Virginia Uniform Summons Reckless Driving Speeding Ticket

A speeding ticket in Virginia may be something that you can deal with yourself. A reckless driving speeding ticket is something you should at least talk to a lawyer about. A reckless driving ticket can result in jail time, fines and loss of demerit points. So, it is important you consider hiring a traffic offenses attorney when you are charged with reckless driving.

What is the difference between a Virginia Reckless Driving Ticket and Virginia Speeding Ticket? This is something every one of you should know.

The most important difference between speeding ticket and a reckless driving ticket is that the latter can result in significantly greater penalties than speeding. Because reckless driving is a criminal class 1 misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to 1 year in prison. Also, if you are convicted, then it will reflect as a permanent criminal record. Speeding, on the other hand, is just a traffic violation that will attract a maximum penalty of $250 but no jail time. And a conviction for speeding will not be on your criminal record.

You need to know that the Virginia DMV or Department of Motor Vehicles evaluates the demerit points for terrific violations. The DMV subtracts 3 points for the lowest type of speeding ticket. However, a reckless driving ticket will result in 6 points on your driving record.

You can check the Virginia uniform summons given to you by the police officer to check whether you have been charged with just a speeding ticket or reckless driving, which is a more serious offense.

In order to get a clear picture, you have to first check the left-hand column side below the section that state “Law Section” and “Charge”. It will have the information referring to the Virginia Code Section 46.2–862 along with the words Reckless Driving. Sometime, it will be R/D Speed which stands for reckless driving by speed along with instructions on how to prepay. The law enforcement officer will also write down the driving speed.

If the police officer marks it with an “X” on the part with the instructions on prepaying it means you cannot pre-pay the fees and will have to appear before the court of law. It is imperative to state that reckless driving by speed is not considered “just a speeding violation” because reckless driving by speed is not a simple speeding violation but a class 1 misdemeanor. If charged with this offense you can face a 12 months jail term.

The role of a reckless driving lawyer in Virginia is to try and cut down the reckless driving charge to either speeding infraction or improper driving or dismissing the charge.

Mr. Sris has represented over 1000 clients in Virginia charged with reckless driving tickets in Virginia.