Virginians.....I need help!!!!

[JVP13]

I'm from Philadelphia, PA and I was on a trip down to the Outer Banks in North Carolina, I was cruising thru Virginia when I got nailed by a Highway Cop with a Laser doing 73 in a 55 zone!!! Messed up pretty bad with this and can not afford the POINTS!! Where I'm from and some of the other places I've lived 99% of the time if you fight it, you usually end up paying a fine and they drop the points, is this the case in Virginia as well??

Also the Citation didn't have a fine amount and I'm clueless on what's gonna happen or how I should go about this. I never got a ticket in a state I didn't live in and this is my first moving violation in almost 10 years. ANY HELP would be GREATLY appreciated. Please help!!!!

Also the cop was a veteran cop and wasn't letting me slide or even helping with giving me a few MPH's less on the citation, I understand he has a job to do but damn. Anyway he gave me a number and said I can call and see if I can take a course, even perhaps online, and he said they may wave the points and I might just pay a fine plus costs. Is this true? He also said that anything over the speed limit is a 4 point ticket in VA? Is this also true, they don't mess around. Anyway HELP ME PLEASE. Thanks guys

[Estoril Blue]

1. Where did you get the ticket?
2. What were you charged with?
3. With no fine - do you have a mandatory court appearance?

Virginia is harsh. Northern Va. is brutal.

[The Automotive Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by Estoril Blue

1. Where did you get the ticket?
2. What were you charged with?
3. With no fine - do you have a mandatory court appearance?

Virginia is harsh. Northern Va. is brutal.

Good Luck!

[JVP13]

Originally Posted by Estoril Blue

1. Where did you get the ticket?
2. What were you charged with?
3. With no fine - do you have a mandatory court appearance?

Virginia is harsh. Northern Va. is brutal.

Thanks for the reply post. Anyway here's the info

1. it says Northampton, VA
2. all the ticket says is speeding 73/55 zone by laser, nothing else.
3. It has a court date on it but I don't have to go if I just pay a fine, the box at the bottom is checked for being able to avoid court appearance.

This was in southern VA, right before the Chesapeake Tunnels, does this make matters better? What's the right call here???? I am mainly concerned with points here, not the fine portion. Some guys are saying it's not a big deal and the points won't transfer but i'm not so sure about all that

Thanks for any and all help bro. Seriously

[LucWerkz]

Originally Posted by killadelphiaM3

Thanks for the reply post. Anyway here's the info

1. it says Northampton, VA
2. all the ticket says is speeding 73/55 zone by laser, nothing else.
3. It has a court date on it but I don't have to go if I just pay a fine, the box at the bottom is checked for being able to avoid court appearance.

This was in southern VA, right before the Chesapeake Tunnels, does this make matters better? What's the right call here???? I am mainly concerned with points here, not the fine portion. Some guys are saying it's not a big deal and the points won't transfer but i'm not so sure about all that

Thanks for any and all help bro. Seriously

Go here..see if you can look yourself up.

http://epwsgdp1.courts.state.va.us/g...anding=landing

[JVP13]

Originally Posted by Red_Baron

Go here..see if you can look yourself up.

http://epwsgdp1.courts.state.va.us/g...anding=landing

I got this ticket about a week ago, been on vacation, anyway I checked this site typed in all the info I had and it said I wasn't in the system?? What's that about?

[LucWerkz]

Originally Posted by killadelphiaM3

I got this ticket about a week ago, been on vacation, anyway I checked this site typed in all the info I had and it said I wasn't in the system?? What's that about?

Did you select the right court in the drop down menu?

[Raja Ventureshield]

Originally Posted by killadelphiaM3

I got this ticket about a week ago, been on vacation, anyway I checked this site typed in all the info I had and it said I wasn't in the system?? What's that about?

sometimes it takes a while before it shows up in the system. you can call in for times like that. So sorry. the DMV cops regulation is worse than Hitler's Regime. We wish we could change things.

[Estoril Blue]

AFAIK the points will not transfer. But the offense WILL be on your driving record (if convicted or you plead guilty by paying the fine). The latter will impact your insurance rates.

As others have said - it may take a few days for the citation to appear in the system.

[Haywood]

This brings back some bad memories! But, I've been using the Waze app, which I highly recommend, and it's saved my ass a few times already. I'm thinking about screwing the mods for now and getting a laser jammer system. Might be a better option for me right now. This car has enough stock power to get you in trouble!

[huyner328]

Just slow down and get a STi radar.

[JVP13]

Originally Posted by huyner328

Just slow down and get a STi radar.

No offense bro but I don't need you to tell me to slow down, damage is done. I need help on the aftermath. Plus Radar Detectors are illegal in VA, not looking to get more citations on top of it all.

[JVP13]

Originally Posted by Red_Baron

Did you select the right court in the drop down menu?

Yes it said Northampton in the top. Even tried to look it up in the county I was in as well, no luck?

[LucWerkz]

Originally Posted by killadelphiaM3

Yes it said Northampton in the top. Even tried to look it up in the county I was in as well, no luck?

Damn then I don't know bro. If it makes you feel better I have NOVA court on Wednesday for 47/30....

[JVP13]

Originally Posted by Raja Ventureshield

sometimes it takes a while before it shows up in the system. you can call in for times like that. So sorry. the DMV cops regulation is worse than Hitler's Regime. We wish we could change things.

I get it bro, I used to live in Michigan, cops are pretty liberal with the speed limits, especially on the highway, not in the residential areas, anyway I grew used to this but when I would go into Ohio, it's a whole different world, cops always pull you over for even doing 5 over and especially if you're from out of state. Crazy. They even try to bone you on the highway toll roads, if you make it from Point A to Point B faster than you should, you'll get a speeding violation upon arrival at the next toll booth. Now that's Insanity. Anyways Thanks for the reply

[JVP13]

Originally Posted by Red_Baron

Damn then I don't know bro. If it makes you feel better I have NOVA court on Wednesday for 47/30....

Let me know how that goes as well man, we kinda got the same speeding violation, you got 17 over and i have 18 over. Is yours in a residential area? And does that make a difference, i.e. Highway VS Residential roads? also someone PM'd me saying it might be reckless driving, but someone else said it's only reckless if it's 20 over? Do you know the answer? And wouldn't it say that on the ticket if it was reckless, cuz i got a reckless back when I was a teenager and it was on the ticket, no surprises waiting in court. Thanks again bro

[nullrouted]

Originally Posted by killadelphiaM3

No offense bro but I don't need you to tell me to slow down, damage is done. I need help on the aftermath. Plus Radar Detectors are illegal in VA, not looking to get more citations on top of it all.

Looks like your 18mph over the limit ticket is good for 4 demerit points in VA -- a driving improvement course would give you 5 safe driver points which would knock out the ticket's teeth when it comes to insurance. However I'm not sure if you'd qualify for that option because you're in PA. PA and VA are members of the Drivers License Compact (DLC) program, so they do share information about tickets, and the violation will likely follow you. By far the best thing to do if you're really that concerned about the VA ticket is to hire a lawyer down there -- give him POA, plead not guilty, and make them plea bargain it down to a non-moving violation (like no taillight or something). They still get your $$ which is all they care about, but your record stays clean. Obviously a lawyer is a costly endeavor though -- any chance you'd go back to VA to fight it yourself? Often courts will cave on that alone and reduce it to non-moving + fine.

Edit: I just re-read your original post -- Mr. "Veteran Cop" was lying to you (don't worry, they all do) -- 1-9mph tickets are 3 points in VA.

[JVP13]

Originally Posted by nullrouted

Looks like your 18mph over the limit ticket is good for 4 demerit points in VA -- a driving improvement course would give you 5 safe driver points which would knock out the ticket's teeth when it comes to insurance. However I'm not sure if you'd qualify for that option because you're in PA. PA and VA are members of the Drivers License Compact (DLC) program, so they do share information about tickets, and the violation will likely follow you. By far the best thing to do if you're really that concerned about the VA ticket is to hire a lawyer down there -- give him POA, plead not guilty, and make them plea bargain it down to a non-moving violation (like no taillight or something). They still get your $$ which is all they care about, but your record stays clean. Obviously a lawyer is a costly endeavor though -- any chance you'd go back to VA to fight it yourself? Often courts will cave on that alone and reduce it to non-moving + fine.

Thanks for the reply. The Officer who pulled me over said I could take the course, possibly online as well, so I think that might work, also someone else said a Lawyer wouldn't cost too much, and could go to court for me so I don't have to take off work and stuff. Have you dealt with the VA courts? I'm more concerned with the points than anything else. So hopefully I can take the course, Are you sure it's worth 5 points? That would be awesome!!! But are you saying if I show up there, they'll most likely drop the points? That's usually how it works up here, you go to court they drop everything and you pay a fine cuz thats all they want anyway. thanks again bro

[nullrouted]

Originally Posted by killadelphiaM3

Thanks for the reply. The Officer who pulled me over said I could take the course, possibly online as well, so I think that might work, also someone else said a Lawyer wouldn't cost too much, and could go to court for me so I don't have to take off work and stuff. Have you dealt with the VA courts? I'm more concerned with the points than anything else. So hopefully I can take the course, Are you sure it's worth 5 points? That would be awesome!!! thanks again bro

I have not dealt with VA courts -- but I've dealt with a couple other state courts including NY (which are some of the worst...don't get me started lol) and I have an armchair interest in all things legal.

I found the info on the VA course here:
http://www.dmv.state.va.us/drivers/#backonroad.asp

If you are able to take that with an out of state license, then it looks like that's all you'll need (plus the original ticket fine), to steer clear of insurance issues.

A traffic lawyer for a speeding case isn't as expensive as say... a DUI (ask me how I know), but I would still expect to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $500-$750 for a decent one to handle it for you.

[JVP13]

Originally Posted by nullrouted

I have not dealt with VA courts -- but I've dealt with a couple other state courts including NY (which are some of the worst...don't get me started lol) and I have an armchair interest in all things legal.

I found the info on the VA course here:
http://www.dmv.state.va.us/drivers/#backonroad.asp

If you are able to take that with an out of state license, then it looks like that's all you'll need (plus the original ticket fine), to steer clear of insurance issues.

A traffic lawyer for a speeding case isn't as expensive as say... a DUI (ask me how I know), but I would still expect to pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $500-$750 for a decent one to handle it for you.

Damn I was hoping for a Lawyer to cost a $250-350? Thanks for the link I'll hop on and check it out, hopefully that's all I have to do. Thanks for the help as well

[JVP13]

Originally Posted by Haywood

This brings back some bad memories! But, I've been using the Waze app, which I highly recommend, and it's saved my ass a few times already. I'm thinking about screwing the mods for now and getting a laser jammer system. Might be a better option for me right now. This car has enough stock power to get you in trouble!

I feel like a moron, I downloaded this app called Trapster on my phone a few months back, never used it, but anyway after the ticket I hopped on the app and it actually showed where the speedtraps were, among other things, and there was one right around where I was. If only I would've remembered that I had the app and was using it I could've avoided all this non-sense. So there are some good apps out there that work. I used it on my way back, some signal issues but otherwise was very helpful, even showed construction and detours, accidents, known polices radar sites and even last known sightings. Not bad for something free. Wish I had a Delorean, with a Flux-Capacitor and a Mr. Fusion.

[MDyDinanM]

Originally Posted by killadelphiaM3

Anyway he gave me a number and said I can call and see if I can take a course, even perhaps online, and he said they may wave the points and I might just pay a fine plus costs. Is this true? He also said that anything over the speed limit is a 4 point ticket in VA? Is this also true, they don't mess around. Anyway HELP ME PLEASE. Thanks guys

I had points dropped and the charges changed (faulty vehicle) by taking an online driving course (suggested by the cop). Just paid a fine. However, they will look at your driving record and if its good, they'll likely drop it. If not, then no they likely won't.