Fairfax Reckless Driving By Speed

Reckless driving by speed is a criminal offense, which involves driving 20 or more miles an hour over the speed limit or over 80 miles an hour or above regardless of the speed limit. It is a misdemeanor offense that can carry up to a year in jail, a $2,500 fine, and up to six months of loss of driving privileges. If you have been charged with Fairfax reckless driving by speed, consult a skilled reckless driving lawyer that could help you challenge your reckless driving summons.

Legal Excuses for Reckless Driving By Speeds

There are very few legal excuses for Fairfax reckless driving by speed. There are no exceptions built into the Virginia code. Some individual judges in the case of a true emergency, such as a medical emergency may accept it as an excuse, but things like passing someone else, being unfamiliar with their vehicle, being unfamiliar with the speed in the area, or even having to go the bathroom are not going to be legal excuses or defenses to this type of charge.

Difference Between Reckless Driving by Speed and Speeding

The main difference between a regular speeding ticket and reckless driving is that reckless driving is a crime and regular speeding is an infraction. Infractions are punishable by a fine. The worst thing that happens to a person on a speeding ticket is that they have fines and court costs to pay. The worst thing that happens to a person on a reckless driving charge is that they go to jail, lose their license, have a large fine to pay, and have a permanent criminal record as well as whatever insurance consequences they may experience. They are very different in terms of the impact they have.

What the Ticket for Reckless Driving By Speed Looks Like

A Fairfax reckless driving by speed charge is going to be on a summons the same as a speeding ticket would be. A person should be looking for the words reckless. If a person’s summons says reckless driving or reckless speeding, then that lets a person know for sure that they are charged with the criminal version of the offense.

Very often the officer will also write down the code section that the person is being charged under. If there is a doubt in a person’s mind about whether it is a regular speeding charge or a reckless charge, it is easy enough to either go online and look at that code section or consult an attorney. Both will very quickly reveal whether a person is talking about the criminal offense of reckless driving or a traffic infraction.

Steps a Fairfax Reckless Driving Attorney Can Take

There are two approaches that attorneys take simultaneously on a Fairfax reckless driving by speed charge. One is the legal defense side and one is the mitigation side. Legal defense is going to involve challenging the government’s evidence, making sure that there are no problems with the prosecution’s case that can be exploited, and if there are, using them to maximum advantage. This would include everything from an improper calibration of the officer’s radar equipment to a failure to document that the device they used to calibrate their radar has not been calibrated within the last six months.

It also relates to the factual scenarios which might undermine or create a reasonable doubt about whether the government can prove their case. Equally important to that, and in many cases more important, is what is done in advance of court to pursue the prosecutor or judge that the defendant is deserving of a break. This is referred to as mitigation. This may include everything from completing a driver improvement course to having a calibration of their vehicle speedometer to obtaining a driving record. In some cases, it means performing community service in advance of court. If an individual needs help contesting a reckless driving summons, they should speak with a skilled attorney that can help.