54 in a 35

[Ethan79]

Hello, i was wondering what steps i should take and what the possible outcomes of the ticket i got today could be. I have never gotten a ticket before, i have never even been pulled over, but today on the way home from work that all changed. I am at a stop light and a police car comes up slowly behind me and flashes his lights on. i proceed through the light and pull over at the first safe spot i see. the officer was very nice and i was polite to him as well, he informed me that i was traveling 54 in a 35 zone, i was totally unaware i was traveling that fast, i was just trying to get home. anyways the officer says i can take it to court and it could be dropped or reduced due to my clean record. what steps should i take? what are some outcomes. thanks to all,
Ethan

 

[RDJ]

Take it to court, plead stupid, and ask for mercy. you are teetering on the verge of automatic reckless since you are 19 over. (20 over is where the line sits). Dress nice, be polite, tell the judge that you just were focusing on your speed the way you should have and it won't happen again (since this is your first ticket it is a good way to go.

I just noticed that you are 17. I would see about consulting with a traffic attorney. Since VA has a graduated drivers license it could go very bad for you depending on if you were carrying to many passengers, time of day, talking on your cell phone, yada yada.

 

[Ethan79]

5:00pm coming home from work. just me no cell phone. 2 of my close friends have been pulled over for 20mph+ over (reckless) both of their tickets were dropped after they attended a driving class and BOTH of them were carrying to many passengers.
thanks for the response

 

[RDJ]

damn some places have gotten way lax. where were you on rt 7? or 28?

 

[Ethan79]

damn some places have gotten way lax. where were you on rt 7? or 28?

oh wow didnt know you knew the area. i was on glouscter pkwy close to ashburn village blvd. glouscter shouldnt be 35 mph anyways IMO... but oh well life goes on. the officer made it sound like if i go to court i should be ok. but im thinking i need to check my speedometer cause i thought i was running between 40-45 which is still speeding yes but no where near as bad as 54

 

[silver03svt]

A speedometer calibration may help you, but also may hurt you, depending on if your speedometer is off, and which way it is off. I have had people bring a calibration to court and it actually hurt their case. If you get it calibrated, ask the shop to explain the calibration to you. ALSO, the calibration is worthless UNLESS you can prove that you have taken steps to fix it and make the speedometer right. Nothing like having a calibration 10 or mph off and telling the judge you didnt know you needed to get it fixed! You can also call the court ahead of time and get a list of their approved driving schools, and have a class completed and present the judge with the certificate on your court date. In VA, most juvenile judges will give you the benefit of the doubt on your first offense. Now in VA, if you are a juvenile and you get a second summons before you turn 18, DMV will suspend you license. Take note, I didn's say 2nd conviction, because DMV goes off of a second charge, and it doesn't have to be a speeding violation. It can be any summons for any traffic charge. GL

 

[Ethan79]

A speedometer calibration may help you, but also may hurt you, depending on if your speedometer is off, and which way it is off. I have had people bring a calibration to court and it actually hurt their case. If you get it calibrated, ask the shop to explain the calibration to you. ALSO, the calibration is worthless UNLESS you can prove that you have taken steps to fix it and make the speedometer right. Nothing like having a calibration 10 or mph off and telling the judge you didnt know you needed to get it fixed! You can also call the court ahead of time and get a list of their approved driving schools, and have a class completed and present the judge with the certificate on your court date. In VA, most juvenile judges will give you the benefit of the doubt on your first offense. Now in VA, if you are a juvenile and you get a second summons before you turn 18, DMV will suspend you license. Take note, I didn's say 2nd conviction, because DMV goes off of a second charge, and it doesn't have to be a speeding violation. It can be any summons for any traffic charge. GL

thank you sir. good info. so i shoud take a class before court? i thought i might use that as a plee

 

[silver03svt]

I always tell people to take it first. Seems to work more times than not. Most judges I've been in front of will give you credit for taking it before your court date and not waiting until the judge makes you go to it. Plus if you take it ahead of time and present your certificate on the court date, the judge can dispose of the case at that time and NOT have to give you another date to turn in the certificate by.

 

[blkGT500nCA]

A speedometer calibration may help you, but also may hurt you, depending on if your speedometer is off, and which way it is off. I have had people bring a calibration to court and it actually hurt their case. If you get it calibrated, ask the shop to explain the calibration to you. ALSO, the calibration is worthless UNLESS you can prove that you have taken steps to fix it and make the speedometer right. Nothing like having a calibration 10 or mph off and telling the judge you didnt know you needed to get it fixed! You can also call the court ahead of time and get a list of their approved driving schools, and have a class completed and present the judge with the certificate on your court date. In VA, most juvenile judges will give you the benefit of the doubt on your first offense. Now in VA, if you are a juvenile and you get a second summons before you turn 18, DMV will suspend you license. Take note, I didn's say 2nd conviction, because DMV goes off of a second charge, and it doesn't have to be a speeding violation. It can be any summons for any traffic charge. GL

Not always true. I just got a ticket reduced be presenting a letter from my local Ford dealer stating that my speedo was off by apx 8 mph. It also stated that there was no procedure that Ford could do to correct the problem and my fine was still greatly reduced. :rockon: I ended up fixed the bad speedo w/ my SCT handheld tuner. The revs per mile were way off.