The Traffic Attorney | Reckless Driving is Serious

I was talking to someone the other day, not a potential client, who was telling me all about his speeding ticket. He was driving home from school at the beginning of the summer; it was the middle of the night; and there was no one on the road. He got popped by a speed trap. “No big deal, it’s just a speeding ticket, right?” This is what he asked me. As a Virginia traffic ticket attorney, Maryland traffic ticket attorney, and DC traffic ticket lawyer, immediately the red flag went up.

“What do you mean, ‘no big deal?’ How fast were you going? What were you charged with?”

With those questions, I can see the look on his face turn from amusement at his driving home from school story, to concern at what I might tell him.

“I was going 86 in a 65. The ticket says reckless driving.”

This is where I break the news, and is the point of this post. Reckless driving is a serious offense. No, it’s not homicide, but in many jurisdictions it is a misdemeanor and subjects the driver to hefty fines and jail time. In Virginia, for example, a reckless driving conviction can carry up to a $2,500 fine, 12 months in jail, and a 6 month license suspension. That’s serious stuff.

Not only that, but a reckless driving charge requires a court appearance in most jurisdictions. Why? Because it is a misdemeanor. Because you are facing jail time. Because the State and the Court want to look at your driving record and determine whether you know the severity of reckless driving. BECAUSE IT IS A SERIOUS OFFENSE.

Got it? Good. The point is that you can’t just show up in court and hope that the officer who wrote you the ticket doesn’t show up. I think that’s what this guy who I talked to was headed towards before I cut him off. Talk to an experienced traffic ticket attorney. Enroll in a driving class. Take it seriously.