[HOV-2]

Sunday evening on the way home from a NASA event in West Point, VA, I passed a slower moving truck just after dark. It was a legal passing zone on Rt 30, which runs northwest from West Point to I-95 at Kings Dominion. To get around in shortest time and not alarm the distant oncoming vehicle, I fully accelerated around the truck and then backed off to coast down to normal speed. I paid no attention to the speed I achieved, only to quickly getting around the truck. The oncoming vehicle was a King William county sheriff who claimed he "clocked" me at 89. He ticketed me for 89 in a 55 and claimed to be giving me a break for being nice & polite & having a clean record by not also charging me with unsafe passing or some such violation.

Court is April 20 in the King William County Courthouse. This is my first traffic citation since 1968 (had to break that record with a bang!).

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Trak Ratt]

Originally Posted by HOV-2

... for 89 in a 55 and claimed to be giving me a break for being nice & polite & having a clean record by not also charging me with unsafe passing or some such violation.

Engage a local lawyer right away. Anything over 80 is serious in VA.
Also, was this an Auto-X? When you get your breath come back with how the event worked out.

[BlackTalon]

I agree with D.R. -- get a local attorney who knows the County people. You'll probably still get all the points, but they may drop the 'reckless' or anything more serious. Doubt they will be understanding or drop the fine, though.

I got a ticket like this in NJ a few years back. They basically tell you it's not legal to exceed the speed limit when you are passing. If you try to argue you sped up to keep from freaking out the oncoming driver, they'll just say you should have braked instead, and pulled back behind the truck.

[targa911man]

Mick--

Joey Caprio is definitely the guy to call. 804-843-3656. Tell him I referred you.

[mroberts]

Sounds like you're lucky he didn't charge you with "reckless" - AFAIK, they can hit you with that for anything over 80 mph.

[BlackTalon]

Originally Posted by mroberts

Sounds like you're lucky he didn't charge you with "reckless" - AFAIK, they can hit you with that for anything over 80 mph.

He had to have been ticked for reckless -- just not something else on top of it. Only the court can drop the 'reckless' as far as i know (and I have been to traffic court a couple times over the last 20+ years )

[88carrera]

I agree with getting a lawyer. My friends son was jailed for 30 days for exceeding 80 mph in VA.

[Trak Ratt]

Certain charges associated with exceeding 80 are considered a (minor) felony in VA
Scenario #1: Daddy, why don’t you vote in presidential elections

I suspect that’s what he meant by “doing you a favor” but… Any VA county south of Stafford IS trouble for us Yankees

[DREAM]

I got a reckless in the same county on 301. Those cops are jerks. They sit and wait for anything coming. The judge was ok, she gave me the opportunity to pay the fine and go to driving school to avoid any points. The officer will tell you that you can take the class online but that's not true. You will have to physically go to the class. Since you have a clean record, they should go pretty easy and give you the same option I had.

[HOV-2]

Thanks for all the quick advice and thoughts. I will be getting a lawyer and will talk to Caprio. Yes, my understanding is that being over 80 or being 20 over the limit it's an automatic reckless. So I'm screwed both ways unless it can be bargained down to 74!

Dammit! I knew better than to pass when I couldn't see WHO/WHAT the oncoming was.