Half of us are typing wreckless....the other half reckless. I for one apologize for not knowing how to spell. Good to see you on top of things Peter

 

i took a class for my reckless and found out that if you drive across parking spaces in the parking lot, it's a reckless also. Damn, VA law is messed up

 

There are two types of reckless in VA, one is reckless: speed, and the other is reckless: general (actually there are three types, because reckless endangerment is also technically reckless driving). On the speed side of reckless driving, anything 80+ is automatically reckless. The rest depends on your speed relative to the posted speed limit. 20 over is usually a good rule of thumb, but sometimes reckless can be something under 20mph over.

Under general reckless driving, well all sorts of things can fall under this category, from running off the road to chirping your tires at a stop light. Normally, the officer isn't going to write you for general reckless, unless you do something really stupid, give him a hard time, or he's just one of those "ticket writer" type cops who tickets everyone for everything.

I don't know what the officer that ticketed the OP was thinking, but just sending in a letter isn't going to cut it... unless he somehow moves to amend the charge the simple speeding in court and they just try you in your absence. I wouldn't put my trust in the fact that that's what he's going to do though... and if you don't show up for your reckless, you may end up with a show cause or even a FTA (fail to appear), which is just going to make the situation much worse.

 

And the lawyer can possibly show up for you so you don't have to go down. Mine told me I didn't have to come (~120 miles for me, Laurel to Hanover, VA)

You need to find a local lawyer that's willing to represent you in that court, and one that knows the judge well.

 

Thanks guys.

What's the going rate for attorney representation nowadays?

 

I paid $750, but I'm sure the rates differ

 

If you get an attorney that charges hourly rates instead of a fixed fee, you could pay upwards of $3,000 for a reckless ticket. However, there are some attorneys that specialize in traffic violations who usually charge fixed fees of less than $1,000 (eg. the $750 that PopTarts paid).

- Jeremy (jnn4v)

 

I paid $500 for him to appear once in court.

 

PopTarts, who did you use in Hanover, Va.?

 

As you suggested, Mr Witmeyer thanks for your recommendation!