Excessive Penalties for Reckless Driving in Virginia (Part A)

A reckless driving charge in Virginia is not just a traffic infraction, it is a criminal charge.

Penalties for Reckless Driving in Virginia

At first glance, a reckless driving ticket appears to be nothing more than a speeding ticket. Penalties for reckless driving in Virginia, however, are vastly different than those in other states. The penalties can include license suspension and jail time, even for a first offense!

Penalties for reckless driving in Virginia include:

• A permanent criminal record. The aforementioned criminal charge that comes with a reckless driving/speeding ticket will stay with you for life. The charge will remain on your record in any state, barring you from certain jobs and staining your reputation.
• Loss of job, security clearance and/or CDL. Your future employer may not want an employee with a criminal record, even for a non-violent offense. A reckless driving conviction may also result in you losing security clearance or your CDL (Commercial Driver's License) should you have one.
• Climbing insurance rates. Insurance companies are known for raising rates at the drop of a hat. For reckless driving charges, some insurance companies now raise rates more than they would for a first offense DUI.
• License suspension. A conviction of reckless driving in Virginia warrants a license suspension of up to 6 months. License suspension may also negatively affect your car insurance rates or make it difficult or impossible for you to get to work or other tasks that require driving.

In addition to these penalties, you could be sentenced to jail time.

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• If you want to try to get your license back, you have less than 5 days to hire a lawyer.
• Your trial date is almost always less than 2 months from the date you were charged and, thus, waiting just 14 days to hire a lawyer could severely handicap your defense

• Who is going to be my lawyer at trial?
• What are his/her qualifications?
• Are they AV rated? "AV" = Highest rating possible for Legal Ability and Ethics
• Are they a former prosecutor?
• Where did they prosecute?