Beware of speeding in Virginia. While traveling through, my husband was pulled over for going 82 in a 70 mph zone. Fair is fair; he was definitely speeding. However, the ticket is for Reckless Driving, apparently defined as going 81 or faster (or 20 miles over the speed limit in slower zoned areas).
He would probably have just paid the fine had the ticket been for speeding, but reckless driving is a misdemeanor. Now we’re looking to consult with a VA attorney about taking the case to court.
Has anyone else faced this? The violation occurred in Sussex Co. Know any good attorneys?
Send me a PM and I will get you some info. I am the expert (due to a family member’s experience) in Virginia reckless driving. You absolutely need a lawyer. Remind me where Sussex County is. I should know because I drive through Virginia a lot. Was his ticket on Interstate 81?
Feeling like I should be texting my S who is driving through Virginia today and tell him to slow down! He’s not typically a speedster but the guy who he is driving with could be! Hope you get things worked out Jasmom.
I will send you PM. The ticket was on I 95 (35 mile marker). I have no idea what town that is near. We were about an hour south of Richmond.
Thanks abasket. My husband is an excellent driver (but heavy footed). I’ve suggested that I do the VA driving from here on out.
There are multiple levels of reckless in VA and simple speeding is probably the easiest. (The misdemeanor is different, eg, speeding and blocking an ambulance, iirc.) I did not use an atty, went to court, and paid a total of $207. But the entire process was nerve-wracking. Mine was 77 in a 55 (in a Fairfax Co area known to locals to be a speed trap.) My friend who lives there had a similar experience and a fine, maybe points.
You will need to make the best decision for your family. I don’t want to make this sound light, in any way. No doubt other posters here may have had a worse experience than I did. But I decided to do as much web research as I could, found a web site where this is discussed, a main poster is a retired trooper. If I can get that again, will link it for you.
And yes, I got barraged by solicitations from lawyers telling me my life was over.
*** I have to amend this, in that he was cited for over 80mph. Still, right now, even if you go with an atty, you need to inform yourself. Google reckless driving in VA and reckless in VA over 80. (Try for info sites, not those that use scare tactics.)
Thanks, @jasmom! That is very valuable information.
I would do whatever MOWC tells me to. ^:)^
You absolutely need an attorney familiar with that area. Sussex is not Fairfax. While it’s a misdemeanor, it’s a Class 1 misdemeanor which means the potential for jail time and up to $2500 in fines - and yes, that does happen. Good luck!
Let me just say this: jail time is not ordinary for a first timer with a clean driving record in the home state. Jail and the highest fine are maximums. Maybe you do need an atty because this was over 80. But you can begin to inform yourself of what happens. The bigger issue on my date were folks with multiple offenses who still didn’t show up.
Listen to MOWC. This is not a case for self-help.
Lookingforward, It’s great to know that not all outcomes are dire. That will provide some reassurance while we search out attorneys and follow MOWC’s sage advice. Whereas I figure a clean driving record will help, I’m assuming a good attorney adds another layer of expertise and increases the odds of a good outcome.
Sorry to hear about this, jasmom. My H and I drive through VA often and my H has been stopped once and ticketed. it was simply for speeding so he just paid it. He now is sure to set his cruise control through that area to prevent a repeat! We have cars that like to go fast so it’s sometimes difficult to keep to a steady (and slower) speed. 
There are always cops out with radar on our route, 77 and 81, and they always seem to have the out-of-state drivers stopped. We have learned to be very careful on that part of our trip. Best of luck to your H as you navigate this ticket.
Personal experience here with this happening to the kids. They paid a lawyer found online and the tickets were reduced to lesser charges. The lawyer costs to one of them was 1000 which really got their attention.
It’s a really expensive lesson. If we could drive around VA we would, but it’s just too wide! /
Virginia has been written about in the WSJ. It is notorious and the tickets can be very serious. It varies at lot by county. I had a family member (guess who…) who in 2007, despite a clean record in his home state (due to some good lawyering in the past) did have to do a 1 night jail sentence even WITH a very connected VA lawyer. It was a particularly onerous county near Roanoke. Same family member just got another ticket, despite knowing better, just across the VA line from TN in Bristol before he ramped his speed down. $500 lawyer got him defensive driving and no points.
Wow, good to know, as I’m going to be driving in Virginia next month. I’m not a speeder, but even the most cautious driver can daydream, only to realize he is over the speed limit. This can happen even more easily when the speed limit changes suddenly (usually outside of a town), no matter how small, and you don’t notice in time.
I have a relative who’s a state trooper. He says the usual philosophy is “at nine, you’re fine, at 10 you’re mine.” But that’s Texas.
Something similar happened to my father. Good thing I happened to talk to him after it happened because he was just going to go to court and wing it! I had to argue with him very strenuously to convince him to get a local lawyer. He ended up sitting around in a waiting room for court while the lawyer did his thing and IIRC ended up just owing a few hundred bucks in fines plus lawyer’s fees. Otherwise he’d been looking at 2k+ in fines.
Of course the addendum to the story is that my father is forgetful of things like that. He told the entire story to me a few years later as if I’d never heard it before and it was his idea to get a lawyer.
H got a ticket in VA once and the trooper warned him that if he was going one more mile over the speed limit it would have been reckless driving, mandatory court appearance, etc. Whew! This was on the road that goes diagonally from 301 south of the Henry Nice bridge over towards Yorktown and VA beach.
I’m a firm believer in cruise control in situations like this. Especially when the posted speed limit drops and it’s hard to stay compliant.
Two things that have saved us when we are on vacation are using the waze app. It tells you were police have been spotted and a radar detector. Although you cant use them in Virginia they are very handy in most other states…