Should i get a lawyer for a reckless driving ticket?
December 11th, 2009
I had a done some drinking at my girlfriend’s college and a friend of ours got sick from alcohol poisoning. So we took her to the emergency room; we stayed in the emergency room for 3 hours so i was completely fine once we were able to leave the hospital. It was raining that night and I couldn’t see a one-way sign on the street I made a turn onto. It was about 2am in the quiet town so there was no oncoming traffic (not trying to make excuses) and immediately I was pulled over by 4 police cars. I explained to the officer that all I was trying to do was get everyone home safely after what had happened to our friend. I was given a dui test and a breathalizer (0.05, intoxicated is 0.08 in VA). The officer gave me a ticket for reckless driving for making the mistake of turning onto a one-way street in the pouring rain and being in an unfamiliar area. This was in fredericksburg, VA.
Cliffnotes: Left the hospital after a friend got sick, drove back home in the rain, made a wrong turn onto a one-way street, blew a 0.05, got a reckless driving ticket for making the wrong turn.
Let’s ignore all of the other drama, and get to the point where you met up with the police: You were driving the wrong way on a one way street at two in the morning, you were clearly impaired or the officer would not have had you submit to a breathalyzer test, and as it turns out you were just slightly this side of legally drunk.
He wrote you the reckless driving ticket because he could neither legally write you a driving under the influence ticket nor could he legally whip your ass in public. You were very very very very lucky.
If the hospital had treated your friend faster, you’d be in jail. That three hours is the best thing that’s happened to you in a while.
- Stuart
December 11th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
By all means, fight it! Have a copy of the weather report to support the rain aspect. Take pictures of the area to show how it is not well-posted. Have posters, be prepared.
the ‘cliffnotes’ should actually be P.S. Cliff notes are summaries of written works.
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December 11th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Let’s ignore all of the other drama, and get to the point where you met up with the police: you were driving the wrong way on a one way street at two in the morning, you were clearly impaired or the officer would not have had you submit to a breathalyzer test, and as it turns out you were just slightly this side of legally drunk.
He wrote you the reckless driving ticket because he could neither legally write you a driving under the influence ticket nor could he legally whip your ass in public. You were very very very very lucky.
If the hospital had treated your friend faster, you’d be in jail. That three hours is the best thing that’s happened to you in a while.
- Stuart
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December 11th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
How severe is reckless driving in VA? I’m only familiar with WA state and there it is a misdemeanor that stays on record for 7 years. My husband was charged with reckless driving and was able to get it down to Negligent Driving in the 2nd degree which is a traffic violation and only stays on record for 3 years. If this is your first offense then you have a shot of getting it reduced in court. However, if it is only a traffic violation in the state of VA I would go to your city or county clerks office – whoever has jurisdiction – and ask about doing Traffic Safety School to get it off your record.
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December 11th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Congrats on being the safety concious friend.It must have been a proud moment for you.
But I am here to tell you, that with a .05 BAC, you don’t stand a chance of beating this, because it proves that there WAS alcohol in your system even though you were not legally drunk, because it can be sucessfully argued that a person with .0 BAC, would not have made that same mistake.
You may think that you "passed" a FST, but the officer would not have tested you for BAC if you had "passed" to his satisfaction.
You can retain an attorney if you want , but your case is very weak.
The officer’s testimony in court as to what he observed, during FST, and .05 BAC will absolutely convict you of the charge of reckless driving. You are lucky you were not charged with willful endangerment of passengers.
Sorry to bring you bad news, but like they say "No good deed goes unpunished"
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former police officer