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Reckless Driving by Speed – Speed 35-45 mph over the limitThis article is the third in a four-part series on Reckless Driving by Speed in Virginia. The first article talked about speeds of only 20-25 mph over the limit. That article concluded that if you have a good driving record, at speeds of 20-25 mph over the limit, you have a good chance to convince the Judge on your own, to drop the charge to Speeding. But if you don’t have a good record, you should hire a Reckless Driving Attorney Fairfax County. The second article talked about speeds of 25 – 35 mph over the limit. That article noted that you should hire an attorney, even if your record is perfect. At speeds of 25 – 35 mph over the limit, even with perfect driving records, Judges convict and give hefty license suspensions. This article talks about the very serious charge of Reckless Driving where the speed is 35 – 45 mph over the limit (e.g. 90-100 mph in a 55 mph zone.)
At my firm, we classify all Reckless Drivings where the speeds are 35 mph+ as “High Speed Reckless Drivings.” The previous articles noted that while the maximum punishment for a Reckless Driving is one year in jail, $2500 fine and 6 months loss of license, for speeds less than 35 mph over, jail is rare. And at speeds of less than 25 mph over, with a great driving record, even license suspensions are rare. But that is NOT the case when the speed is 35+ mph over the limit. If you are charged with Reckless Driving by Speed for going 35+ over the limit, you have a very serious chance of getting jail and losing your license. I would like to tell you that hiring me or any experienced Reckless Driving Attorney Fairfax County for a case where the speed is 35+ will likely result in a reduction of the charge to Speeding. But if I said that, I would be misleading you. You can bring Abraham Lincoln back to life as your attorney, and if you are going 35+ over the speed limit, there is not a Judge or a Prosecutor that I know of who will reduce your charge to Speeding. At speeds of 35+, your attorney is fighting to keep you out of jail and keep you from losing your license for 6 months. And I used the word “fighting” above on purpose. Keeping you out of jail and keep your license is going to be a struggle.
When people come to me with a Reckless Driving by Speed and their speed is 35+ over the limit or they have a bad driving record, I advise them to take an in-person safe driving course prior to court. We need to show the Judge and/or Prosecutor that you have taken this charge seriously and done something to make sure it will never happen again. The “in-person” part is important. Every Judge and every Prosecutor knows that the on-line courses do not teach behavior modification. You need an in-person course to show the Judge that you listened and that there was interaction with an instructor so that you can learn behavior modification. Secondly, if you need to drive to keep your job, you need something to show that you have learned how to drive safely. Another important aspect of the driving school is that it must not give you positive points. I have had Prosecutors refuse to give a client a good deal because “… your client already got an advantage from the course by getting 5 positive points on his DMV record.” One thing that makes me a good Reckless Driving Attorney Fairfax County is that I learn from my experiences. After that incident, I have my clients take the courses without getting positive DMV points. This also shows the Prosecutor and the Judge that you took the course out of your desire to become a better driver, and not because you were seeking any advantage.
A good outcome on a Reckless Driving by Speed, where the speed was 35-45 mph over, would be no jail and a license suspension of 6 month with the ability to drive to and from work, during work, to and from school, to and from child care, to and from medical appointments, and some other categories. Don’t expect your attorney to deliver an unrealistic result other than what I just listed. Keeping you out of jail and in your car is a good outcome with high-speed Reckless cases. An honest Reckless Driving Attorney Fairfax County at Dave Albo will not make promises he can’t keep, just to take your money.
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