Andrew Flusche, Fredericksburg Lawyer

A reckless driving charge has lots of possible outcomes. A conviction could lead to jail time, license suspension, and a hefty fine.

Today in Stafford County traffic court, the judge handed down a bunch of alternative sentences. For people who had perfect driving records and a low enough reckless driving speed, they were offered driving school to get the charge dismissed.

Here’s the key: this option might not be available for you. The facts and circumstances of your case must fit the judge’s rubric for the driving school outcome. And the problem is that even the same judge can have slightly different standards on different days.

Traffic school is definitely a possible outcome for reckless driving cases, but you can’t count on it. Your best option is to contact a traffic attorney. An attorney with experience in the court where your charge is pending can guide you through your options and help you get the best result possible.

If you’ve been charged with reckless driving in Stafford, Fredericksburg, or Spotsylvania, give me a call.

If you’ve been charged with reckless driving based on speed, you might need to have your speedometer calibrated. I usually recommend a calibration to clients when their speed is relatively close to the reckless driving line (20 mph over the speed limit, or anything over 80 mph).

Thanks to my colleague, Jon Katz, we have a great list of speedometer calibration shops in Northern Virginia.

For my clients around Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania County, and Stafford County, I recommend:

Burton’s Automotive
1443 Warrenton Rd
Fredericksburg, VA
(540) 752-5761
Google map

These guys should do a good job, and they should give you the proper calibration report that you need for court. The last I talked with them, they said their calibration fee is $40.

It seems like the volume of traffic court cases in Stafford County has increased lately. I’ve been getting lots of phone calls from people who are facing reckless driving charges in Stafford County.

The good news is that people are calling the right lawyer. I regularly help clients with their Virginia reckless driving defense in Stafford County traffic court.

Judges have a large amount of discretion in these traffic court cases, and Stafford can be a fairly tough jurisdiction. If you are charged with reckless driving in Stafford, you should definitely contact a traffic attorney.

In Stafford County, if you are charged with reckless driving and your speed was over 100 miles per hour, be prepared to spend some time in jail. If your speed was in the 90 mph range, you might get away with just a big fine. And if you were in the 80 mph range, it’s possible to get your charge reduced to improper driving.

If you are facing a Stafford County reckless driving charge, give me a call. I can help you fight your ticket for a flat rate.

I was in Stafford General District Court the other day. My hearing (garnishment exemption) happened to be put on the traffic docket. So I got to listen to lots of reckless driving cases.

Like any criminal case, you get to put on a defense when you’re charged with Virginia reckless driving. Sometimes the defenses are pathetic, and sometimes they’re a bit humorous.

One lady stood up and told the judge she had to pee, so she was speeding. It’s actually not the first time I’ve heard the pee defense. And I’ll bet general district court judges hear it all the time.

Generally speaking, a potty break isn’t a valid excuse for breaking the law. You’re expected to abide by the speed limit. If you drive more than 20 miles over the speed limit or over 80 mph, you can be charged with reckless driving in Virginia. There is a criminal defense available if you truly had no choice but to break the law (it’s called “necessity”), but I hardly think the bathroom rises to the appropriate level.

Even with this analysis, the lady in question got her charge reduced to “improper driving.” Reckless driving is a 6-DMV-point misdemeanor. Improper driving is a 3-DMV-point traffic infraction.

What tilted the balance for this lady? Her speedometer wasn’t calibrated properly. She got it fixed and proved it to the judge.

Moral of the story: don’t hang your reckless driving defense on your bladder.

Photo by DDFic

You’ve probably seen sporadic news reports about people using their car’s GPS to fight their speeding tickets. Will it work?

One of the most famous cases centers around a Sonoma County teen who has been fighting his speeding ticket for over a year. His parents have hired a GPS expert to testify in traffic court as to the accuracy of their son’s GPS unit. And the case is still trudging through the courts.

I saw a simple version of the GPS defense in Spotsylvania County General District Court the other day. A gentleman went up to the bench for his speeding ticket hearing. The Virginia State Trooper testified as to the defendant’s speed and his radar accuracy. Then the defendant claimed, “but my Garmin said I was only going 78.”

The traffic court judge was not impressed. He explained that the defendant had no proof of the GPS unit’s speed reading and the GPS could very well be wrong. The ruling? Guilty.

To effectively use a GPS defense in traffic court, you need two things: 1.) proof of the GPS speed readout at the time the police claim you were speeding, and 2.) proof that the GPS was accurate.

Some types of GPS units provide logs of the readouts and activity. But proof of the GPS accuracy would probably require a GPS expert, at least until traffic court judges better understand GPS technology and actually put faith into it.

The conclusion? You need more than “my GPS said I wasn’t speeding” to get out of your traffic ticket.

Photo by Premshree Pillai