Virginia Reckless Driving Charges and Laws

• What should I do if I am charged with Reckless Driving in Fairfax, Virginia?
  
• What can affect the type of sentence I receive if I am found guilty of Reckless Driving?
  
• A note from a defense lawyer about Reckless Driving in Fairfax County, Loudoun County, or Prince William County.
  
• What can I do to help my attorney defend me against a Reckless Driving charge in Fairfax?
  
• Can I appeal a Reckless Driving charge in Virginia?
  
• What are the different types of Reckless Driving in Virginia? / How is Reckless Driving Defined in Virginia?

Virginia Reckless Driving laws are some of the most severe traffic laws in the country. The Virginia legislature set up its Reckless Driving statutes to criminalize the act of speeding if a person exceeds 20 miles per hour faster than the posted speed limit. For instance, if you were traveling 81 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone, you may get a plain speeding ticket in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey or North Carolina. For going the same speed in Northern Virginia, a State Trooper, Fairfax County deputy, Leesburg police officer is likely to issue a “summons” which requires you to appear in court.

After realizing that this could be serious, many people often go to the internet to find out more about the consequences of a conviction for reckless driving in Fairfax and Northern Virginia. In addition to the information on these pages, the traffic law defense attorneys at The Gordon Law Firm offer a free phone or office consultation so you can speak to an experienced Virginia lawyer about your reckless driving charge before you risk going to court by yourself.

Reckless Driving charges for speeding are common, especially in Northern Virginia which includes Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford counties. The area has many miles of multi-lane divided highways such as Interstate 95, Interstate 66, and the Washington Beltway. Although Virginia Reckless Driving charges are common they can have serious consequences. The Virginia General Assembly designated Reckless Driving as a Class 1 misdemeanor, a crime with penalties similar to a DWI or Assault and Battery conviction. In Virginia, a Class 1 misdemeanor is a criminal charge, punishable by up to 12 months in jail, up to a $2,500 fine, and a possible loss of your driving privileges for up to six months. Additionally, you could be arrested for Reckless Driving and have your car impounded at the discretion of the police officer for committing this offense. Instead, most Northern Virginia and Fairfax police officers will just issue a "summons" requiring you to appear in court in order to save time and resources.

If convicted of Reckless Driving, the Virginia DMV also places six demerit points on your driving record.

A Reckless Driving conviction remains on your Virginia driving record for 11 years and because it is a misdemeanor it can remain on your permanent criminal record for the remainder of your life. A conviction for reckless driving in Fairfax and Northern Virginia can also cause your auto insurance rates to be increased and may make life and health insurance more expensive to acquire.

The most common Reckless Driving ticket issued in Fairfax County is for going at speeds greater than 20+ mph over the speed limit or the allegation that you drove more than 80 miles per hour a Northern Virginia roadway. On Fairfax area highways such as I-95, I-495 and I-66, and the Dulles Toll Road many people find it easy to be caught up in the flow of traffic. If you were unfortunate enough be accused of driving at those speeds, your ticket was probably issued pursuant to Virginia Code Section 46.2-862.

Virginia Code 46.2-862. Exceeding the speed limit - A person shall be guilty of reckless driving who drives a motor vehicle on the highways in the Commonwealth (i) at a speed of twenty miles per hour or more in excess of the applicable maximum speed limit or (ii) in excess of eighty miles per hour regardless of the applicable maximum speed limit.

Virginia Code 46.2-852 is another type of Reckless Driving charge often used by police officers in Fairfax, Manassas, and Leesburg. The language of the section is broad and it can be applied in many different circumstances. Other sections of the Virginia Code for Reckless Driving are more specific. In cases of general Reckless Driving under Section 46.2-852, the prosecutor must prove that the driver (1) drove at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger life, limb, or property of another; or (2) that the driver disregarded the consequences of his actions and displayed an indifference to the safety of life, limb, or property. The driving behavior must be intentional.

What Should I Do If I Am Charged With Reckless Driving in Fairfax?

So what do you do if you are one of the hundreds of people every year who get charged with Reckless Driving in Fairfax County, Virginia?

First, do not plead guilty to a Reckless Driving charge in Fairfax without the advice of a lawyer. As indicated above, there are serious consequences and you should have a experienced Fairfax traffic law attorney counsel you concerning all possible defenses to a Reckless Driving ticket. There are times when people are charged with Reckless Driving in Fairfax when an attorney can convince the judge or the prosecutor that you driving behavior was only “ improper driving” – a non-criminal traffic offense. If you are found guilty of “improper driving,” it is NOT a misdemeanor and the maximum punishment for the charge is a potential $500 fine, and three demerit points assessed on your Virginia DMV record.

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What Can Affect The Type Of Sentence I Get If I Am Found Guilty In Virginia?

Judges often take into account many factors presented by your attorney during the sentencing phase of a Reckless Driving trial in Fairfax or other Northern Virginia counties. These factors include:

• Other charges that were issued along with the reckless driving charge;
  
• The speed you were traveling or the dangerousness of the driving behavior;
  
• Your DMV record and previous convictions;
  
• Whether there were any injuries caused by the reckless driving;
  
• Your testimony or actions in court; and
  
• Whether you were argumentative or rude to the law enforcement officer.
  

Of course the demeanor and attitude of the judge or Commonwealth Attorney can affect the sentence. Different judges in Fairfax County and Northern Virginia have different perspectives towards certain types of Reckless Driving cases and these factors could increase or decrease your punishment if you are convicted.

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A Note About Reckless Driving In Fairfax County, Loudoun County, or Prince William County

If you are accused of Reckless Driving by speeding more than 90 miles per hour in the above counties, several judges have the unwritten policy of assigning 1 day in jail or more for each mile per hour above 90 mph. This also applies for Northern Virginia Reckless Driving charges if you exceed 35 mph above the speed limit in lower speed zones. For instance, in front of some judges, a Fairfax Reckless Driving conviction for 94 mph in a 55 mph will result in a 4 day jail sentence. If you have a bad driving record, the likelihood of more jail time is possible.

You should expect your traffic and criminal defense attorney to have experience in representing people who have been accused of Reckless Driving in Fairfax and Northern Virginia at these high speeds. Ask your Reckless Driving lawyer what they will do to try to present the best argument and case they can to the Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney or the court in order to try to lessen the risk of a long jail sentence or license suspension.

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Can I Help My Attorney Defend Me Against Virginia Reckless Driving Charges?

After talking to an experienced criminal and traffic defense lawyer, your Reckless Driving attorney may recommend that you take some of the following actions:

Get a copy of your Virginia driving record prior to court date

First, you may be requested to obtain a copy of your current driving record from the state where you are licensed. After reviewing your record, your attorney can provide you with an assessment of what risks you may face in court and what potential difficulties may prevent a successful resolution of your case. For instance, if you have a prior DUI, Reckless Driving charge, or multiple speeding tickets, resolving you case in Fairfax may be more difficult than if you had a perfect record.

If recommended by your lawyer, have your vehicle’s speedometer calibrated before your Reckless Driving trial.

You should not necessarily do this without talking to an attorney beforehand. If you choose The Gordon Law Firm to be your Virginia reckless driving lawyers, we will direct you to automobile mechanics that have “dynamometers”. A dynamometer is like a treadmill. A trained mechanic runs the speed of the treadmill from 10 to 65 mph or more and compares the dynamometer reading to what your vehicle’s speedometer is telling the car’s owner.

Your car may be brand new.. or a Lexus … or a BMW … or a Toyota. We are attorneys, not automobile mechanics. Our Fairfax attorneys have helped reckless driving clients with brand new cars that have been tested with a dynamometer. Sometimes the calibration shows that the speedometer is perfect and other times we have seen new cars that have a speedometer reading 7 mph lower than the car’s actual speed. Maybe the tires on the vehicle are not the same size as the tires that were on the car when they left the factory. Maybe the men and women assembling your vehicle had a bad day at the manufacturing plant.

All we know is that after our Fairfax law firm helped more than 400 people with Reckless Driving charges in 2007, and a speedometer calibration often helped our clients a great deal. This is especially true if you are accused of speeding above 81 mph and is definitely recommended if you are accused of Reckless Driving in Fairfax County or Northern Virginia by exceeding speeds of 90 mph.

If recommended by your Reckless Driving attorney, take a driver improvement course.

Again, a reckless driving lawyer may not recommend a driver improvement course unless you have driving record that has prior tickets upon it. Each client’s situation is different. The Commonwealth of Virginia’s point system for violations of Virginia traffic law is very different from most other states. For instance, all traffic violations in Fairfax, Leesburg, and Manassas result in either 3, 4, or 6 demerit points being placed by the Virginia DMV upon your driving record unless it is a non-moving infraction. Those point values are much higher than those assessed in all of the states surrounding Virginia. Virginia offsets these high negative point values with the opportunity to earn positive points for good driving behavior or for taking a driver improvement program. Each year you drive your car without getting a traffic violation, one positive point is added to your Virginia DMV record. The maximum amount of positive points you can achieve is +5, the best driving record in Virginia.

You may also take an approved driver improvement program voluntarily and add five points to your driving record. These classes are even offered online. However, you can only take the driver improvement program once every 2 years and you cannot exceed a +5 score on your DMV record.

If you are accused of driving at extremely high speeds, or if you have a terrible driving record, our Reckless Driving lawyers may recommend that you complete an advanced driver improvement course through the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program.

Again talk to an experienced Reckless Driving lawyer first. The attorneys of The Gordon Law Firm will tell you how to maximize the benefit of completing a driver improvement course either before your Reckless Driving trial or to improve your driving record in the long run.

If you have a driver’s license from another state, much of the above information may not apply to your state’s DMV records. Again, our lawyers will advise you how to best proceed to try to increase your chances for a positive result for your Reckless Driving case in a Virginia court.

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Can I appeal if I am Found Guilty of Reckless Driving in Fairfax or Northern Virginia?

Yes. You must file an appeal within 10 days from the date you were found guilty of Reckless Driving in Fairfax by a General District Court judge. You should proceed with caution because the results of an appeal can have serious consequences because it is a trial de novo. That means the results of your first trial are erased and you start from scratch in Circuit Court. The Fairfax prosecuting attorney may or may not be the same one who prosecuted you in General District Court. You will have a different judge for your second Reckless Driving trial. Either you or the Commonwealth Attorney may request a trial by a jury.

At the trial in a Virginia Circuit Court, the Commonwealth Attorney must (again) attempt to prove to a judge or a jury that you were driving recklessly. The evidence and testimony may or may not change, but the Fairfax prosecutor must still prove that you were “Reckless Driving” beyond a reasonable doubt. You must also be aware that the punishment also may change for the better or for the worse. Your Fairfax Reckless Driving attorney can explain the risks and benefits of an appeal or a jury trial.

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Types of Virginia Reckless Driving

The most common form of reckless driving charged in Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties is speeding 20+ mph above the speed limit under Virginia Code Section 46.2-862. However, Fairfax and Northern Virginia area law enforcement officers have the ability to pick 16 different ways to charge a driver with Reckless Driving. Virginia Legislature has decided to make each of the following different types of driving behavior “Reckless Driving”, a Class One Misdemeanor which can have the potential of a 6 month loss of driving privileges, up to a $2500 fine, and a 12 month jail sentence.

1. Speeding at 20+ miles per hour over the speed limit;
2. Driving at speeds over 80 mph.
   Virginia Code Section 46.2-862. Exceeding speed limit
3. Driving in a manner generally endangering the life, limb or property of others;
   Virginia Code Section 46.2-852.
4. Improperly passing a stopped school bus;
   Virginia Code Section 46.2-859.
5. Driving at speeds too fast for traffic conditions regardless of speed limit;
   Virginia Code Section 46.2-861.
6. Reckless Driving in a parking lot.
   Virginia Code Section 46.2-864.
7. Failing to give a proper turning or stopping signal;
   Virginia Code Section 46.2-860.
8. Driving with faulty brakes and driving while vehicle not under proper control;
   Virginia Code Section 46.2-853.
9. Overtaking, passing, or failing to yield to an emergency vehicle;
   Virginia Code Section 46.2-829.
10. Racing; Virginia Code Section 46.2-865.
11. Passing a vehicle at a crest of a hill, on a curve, or on a grade;
    Virginia Code Section 46.2-854.
12. Overloaded vehicle such as to obstruct or with driver’s control or view;
    Virginia Code Section 46.2-855.
13. Overtaking or passing another vehicle at a railroad grade crossing;
    Virginia Code Section 46.2-858
14. Failure to yield right-of-way to other vehicles when merging onto highway;
    Virginia Code Section 46.2-863.
15. Passing two other vehicles side by side;
    Virginia Code Section 46.2-856.
16. Driving a vehicle two abreast in a single lane;
    Virginia Code Section 46.2-857.

The criminal defense lawyers of The Gordon Law Firm have helped more than 1,500 people charged with Reckless Driving and other traffic related charges in Fairfax and Northern Virginia. Our Reckless Driving attorneys in Fairfax and Northern Virginia will be happy to answer any questions you may have about Reckless Driving.

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For a free initial consultation call 703-218-8416 or toll free at 866-591-6682, email us or see our Fairfax offices.