it was for reckless speed, yes. He said over 100, but I honestly think I was going 90 max.

PRBot II > The Jevans
09/27/2013 at 14:24

Have you talked to any attorneys? Five years ago I was able to get a reckless downgraded to a speeding ticket with the help of some lawyering. CT laws are different than VA obviously, but I would have had my license suspended otherwise.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > The Jevans
09/27/2013 at 14:24

And that's why you keep it on the track.

Kinja'd!!!

Turner950s > The Jevans
09/27/2013 at 14:24

The fuck? 90 on empty roads is encouraged in some parts of the world.

The Jevans > PRBot II
09/27/2013 at 14:25

I have spoken to multiple lawyers, and they are all saying the same thing.

The Jevans > Turner950s
09/27/2013 at 14:25

Yup

The Jevans > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
09/27/2013 at 14:27

Thanks, Red.

dinobot666 > The Jevans
09/27/2013 at 14:27

Let us know how your insurance rates are in a few months. Dang.

whaden > The Jevans
09/27/2013 at 14:28

Please, If you want to drive fast, do it right.

Join a local car club or track day club, go to the track and get instruction on how to drive in a safe(r) and more controlled environment. AND it's alot less than $2k and no jail time involved.

Check out TrackDaze based in Virginia. My affiliation is I instruct for them without monetary gain.

You'll learn car control that can be applied to real life situations. And it's fun.

ttyymmnn > The Jevans
09/27/2013 at 14:29

Many years ago, my brother got popped going 71 in a 35 in Norfolk. He didn't fight it, though.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > The Jevans
09/27/2013 at 14:29

Tickets suck.

The Jevans > ttyymmnn
09/27/2013 at 14:31

According to the lawyers, NoVA is much harder on speeders than the rest of VA.

ttyymmnn > The Jevans
09/27/2013 at 14:36

I can believe it. Did you get stopped by a Trooper or local PD? If only you had a radar detector. Oh, yeah, VA.

J. Walter Weatherman > The Jevans
09/27/2013 at 14:41

Yeah, Virgina is absolutely brutal. In my experience, they have always been dicks, but when they passed the "we are going to balance our budget through driving fines" fee increase a while back (2007?) it got much worse.

The Jevans > whaden
09/27/2013 at 14:48

Not to dismiss this good option, as it is a good one. I have a feeling the cost argument won't work on most people. People who speed daily don't get caught every time. Insurance won't cover track days without extra cost. The cost of a track day is at least $200+insurance. The cost of a high speeding ticket in MD? $160+increased insurance premiums down the line for 3 years. The most frequent I've seen professional speeders in my area get caught is once every 6 months. Even if they get caught in VA, it's still WAY cheaper than paying for track days. If you had track days every weekend for that 6 months, 200*26 = $5200. Compared to one ticket in VA at $2000, that's a big difference.
Don't get me wrong, in the long run, the track days make soooo much more sense, and just because you don't go to track days every week, it doesn't mean you have a good excuse to speed all of the time. What I'm saying is that when people are used to getting a speed fix every day, they probably won't be very receptive to a more expensive plan; especially if they aren't solely in control of their finances, but that is a whole other story.

The Jevans > ttyymmnn
09/27/2013 at 14:50

State Trooper. Also, I do have a detector, but it was turned off because VA.

Dusty Ventures > Turner950s
09/27/2013 at 14:57

Considering we're talking about Tyson's Corner (about 10 miles from Washington DC), interstate 495, and probably about 1230 AM at the latest, based on my experiences in the area I'd guess it wasn't so much empty as it was "empty"

Party-vi > The Jevans
09/27/2013 at 15:11

Have you had a ticket before?

Go to court and ask for Probation Before Judgement, keep your nose clean for a year and pay the fine/court costs. Alternatively, go to court and state you are guilty but request leniency on the points. Did the officer state how he clocked your speed? Pacing, laser, radar, etc.? If he was pacing you be sure to ask for his calibration certification on his speedometer (not sure if this would help). Good luck to you.

Kugelblitz > The Jevans
09/27/2013 at 15:18

NoVa enforcement is brutal brutal brutal. I was burned hard once by them and took that to the memory bank. Do NOT like their style.

The Jevans > Party-vi
09/27/2013 at 15:19

I have had speeding tickets before. Reckless Driving is a misdemeanor with up to a $2500 fine and 12 months of jail time. He was pacing me, I'm pretty sure. It doesn't say on the ticket. I will be asking for any and all documentation I can.

highmodulus > The Jevans
09/27/2013 at 15:25

1. Get A Good Traffic Lawyer. Do what he or she says.

2. 100+ is reckless driving everywhere.

The Jevans > highmodulus
09/27/2013 at 15:27

27 States, including MD, do not have a specific speed where it becomes reckless.

MikeMeade > The Jevans
09/27/2013 at 15:27

Do the crime? Pay the fine. You have admitted you are guilty, and that it is wrong. Looks like it is time to learn a lesson!

When I first started driving, (yikes, over 20 years ago) I got a few tickets too. I eventually figured out how to behave in a way that won't get you tickets. A big piece of that was swapping out the car for a truck. The Toyota pickup was fun to drive in that light car tiny engine kind of way. It kept me out of trouble until I grew up a bit. Now I get my kicks at the track and occasionally autocross.

highmodulus > The Jevans
09/27/2013 at 15:35

Unfortunately, a judge will see triple digits and hit you with it as a matter of course. A good traffic lawyer is your best and only hope. Sorry you got nailed, but VA is serious business on speeding. As our absurd no radar detectors law would hint. I drove this M5 like a hoon in SC and they could care less. Try that in Ohio and I think I would have been shot. . .

Kinja'd!!!