Virginia Reckless Driving Lawyers

Virginia Reckless Driving Lawyers

Have you been charged with reckless driving and are you worried about the consequences? Please don’t hesitate to get in to contact with our Virginia reckless driving lawyers to set up a consultation and get to know your rights.

NovaLegalGroup, P.C. also helps residents of Virginia with Legal Matters in: Alexandria, Annandale, Arlington, Burke, Centreville, Fairfax, Mclean, Oakton, Reston and Springfield.

Charged With Reckless Driving

If you are here reading this, you understand the dread that flushes through your body when you see lights flashing in your rearview mirror. Whether you think you violated the law or not, this is a scary moment. Waiting to hear what you did wrong is stressful and sometimes can be even more stressful once you’ve been given the ticket for reckless driving in Virginia.

First and foremost, when you get a ticket for reckless driving we hope that you reach out to our lawyers right away. This type of charge is going to be a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Reckless driving might seem like something that you can handle without the help of Virginia reckless driving lawyers. These tickets get handed out all of the time, but we feel that having the help of an experienced lawyer representing you is going to make all the difference in the outcome of this charge. This isn’t just something you can pay a small fine on and never have to think about again. Having a misdemeanor is going to leave you with a criminal record that stays on your driving record for 11 years. You could be facing a fine of $2500, up to 12 months in jail or having your license suspended for six months. Those are the maximum penalties for these charges.

Here are a few of the different reasons why an officer might charge you with reckless driving in Virginia:

• Excessive speeding
• Not having control of your vehicle
• Not checking your mirrors when passing
• Having too much packed into your vehicle
• Sharing a lane with another vehicle
• Driving around a stopped school bus
• Not following traffic signals
• Not adjusting your speed for weather
• Racing other vehicles

If you were to be convicted with reckless driving it’s so much more than just getting a ticket. You will end up with a criminal charge as well as some serious and scary penalties. You won’t be able to expunge this from your record and it will follow you forever, which will likely affect your insurance and possibly your future employment.

Out-Of-State Driver

If you do not live in Virginia and you are issued a ticket for reckless driving, it’s not going to be something that you could have easily dismissed as if it was a minor traffic violation. Because this is a Class 1 misdemeanor crime this is going to be handled differently.

Many visitors to Virginia know that they should not speed if they do not want to deal with the hassle of ending up with a reckless driving charge. Too many times we have clients come to us who didn’t notice that they were going 15 miles over the speed limit until it was too late. Because some of the towns in Virginia are small, they have significantly lower speed limits than what you may be used to if you are from out of town, so going over the speed limit is easy to do. You will get a reckless driving charge in Virginia if you are going over 80 mph.

We urge you to take a good look at your ticket once it’s been issued to you and look at the section of the law and what your charges were for. Sometimes, if it’s just a speeding ticket, it might make sense to just pay the fines and move on, but if there’s a reckless driving charge, it’s a completely different situation and you absolutely need to talk to an attorney about dealing with the consequences here.

We urge you not to simply pay the fine and plead guilty to reckless driving because this is going to follow you forever. You will be pleading guilty to a criminal charge and it’s not as simple as you might anticipate it to be. We cannot expunge this record from your criminal record. Virginia does not allow for this to happen, even if this is the first time you’ve been convicted of reckless driving.

Our Virginia reckless driving lawyers are here to talk to you whether you are a local or an out-of-town driver who needs representation after they have been given a criminal charge for reckless driving. Please reach out sooner rather than later so we can get started right away.

Why You Should Hire a Lawyer

We get a lot of people asking us why they should bother hiring a lawyer if they think they can handle it themselves because it’s just a ticket. We want you to know very clearly in no uncertain terms that reckless driving is not just a simple traffic ticket. When you get a traffic ticket, the biggest concern for you is likely just the fine, but with reckless driving you could be facing jail time. Not only that but you could be going to jail for up to a year.

At the very least, we hope that you sit down for a consultation with our Virginia reckless driving lawyers to get to know what your rights are and the possible outcomes of your case whether you plead guilty or you decide to hire us and fight.

We want you to understand the importance of having us on your side during this uncertain time for you. It is going to be a very big deal if you are convicted. We hope that you do not risk the serious penalties of reckless driving convictions and that you decide to hire us so we can protect your rights and your future.

Defending the Charge

The best way to go about defending your reckless driving charge is with the help of Virginia reckless driving lawyers who have lengthy knowledge and experience working with the criminal law system in Virginia and know exactly how to navigate it.

When we take on a case, we look at your driving record and the details surrounding discharge and the incident. We look at whether or not we believe the state or the county has enough proof to show that you were indeed guilty. We look for any issues with their arguments and prepare accordingly. We might question whether or not their equipment is calibrated properly. We have options to protect your rights after you’ve been charged with this Class 1 misdemeanor.

Penalties if Convicted

A huge concern for people who have been charged with reckless driving is what is going to happen to them. Unfortunately, jail time and suspension on licenses are all distinct possibilities if you are convicted of reckless driving. We do need to determine whether or not your ticket is for reckless driving or if it is just a simple speeding ticket because that is handled differently. If you weren’t going all that fast and no one was hurt, then you’re not likely to see jail time or lose your license.

The benefit of having a lawyer for this type of charge is that we can generally speaking waive your court appearance so if you are worried about that and having to maybe miss time at work we can take care of that. You can learn more during your first consultation with us.

What Are Reckless Driving Charges?

When a police officer charges you with reckless driving, there are a few things that they will factor into all that decision. Generally speaking, if they notice a behavior and you’re driving that indicates to them that you were doing so recklessly, that is one way they will charge you. If you were going far faster than any other vehicle on the road they will use that as evidence that you were reckless driving. If you were involved in an accident and they have reason to believe that it was your fault due to recklessness, then they are going to likely charge you.

Sometimes the way that you interacted with the officer is going to be a concern. If they notice something in your behavior like aggravation or irritation, it might sway them to charge you with reckless driving because that will be an indicator of what your behavior was while you were driving before they pulled you over. They do have to prove that there was a valid reason that they gave you this ticket. I cannot simply hand out a reckless driving ticket because you weren’t nice to them. It is always going to be based on how they observed you before they pulled you over and sometimes after.

Call Our Virginia Reckless Driving Lawyers

Have you been charged with reckless driving in Virginia? We understand if you’re feeling anxious and concerned about your future. Our Virginia reckless driving lawyers are here to help you through your case every step of the way to ensure that your rights are protected. Call to set up a consultation with us today.