Anyone in WA state get a reckless driving ticket? If so, what were the consequences?
No, but whatever you do, don't plead guilty. Plead innocent and demand a court hearing and represent yourself. 9 times out of ten the cop never shows up and it is thrown out of court.
No, but whatever you do, don't plead guilty. Plead innocent and demand a court hearing and represent yourself. 9 times out of ten the cop never shows up and it is thrown out of court.
Thanks for the tip. I plan to hire a lawyer, though I'm tempted not to. But the punishment can be high for this crime. Something like up to a year in jail, up to 5k fine, mandatory suspended license for a minimum of 30 days, and I would have to get special insurance that costs allot.
The lawyer (mucklestone & mucklestone) wants 2,500. She would show up in court for me for the first appearance. Then if there is a trial its going to cost me more, but I'm not sure how much. I need to call and ask.
I got one back in 1999 not really a big deal at all.Don't hire a lawyer its a waste of money. Plead not guilty in your arraignment and talk to the D.A on your next court appearance.They reduced the ticket to highway racing, but it was still a two pointer(because I had three other violations on the ticket as well, that got dismissed).There was one other guy there with a wreckless driving that the D.A reduced to a regular speeding ticket.I say if your driving record is not bad (which mine was'nt) you have no problem at all.
I got one back in 1999 not really a big deal at all.Don't hire a lawyer its a waste of money. Plead not guilty in your arraignment and talk to the D.A on your next court appearance.They reduced the ticket to highway racing, but it was still a two pointer(because I had three other violations on the ticket as well, that got dismissed).There was one other guy there with a wreckless driving that the D.A reduced to a regular speeding ticket.I say if your driving record is not bad (which mine was'nt) you have no problem at all.
The D.A is the district attorney that tells the judge if he wants to bring you case to trail or not.They usually have a large case load with alot more important cases than driving infractions.They will be there in the pre-trial hearing after your arraignment.If he can settle the case before trial he will, just be upfront with them and tell them what happened and ask them to reduce the ticket.Even a two point exhibition of speed would be better than reckless.Unless you injured someone or caused a bad accident you will be fine.
Well, someone at work gave me a number to his lawyer. I called him up and talked with him. He gave me the lowdown on how serious this is. Then told me how the system works.
I may never see anything because I didn't get a citation right then and there. The cop said they would mail it to me. Well, normally, the cop turns in the report to another guy who reviews it, decides if its really reckless driving or something else or no infraction at all and in that case, I wouldn't get anything in the mail. I hope they don’t send me anything.
Then he gave me a couple options. The first one is to be pro-active and interview my witness (passenger), get the story from me then call the prosecutor find out the status of the case and convince them not to file charges. That is what I'm doing. He only charges $500 which is 1/5th of what my lawyer wanted and offered options when she didn't. The second option is just to show up and try to get it dropped. Like I said, I'm going for the first option.
I don't want to risk representing myself because I can get really screwed on this charge. For Washington state, I can get a mandatory 30 day minimum lic suspension, up to 1 year jail time, up to 5k fine and 6 points against my record and having to pay for r22(i think that’s what is called)insurance on top of what insurance I already have which I hear is really, really expensive.
After talking to this guy and reading your responses, i feel much more relief. I actually lost sleep over this because I get paranoid.
Joel
Last edited by C5 Hardtop; 09-02-2004 at 10:40 PM.
Location: San Diego , CA Double Yellow DirtBags 1985..Z51..6-speed
Speaking from my experience fighting an Exhibition of Speed ticket, hiring a lawyer was a waste of money, and made my chances worse. I guess it depends on the lawyer.
First of all, my ticket was written as a citation, because the officer thought she was letting me off easy, not hassling me with impounding my car. Exhibition is still a 2 point violation here in CA, which is just a shade below Wreckless Driving, which is also a 2 point violation.
You'll be fighting it in a criminal court, not a traffic court, assuming he/she wrote you up as a misdemeanor. (i'm just assuming its pretty much the same in WA.)
Anyways, my lawyer was crappy, and just the fact that I had one, I think, caused the judge's predisposition against me. My situation was one where the cop heard, but did not see the violation, and chased me down. I paid my lawyer $250 to present arguments that pretty much eliminated any shadow of doubt for me. I'd have been better off fighting it myself, the judge would have been more compassionate I think... (he assumed I'm just some punk lawbreaking Corvette driver that just pays a lawyer and expects to be exonerated.)
I did end up getting it knocked down to a single point violation, which definitely helped, but it was clear to everyone my violation was just a borderline Exhibition of Speed.
My suggestions for you... is hire a lawyer that is within the scope of your ticket, maybe one that does DUIs and other traffic related, street racing crimes. In my case, I hired a DUI lawyer, which was too far above my wee little traffic violation, and he paid absolutely no attention to my case.. put no thought or preparation into defending me.
Good luck, I hope some apologies and requests by you to take defensive driving courses, and anything else helps your case. Try to make the judge see your intentions, and your lapse of judgement, and it'll turn out as good as possible.
And when you're ready to tell us what actually happened... I'm all ears.
Location: San Diego , CA Double Yellow DirtBags 1985..Z51..6-speed
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snohomish Vette
No, but whatever you do, don't plead guilty. Plead innocent and demand a court hearing and represent yourself. 9 times out of ten the cop never shows up and it is thrown out of court.
Sorry, but I think that assumption is pure bull****. Of course, unless you have any 1st hand experience (with this magnitude of ticket) that says otherwise.
Location: San Diego , CA Double Yellow DirtBags 1985..Z51..6-speed
Also, those maximum penalties are reserved for people that break that law to the maximum extent. If your case was lesser, or borderline exhibition, then you won't be anywhere near the max penalty IMO.
I was scared just like you, after my ticket, after reading the vehicle code... I wanted to play it safe, and hire a lawyer, and CYA... and make sure I didn't get hit HARD by the judge. I get the feeling you just got caught in a stupid moment, with no ill intentions, just like I did. The judge WILL see that, unless he's in the middle of a divorce, or his housekeeper burned his silk shirt with the iron that morning.
Wreckless driving has got to be the wimpiest violation a criminal lawyer or criminal court judge ever sees... I say fight it yourself, assuming your violation was borderline. I'm basing this all one one experience, but I think the legal system is fairer than everyone on here makes it out to be. Good luck.
...Also, here in CA, your previous driving record has no place in court proceedings.. and supposedly it will really piss off the judge if you bring it up... so don't think about banking on it, assuming you have a good record.
After all I went through, all my paranoia... I wish I had just tracked the cop down a few days later, and apologized and asked her to reconsider. The officer is the only one who has the right to change the violation. Turns out she wasn't very familiar with the vehicle code, and 1 pt vs. 2-pt violations. I would've had the opportunity to do traffic school, and I'd have a clean record right now. Damn. The reason I never asked the officer, is because I was afraid she's then know I was ready to fight the ticket, and would stand her ground and definitely make it to court to see fit that I got what was coming to me. Give the cop a chance... give the court a chance. Besides, they like Corvettes more than Acura Type-R's.
Last edited by CentralCoaster; 09-03-2004 at 01:56 AM.
And when you're ready to tell us what actually happened... I'm all ears.
For all the help I'm getting here thats the least I could do
I passed a car "recklessly". I did not tailgaite him nor did I cut him off after overtaking him. However, I did gun it to pass him. Also, beforhand, I had just exited a corner taking the outer lane before overtaking the car. I took the corner fast.
So what the cop might have seen is me taking a corner fast, taking the outside lane after exiting the corner and passing someone and going into the inner lane after the pass.
Location: San Diego , CA Double Yellow DirtBags 1985..Z51..6-speed
I do that on my way to work every morning. Sounds like a ridiculous ticket to me. Don't hire a lawyer. Maybe if you were driving a doubledecker tour bus your actions could have been considered wreckless, but come on, you know what you're doing!
A while back I got busted for Exhibition of Power in Las Vegas, lighting up the tires when leaving the hotel. Roads in the summer there are so greasy one can spin them in 5th gear anyway. A guy on the forum said he’s got this great lawyer in Vegas that got all seven of his tickets reduced to parking tickets. So I called him and faxed the citation he then went on to describe how serious this type of ticket was and then went on to tell me what it would cost.
Since I absolutely despise lawyers I decided to take my chances by myself. I go to Las Vegas for the 1pm court hearing of which there are about 50 people waiting to go into the courtroom. At 1pm sharp we all go into the room a couple of minutes later the Judge comes and stands in front of everyone and says. “This is how this works, I’m going to reduce everyone’s citation to a parking ticket and 30 dollar fine unless it is a DUI with injuries. I’m in my car on the way home 10 minutes later.
Call up Mitchell Green 206.760.9822. I have a relative, who is an insurance agent who uses him when he needs to deal with the cops. What Mitchell does is request all the documentation from the ticket. Finds everything thing they did wrong and gets it tossed. He is 3 for 3 with my relative. The police have a lot they have to follow to make a ticket stick. So Mitchell just goes to court, says what was done incorrectly and it gets tossed. $250.00 for regular tickets so you may need to find out what a reckless is.
Here in CA, the worst thing is the insurance. Underwriters HATE exibition and reckless tickets! They will absolutely raise your rates, so it's worth fighting, in my opinion.
Hans
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Quote:
Originally Posted by C5 Hardtop
I passed a car "recklessly". I did not tailgaite him nor did I cut him off after overtaking him. However, I did gun it to pass him. Also, beforhand, I had just exited a corner taking the outer lane before overtaking the car. I took the corner fast.
So what the cop might have seen is me taking a corner fast, taking the outside lane after exiting the corner and passing someone and going into the inner lane after the pass.
Joel
Just out of curiosity, where were you when this happened......?
I havent had a reckless before, knock on wood, but I have ued Jeanie Mucklestone before for other traffic violations. She has gotten me off for several tickets. Rumor has it, she is one of the best in the area.
Got a reckless in VA for doing 96 in a 55 cruising back to the base when I was stationed there ten years ago....got a $120 fine, $40 reinstatement fee for lic, 90day suspended lic, 36hrs in jail (sat 6am to sun 6pm), and ugly insurance issues for three years.
The SR-22 they want you to file is a Statement of Financial Responsibility form. This is one of those things that insurance companies do that lumps everybody into "High Risk" rates.
You may not need a lawyer, but then you might....just depends. Show extreme remorse no matter what. Yes your honor, no your honor and be humble like he has the keys to your Vette....he might.
Corvette Store
Reckless driving ticket
I'd have been better off fighting it myself, the judge would have been more compassionate I think... (he assumed I'm just some punk lawbreaking Corvette driver that just pays a lawyer and expects to be exonerated.)
