I was on the way from VA to Florida, running with traffic, and got pulled over by the State Patrol and given a ticket for 82 in a 70, with the offense described as in the title.

The trooper said that I could just call the number and pay a fine, but I have been reading a few horror stories on the net about huge fines, jail time, and suspended licenses. How fucked am I?

I have a Florida license and registration, and so far as I know I have a clean driving record. Should I retain a lawyer in VA to fight it? Either way, me driving all the hell the way to VA from Ft Campbell in August for a court appearance would be difficult.

If I need a lawyer, anyone have a recommendation? I was planning on calling the number tomorrow to get more info on the fine, at al.

UPDATE 1: Well, I called VA this morning, and it is $206 to pay the fine. Not great, but not too bad, I can live with it. What concerns me is the "reckless driving" part of the ticket. The points will be forwarded to FL, and would be either 3 points for speeding, 4 points for the reckless charge, or 7 for both. If I accrue 12 points in 12 months, 18 point in 18 months, or 24 in a 36 month period, then I could be looking at suspension or worse, depending on future infractions. Again, not overly worried as I am normally a cautious driver, and I may be able to take a defensive driving class to get the points knocked off. However, I have to call the state DMV in Tallahassee to see what they will add on to m record when they get the info from VA, and "all lines are busy at the current time."

UPDATE 2: Well, I got ahold of someone in Tallahassee, and they told me that it depends on what VA forwards to FL about the ticket. So, I called VA back and they told me that since it is reckless driving in VA, it will be sent to FL as reckless driving, which will cause me to lose my insurance with State Farm. So, it looks like I will need to retain a lawyer to try to fight it down for me.

UPDATE 3: Called and retained a lawyer, and now have to gather up all the copies of paperwork and whatnot and e-mail them over to his office this week. Fortunately, the case is not until August, so I have a little time. The fee is higher than the cost of the fine, but lower than a grand, and I will consider it money well-spent if it gets the reckless driving charge gone, and even better if the whole thing is tossed.

UPDATE 4: Not much change from update three, but there is more evidence of a conspiracy between the Communistwealth of Virginia and the local bar association...in my stack of mail waiting for me when I got home was a solicitation from a legal firm...not just a letter, but a full brochure. the enclosed letter started off with "we noticed that you had recently received a reckless driving by speed ticket...CALL US before you pay it!!!!" Yesterday, I got a text from my son (who is spending the rest of the summer in FL with his grandmother) that I had also gotten one from a different firm at her house. I disregarded them both as I have already retained counsel and e-mailed him all the pertinent copies of documents.

Fuck you, Virginia...fuck you very much!

Yep, anything over 80 in Va is reckless I believe.
I knew a few people that got hit for it when I lived up there.
You can hire a lawyer and it will probably get knocked down some, but it will cost you. Last guy said it was almost $1000, but it saved his driving record, that whole reckless thing is hell on insurance premiums.

Yes, in VA anything over 80 mph and the cop can write you for reckless driving, a Class I misdemeanor, at their discretion.

Did the officer check "Speeding" on the ticket? If not IIRC from my time in VA it defaults to reckless.

I'd ask in the VA HTF for a referral to an attorney. Even if you have to pay him to fight the ticket, it would be less in the long run than the increased insurance premiums.

Virginia hates autos & driving. Changing lanes without signaling, even if you are the only one on the highway, is reckless driving in Virginia.

In this case, anything over 80 is reckless. Lots of people are getting dinged, since the raised the speed limit to 70, but did not raise the reckless limit.

Fixed.

Serious traffic offenses require the defendant to be serious. Hire counsel.

I'll trade you my state government for yours. Deal?

Naw, I'd rather keep my RKBA and keep my foot off the hammer.

Replied, and appreciated!

You know, the weird thing is that I had the cruise control set to 80, and I was running with the flow of traffic. I was not weaving in and out, tailgating, or otherwise driving in a reckless manner. What I think happened was that I was in the left lane and rolling downhill. For some reason, my car will not slow down, or kick down a gear to slow down, until the speed climbs up 5mph over where it is set at. Or my speedometer is slightly off since I replaced the stock cluster with one from a 300M...but it is plug-and-play so that should not be a contributing factor.

Never trust anything a cop says, especially legal advice.

Thanks... I've learned something I probably should have already known.

You might also be getting Online drive school offers in the mail if that is an option. Don't know if you can do the school since your license is from a different state.