Virginia reckless driving charge is often confused with speeding charges. During 2014’s holiday season, Virginia has recorded to give almost 2,312 reckless driving tickets and 9,789 over speeding tickets. Virginia is a big state where one can find different types of districts, such as busy city streets, sub urban areas, mountainous areas and coastline. Having different types of areas means different infrastructure of roads and huge distances to cover. Therefore, it is hard to move around without a personal vehicle. With so many vehicles on road, the law enforcement authorities need to take care of the traffic violation. It is important to understand and follow all driving regulations in Virginia.
Virginia reckless driving charge is different from over speeding charge, as reckless driving is considered as a criminal offense. Reckless driving carries punishments equal to Class 1 Misdemeanor. Even if you are moving along with the traffic, you might not notice how dangerous a slight act of speeding can become. In Virginia, the reckless driving charge will even add a negative point to your driving records, which are maintained by the department of motor vehicle Virginia. According to the code 46.2 – 852 and the code 46.2 – 868, Virginia reckless driving charge can lead a person to huge penalties in form of fines up to $2500, suspension of the driving license for a maximum period of 6 months or it can even lead one to imprisonment for a maximum period of 12 months.
Virginia Code 46.2-852 states: “Irrespective of the maximum speeds permitted by law, any person who drives a vehicle on any highway recklessly or at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person shall be guilty of reckless driving”
Virginia reckless driving charge can be given to a driver for multiple reasons. Generally, drivers in Virginia get the reckless driving ticket for over speeding. As per the law of Virginia, the driver cannot speed above 80MPH. The Virginia code even restricts the driver to drive 20MPH above the speed limit. So even if the speed limit for the area is 70MPH and the driver has just gone 10MPH above the speed limit, he will be subjected to a reckless driving ticket in Virginia.
How can you waive your reckless driving charges?
There are many people who are pulled over for a traffic violation, once in their life; however, those traffic violations are minor. The police officer usually hands a speeding ticket for a minor traffic violation. The reckless driving charge is much serious and major traffic violation. Getting the help of a professional attorney is the best way to secure your reckless driving case on the court. There are certainly mitigating factors, which can help you in reducing your reckless driving punishments. These factors include:
- A Genuine case of emergency for speeding (such as medical conditions)
- A strong driving record
- Technical issues in the speedometer of the vehicle
Issues with the radar calibration