Coming home from a friends house this weekend, I got nailed by State LEO going 89 in a 55 on 495, where it meets up with 395. My court date is set for the end of August, and I'm nervous as all hell... I can't sleep at night, cause the event keeps repeating in my head. I haven't gotten a ticket in about 3-4yrs and I've never been faced with a Reckless charge before.... It sucks too because as of late, my wife has been complaining that I have been driving like an old lady, yelling at the neighborhood kids to slow down! Ouch... Talk about Kharma.

So, of mighty wisdom of the Virginia ARFCOMmers, what do I have to look forward to in court? Fine? Suspension of Lisence? Jail?.... Any insight would be great!

UPDATE 8/31 RULING IS MADE

Almost not making my 0930 court time due to a lane being blocked by LEO on Rt7 this morning, I arrive at the courthouse at 0922. Can't find my lawyer anywhere and was getting PISSED!!!! 187 cases to be presented, and my cop was the only State Trooper, so more than likey his cases will be handled last. So I was hoping I had some time.

As 1015.....1030 comes I start freaking out (in my head, not like a looney in the middle of the courtroom). WTF am I gonna say if the judge calls my name?? I try desperately to remember everything the lawyer said, thinking I'm luckily I brought copies of everything with me (Driving Record, Speedo Check, etc). THAT F-ING BASTARD!

About 1040 or so the county prosecuter walks in followed by a bunch of suits, including my lawyer! He walks over and says they worked out a deal: Instead of Reckless Driving 89/55, a huge fine, -10pts and a License suspension, the court agreed accept my guilty plea to Speeding 75/55, -6pts and a fine of $200. I already had +3pts on my record, so that nets me at -3pts, the typical 3yrs to clear off the record. With an online class I can get one of those points back.

Happy Hour begins as soon as I hit the Submit Button!!

May want to get a cheapy lawyer to try and plead it down.  Have him talk to the County Attorney and see if you can get a plea to Improper Driving.

89mph is no joke.  If you go in to court and take the charges standing up you'll likely get a 3-6 month suspended license and $500+ in court fees.  Plus 6 points in your license for many years.  Insurance premium hike when they find out.

Get the lawyer.....

Get a lawyer to try and plead it down to anything less than reckless driving and volunteer to go to a 'driver improvment' course or better yet go to one NOW! And go to court to show that you've attended it.  Anything over 80mph in VA is reckless.  Depending on what you drive in this area your insurance is going to skyrocket with a speeding ticket.  I got convicted of a ticket for 19mph over (in 2002) when I owned a 2001 Mustang GT and my insurance went up more than $100 a month (and this is with USAA on two vehicles and our house).  When I traded that car in for our 2004 Explorer in Dec of last year it went down almost $110.00 a month.  

BTW if you're going to FFX county courthouse I hear they are real hard on speeders etc.

Almost 90 through THAT pile of shit stretch of highway...are you suicidal hehe?  

Yep, you want to avoid the reckless at all costs.  A lawyer is pretty much a necessity...the good old boy network can help with these kinds of things.  

The 3 or 4 years worth of good driving points will help, as will a clean record at the current time...when I got charged with reckless about 20 years ago, the fact that I had some current points was the determining factor with the Commonwealth's Attorney decision not to allow a reduction in the charges.  As it turned out, the dumbass cop forgot my name in the middle of the trial, so I walked Scot free.  Pretty entertaining.  

You're gonna have to go through all the gyrations...get the speedometer checked (if you know anyone who has one of the those shady gas stations, you might slip him a $20 to make your speedometer 10mph slow lol).  Make sure the cop's radar was calibrated recently (you could get lucky, although most everyone knows this trick by now, and the cops never get caught anymore).  Anything else you can think of, do it.  The insurance costs will kill if you get convicted, and walking SUCKS.  

Reckless driving is a pretty serious charge.

I’d think a good lawyer who routinely does cases like is definitely called for!!

Good luck!

ask the judge if you can take a driving course class (the class is like 8hr long  and $75) then show the judge you finish it and they wash it off you driving recored.

last time I was in court in Fairfax...over 80 meant no license and over 90 was jail...so be gald the trooper cut you a break and said you were just doing 89.

Get a lawyer...plead to improper...take driver improvement...pay a fine...then drive slow for 12 months

Get a lawyer.  There's no way you'll beat it on your own.  You'll stand before the judge, and the cop will say "radar your honor" and that's that.  Get a lawyer that does traffic stuff, and get one that works routinely in the courthouse that you have to appear.  It helps if your mouthpiece knows all the people in there.    

If you think getting a lawyer is too expensive, think about how much they will hit you with in fees and fines, lost DL and what insurance hikes will cost.  The lawyer is worth it.

Get a lawyer.

Ross

I guess 1st things 1st, I found the following listed on the Fairfax County Courts page:

If you have a legal question and do not know the name of an attorney, you may want to call the Fairfax County Bar Associations' Lawyer Referral Service at 703-246-3780 between the hours of 9am and 4pm, Monday through Friday. For a fee of $40, the Referral Service will give you the name and phone number of an attorney in your area who will consult with you for up to half an hour. The attorney will not represent you for this fee, but will attempt to answer your legal questions and advise you on how to best proceed with your case.

Its a start, so I can at least get some initial legal council beforehand. I like the idea of perhaps taking a "driver's improvement" course prior to the court date so that I can show the judge that I am taking a pro-active approach to becoming a better citizen. We'll see what the attorney says.

You guys know where any of these "Driver improvement" courses can be found?

Definitely get a lawyer!  Reckless is nothing to mess around with.  I had a reckless charge once, the lawyer got it reduced down to a little $25 fine.  If you get convicted of Reckless it's on your record for 10 years.  Everything else is only 3 years.  My lawyer cost about $500 I think, and worth ever penny IMHO.

Don't take the driver improvement clinic before you get assessed the points...VA has a wierd way of reconciling this.  You need to check to see what you're points are now...if you have some that are about to drop off (most points are active for only 3 years) soon, go ahead and let them do so before you take the clinic.  

I went through this years ago when I had 19 points on my license .  I took the driver improvement clinic, and they counted 4 points that were just about to come off as part of the 5 for the clinic...so I only got the 5 points off my record, not 9.  You need to check on this, as my recollection is a little shaky, but I DO remember getting screwed on the points.  Had I waited 2 months, I would have gotten all 9 off the record.  

You can only take the clinic once every few years, so you want to keep it as a bargaining chip IF you get convicted.  If you've already taken it, there is nothing similar that the judge can sentence you to.  

Get a lawyer that handle this stuff, and get the facts straight about all of it before you go to court..you should call the DMV and find out about the points assessment, and how they keep the records, so you'll know how to handle things efficiently.  Bad news is in VA, reckless stays on your recored for 11 years, according to the DMV website.  

Forewarned is forearmed, as they say.  

Well, My court Date is tomorrow...... Nervous as all hell.

I got the Lawyer, had the speedo-checked (off by a couple mph over 60), and got a copy of my driver record (+3pts). We're gonna try to ask for an aggressive-driving class to keep my license and lower *fingers crossed* the reckless to speeding. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

If you're into the sort-of thing, prayers would be nice for the judge to be understanding, and pass fair judgement (namly keeping my license and reduction to speeding )

Thanks!

Good luck.

I had a ticket 2 yrs ago written for 35mph over, in my old car (2001 Mustang GT).  With a lawyer the judge dropped it to 19mph over.  Personally next time (if they're ever is one) I'll get a better lawyer even if its in the thousands.  The ticket said that the way me speed was measured was 'paced', he wrote that I was traveling at 70mph in a 35mph over the speed limit and was reckless driving.  

My arguement was that VA law says that NO LE, EMS, FIRE, vehicles can go over the speed limit without thier lights and sirens on, so why wasn't the cop getting a ticket since he clearly broke the law in order to enforce it.  

QUOTED FROM CODE OF VA:
Code of VA

§ 46.2-920. Certain vehicles exempt from regulations in certain situations; exceptions and additional requirements. A. The driver of any emergency vehicle, when such vehicle is being used in the performance of public services, and when such vehicle is operated under emergency conditions, may, without subjecting himself to criminal prosecution: 1. Disregard speed limits, while having due regard for safety of persons and property; 2. Proceed past any steady or flashing red signal, traffic light, stop sign, or device indicating moving traffic shall stop if the speed of the vehicle is sufficiently reduced to enable it to pass a signal, traffic light, or device with due regard to the safety of persons and property; 3. Park or stop notwithstanding the other provisions of this chapter; 4. Disregard regulations governing a direction of movement of vehicles turning in specified directions so long as the operator does not endanger life or property; 5. Pass or overtake, with due regard to the safety of persons and property, another vehicle at any intersection; 6. Pass or overtake with due regard to the safety of persons and property, while en route to an emergency, stopped or slow-moving vehicles, by going to the left of the stopped or slow-moving vehicle either in a no-passing zone or by crossing the highway centerline; 7. Pass or overtake with due regard to the safety of persons and property, while en route to an emergency, stopped or slow-moving vehicles, by going off the paved or main traveled portion of the roadway on the right. Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, vehicles exempted in this instance will not be required to sound a siren or any device to give automatically intermittent signals. B. The exemptions granted to emergency vehicles by subsection A of this section shall apply only when the operator of such vehicle displays a flashing, blinking, or alternating emergency light or lights as provided in §§ 46.2-1022 and 46.2-1023 and sounds a siren, exhaust whistle, or air horn designed to give automatically intermittent signals, as may be reasonably necessary, and, only when there is in force and effect for such vehicle either (i) standard motor vehicle liability insurance covering injury or death to any person in the sum of at least $100,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident and, subject to the limit for one person, to a limit of $300,000 because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, and to a limit of $20,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident or (ii) a certificate of self-insurance issued pursuant to § 46.2-368. Such exemptions shall not, however, protect the operator of any such vehicle from criminal prosecution for conduct constituting reckless disregard of the safety of persons and property. Nothing in this section shall release the operator of any such vehicle from civil liability for failure to use reasonable care in such operation. C. For the purposes of this section, the term "emergency vehicle" shall mean: 1. Any law-enforcement vehicle operated by or under the direction of a federal, state, or local law-enforcement officer (i) in the chase or apprehension of violators of the law or persons charged with or suspected of any such violation or (ii) in response to an emergency call; 2. Any regional detention center vehicle operated by or under the direction of a correctional officer responding to an emergency call or operating in an emergency situation; 3. Any vehicle used to fight fire, including publicly owned state forest warden vehicles, when traveling in response to a fire alarm or emergency call; 4. Any ambulance, rescue, or life-saving vehicle designed or used for the principal purpose of supplying resuscitation or emergency relief where human life is endangered; 5. Any Department of Emergency Management vehicle or Office of Emergency Medical Services vehicle, when responding to an emergency call or operating in an emergency situation; 6. Any Department of Corrections vehicle designated by the Director of the Department of Corrections, when (i) responding to an emergency call at a correctional facility, (ii) participating in a drug-related investigation, (iii) pursuing escapees from a correctional facility, or (iv) responding to a request for assistance from a law-enforcement officer; and 7. Any vehicle authorized to be equipped with alternating, blinking, or flashing red or red and white secondary warning lights under the provisions of § 46.2-1029.2. D. Any law-enforcement vehicle operated by or under the direction of a federal, state, or local law-enforcement officer may disregard speed limits, while having due regard for safety of persons and property, (i) in testing the accuracy of speedometers of such vehicles, (ii) in testing the accuracy of speed measuring devices specified in § 46.2-882, or (iii) in following another vehicle for the purpose of determining its speed. (Code 1950, § 46-241.1; 1954, c. 356; 1956, c. 192; 1958, c. 541, § 46.1-226; 1966, cc. 350, 699; 1968, c. 89; 1974, c. 365; 1976, c. 24; 1977, c. 549; 1980, cc. 30, 354; 1981, c. 395; 1984, c. 539; 1985, cc. 209, 462; 1989, c. 727; 1992, cc. 33, 96; 1994, c. 69; 1995, c. 92; 2000, c. 120; 2002, c. 134; 2003, c. 115.)

So was I to believe that from 36mph to 70mph that this cop had his lights and siren on and I didn't notice him?  I called BS, and I believe the lawyer was scared to go to a trial with it and said that 19mph over was the best he could do.  At that point I was screwed.  Reckless they can pull your license, I drive for a living so if I lost my license I'd loose my job.  I even admitted to the officer that I was doing no more than 15mph over.  He had been tailgating me for quite a while (I didn't know it was a cop) so I changed lanes and sped up a little.  Then all the sudden this car turned into my lane almost running into the curb barely maintaining control of his car and flew up behind me and lit me up (it was the car that was tailgating me which ended up being the cop).  When I had changed lanes and sped up he maintained his speed, I got about 100yds from him, so in all honesty yes he probably did have to get up to 70mph to catch me going 50mph or so.

Wow, they are tough on you there. In WA its not reckless till you double the limit, and there is no points system, you can't lose your license for ordinary speeding tickets.

Quoted: Wow, they are tough on you there. In WA its not reckless till you double the limit, and there is no points system, you can't lose your license for ordinary speeding tickets.

Reckless here is 20mph or more over.  OR at the officers descretion at speeds under 20mph over.

Quoted: OR at the officers descretion at speeds under 20mph over.

HOLY SHIT! Remind me to take a cab or call a local for a ride if I am ever in VA!

Quoted: Good luck. I had a ticket 2 yrs ago written for 35mph over, in my old car (2001 Mustang GT).  With a lawyer the judge dropped it to 19mph over.

I'm hoping for that exact outcome....  
Got the butterflies.... 1st time I've had to go to court for this sort of thing.

And thanks for the Luck!

lawyer

That whole area is a construction zone and they can probably tack on stuff for "speeding" in a const zone.

Good luck.

Which judge did you have?

Quoted: snipped........... About 1040 or so the county prosecuter walks in followed by a bunch of suits, including my lawyer! He walks over and says they worked out a deal: Instead of Reckless Driving 89/55, a huge fine, -10pts and a License suspension, the court agreed accept my guilty plea to Speeding 75/55, -6pts and a fine of $200. I already had +3pts on my record, so that nets me at -3pts, the typical 3yrs to clear off the record. With an online class I can get one of those points back. Happy Hour begins as soon as I hit the Submit Button!!

I think the classes are supposed to get you +5 points?  Mine did.  My insurance went up about $100 extra a month until last Dec.  when we traded it in on the Explorer, then it went down by about $80/month.

Quoted: Good luck. I had a ticket 2 yrs ago written for 35mph over, in my old car (2001 Mustang GT).  With a lawyer the judge dropped it to 19mph over.  Personally next time (if they're ever is one) I'll get a better lawyer even if its in the thousands.  The ticket said that the way me speed was measured was 'paced', he wrote that I was traveling at 70mph in a 35mph over the speed limit and was reckless driving.   My arguement was that VA law says that NO LE, EMS, FIRE, vehicles can go over the speed limit without thier lights and sirens on, so why wasn't the cop getting a ticket since he clearly broke the law in order to enforce it.   QUOTED FROM CODE OF VA: D. Any law-enforcement vehicle operated by or under the direction of a federal, state, or local law-enforcement officer may disregard speed limits, while having due regard for safety of persons and property, (i) in testing the accuracy of speedometers of such vehicles, (ii) in testing the accuracy of speed measuring devices specified in § 46.2-882, or (iii) in following another vehicle for the purpose of determining its speed. (Code 1950, § 46-241.1; 1954, c. 356; 1956, c. 192; 1958, c. 541, § 46.1-226; 1966, cc. 350, 699; 1968, c. 89; 1974, c. 365; 1976, c. 24; 1977, c. 549; 1980, cc. 30, 354; 1981, c. 395; 1984, c. 539; 1985, cc. 209, 462; 1989, c. 727; 1992, cc. 33, 96; 1994, c. 69; 1995, c. 92; 2000, c. 120; 2002, c. 134; 2003, c. 115.) So was I to believe that from 36mph to 70mph that this cop had his lights and siren on and I didn't notice him?  I called BS, and I believe the lawyer was scared to go to a trial with it and said that 19mph over was the best he could do.  At that point I was screwed.  Reckless they can pull your license, I drive for a living so if I lost my license I'd loose my job.  I even admitted to the officer that I was doing no more than 15mph over.  He had been tailgating me for quite a while (I didn't know it was a cop) so I changed lanes and sped up a little.  Then all the sudden this car turned into my lane almost running into the curb barely maintaining control of his car and flew up behind me and lit me up (it was the car that was tailgating me which ended up being the cop).  When I had changed lanes and sped up he maintained his speed, I got about 100yds from him, so in all honesty yes he probably did have to get up to 70mph to catch me going 50mph or so.

What was the question?

The red section says he can speed to pace other vehicles w/o lights/siren on.

Quoted: Which judge did you have?

Don't recall the name... I can check back with my lawyer to find out

Quoted: Yeah, reckless takes like 11 years to clear now.......so the knock down to 75/55 without reckless designation is very good...... How much was the lawyer?

Yeppers, I feel so relieved it's not even funny... Lawyer was several $100 (but < $1K)

Quoted: I think the classes are supposed to get you +5 points?  Mine did.  My insurance went up about $100 extra a month until last Dec.  when we traded it in on the Explorer, then it went down by about $80/month.

Not sure. My Lawyer handed me a sheet for www.OnlineDriverImprovement.com, I think it's only +1pt since its an online course,  but I'll double check.

Glad it worked out for you PJ

Not to jack the thread but does anyone know if you get a ticket in MD -Speeding 70 in a 55 this Saturday on my way to OC-do the points count in VA ? Wondering if I should take this to court....

Quoted: Quoted: Good luck. I had a ticket 2 yrs ago written for 35mph over, in my old car (2001 Mustang GT).  With a lawyer the judge dropped it to 19mph over.  Personally next time (if they're ever is one) I'll get a better lawyer even if its in the thousands.  The ticket said that the way me speed was measured was 'paced', he wrote that I was traveling at 70mph in a 35mph over the speed limit and was reckless driving.   My arguement was that VA law says that NO LE, EMS, FIRE, vehicles can go over the speed limit without thier lights and sirens on, so why wasn't the cop getting a ticket since he clearly broke the law in order to enforce it.   QUOTED FROM CODE OF VA: D. Any law-enforcement vehicle operated by or under the direction of a federal, state, or local law-enforcement officer may disregard speed limits, while having due regard for safety of persons and property, (i) in testing the accuracy of speedometers of such vehicles, (ii) in testing the accuracy of speed measuring devices specified in § 46.2-882, or (iii) in following another vehicle for the purpose of determining its speed. (Code 1950, § 46-241.1; 1954, c. 356; 1956, c. 192; 1958, c. 541, § 46.1-226; 1966, cc. 350, 699; 1968, c. 89; 1974, c. 365; 1976, c. 24; 1977, c. 549; 1980, cc. 30, 354; 1981, c. 395; 1984, c. 539; 1985, cc. 209, 462; 1989, c. 727; 1992, cc. 33, 96; 1994, c. 69; 1995, c. 92; 2000, c. 120; 2002, c. 134; 2003, c. 115.) So was I to believe that from 36mph to 70mph that this cop had his lights and siren on and I didn't notice him?  I called BS, and I believe the lawyer was scared to go to a trial with it and said that 19mph over was the best he could do.  At that point I was screwed.  Reckless they can pull your license, I drive for a living so if I lost my license I'd loose my job.  I even admitted to the officer that I was doing no more than 15mph over.  He had been tailgating me for quite a while (I didn't know it was a cop) so I changed lanes and sped up a little.  Then all the sudden this car turned into my lane almost running into the curb barely maintaining control of his car and flew up behind me and lit me up (it was the car that was tailgating me which ended up being the cop).  When I had changed lanes and sped up he maintained his speed, I got about 100yds from him, so in all honesty yes he probably did have to get up to 70mph to catch me going 50mph or so. What was the question? The red section says he can speed to pace other vehicles w/o lights/siren on.

He was reckless.  He nearly wiped out against the curb and nearly rear ended me, if he had rear ended me I would have owned his ass.  The case law I had read on the subject pretty much said that only pace speeding was for following LE cars to verify their own speedometers.  The lawyer agreed and said that it didn't allow them to speed to catch a speeding just as they can't use drugs to make drug busts.

Quoted: if he had rear ended me I would have owned his ass.

Actually, he would have probably slapped you into cuffs for a felony if you got uppity with him.  Assault with a deadly weapon or something like that.   It's my understanding that if a LEO wrecks or get hurt chasing you, it's *your* fault.   Not saying that it's fair, but since when was life fair?

Congratulations!

BTW, in WA an officer cannot issue a citation or infraction for an accident he was involved in, and the State patrol cannot write another trooper a citation or infraction. This caused a stink here because some people were hurt bad and the cop was suspended--his driving record wasn't even affected.

Quoted: Quoted: if he had rear ended me I would have owned his ass. Actually, he would have probably slapped you into cuffs for a felony if you got uppity with him.  Assault with a deadly weapon or something like that.   It's my understanding that if a LEO wrecks or get hurt chasing you, it's *your* fault.   Not saying that it's fair, but since when was life fair?

Should read $$$  meaning he would have hit me at 70mph (according to him) and I'm sure that my car would have spun out sorta like when they do a pit.  

What are these points you are talking about? Is it like a 3 strikes type of deal???

MT (WA State)

Quoted: What are these points you are talking about? Is it like a 3 strikes type of deal??? MT (WA State)

No Virginia use a point system for driving.   Here's an explanation of the system VA DMV.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: if he had rear ended me I would have owned his ass. Actually, he would have probably slapped you into cuffs for a felony if you got uppity with him.  Assault with a deadly weapon or something like that.   It's my understanding that if a LEO wrecks or get hurt chasing you, it's *your* fault.   Not saying that it's fair, but since when was life fair? Should read $$$  meaning he would have hit me at 70mph (according to him) and I'm sure that my car would have spun out sorta like when they do a pit.

Once you got out of the hospital you could use the left-over money for guns!



Thanks for all of the Congrats guys! I'm happy with the result, and although I didn't have to suffer the maximum penalties by law, I feel the judgement was fair and produced the desired effect; I am now a better citizen as a result

Remind me to ask my lawyer if he's savvy on RKBA related laws

90+ mph is jail time ? That blows. I drive at 90 to 100 all the time on 95 in the city. If there is no traffic I just GO.

Of course I only do it is safe to do so.

In PA you lose your license for 30 days for going 30 over the speed limit. Not once in my life have I even heard of anyone getting nailed with this penalty. Usually if you kiss the cops ass they will lower it to 29 over the limit so you don't lose your license.

Quoted: Should read $$$  meaning he would have hit me at 70mph (according to him) and I'm sure that my car would have spun out sorta like when they do a pit.

No, I understood that.  My point was that if he hit you while chasing you, it would have probably been your fault in most states.   You can't sue for an accident that you "caused" can you?   To add insult to injury, you might have been charged with "attacking" the poor innocent LEO with the back of your car.  

Quoted: Quoted: Should read $$$  meaning he would have hit me at 70mph (according to him) and I'm sure that my car would have spun out sorta like when they do a pit.   No, I understood that.  My point was that if he hit you while chasing you, it would have probably been your fault in most states.   You can't sue for an accident that you "caused" can you?   To add insult to injury, you might have been charged with "attacking" the poor innocent LEO with the back of your car.

It wasn't really a 'chase', within 100ft of where the red and blue lights came on I pulled over.  A chase would have meant that I was failing to stop (at which point yes I would be criminal).  

What's really interesting is that the speed limit had went from 45mph to 35mph (everyone does 50 or better there) I was going 50mph and he lights me up as SOON as I crossed the 35mph zone.  When I was a Firefighter/EMT we were instructed that no matter if you're responding with lights and siren you are STILL responsible for the safety of the public.  My arguement was that he was very unsafe barely controlling his vehicle and had his vehicle collided with mine it would further prove my point.  I've spoken to a few other local police officers about this officer and they didn't say he was a great cop nor did they say anything good about him (I think that says it all!).

All of this is half of the reason why we traded this car in.  I was a really reliable and fun car to drive.  BUT it was an asshole, vandal and cop magnet.  Everybody and their brother wanted to race, it was keyed in a motel parking lot in NC, and I could be passed by a minivan clearly speeding, me going the speed limit and the police would be watching me.  My wife was rear ended in it in Clifton and got hurt pretty bad.  We traded it in because she could no longer drive a manual transmission car comfortably so we got an Explorer instead.

If I ever get another sports car I'm going to install one of those 'on-board' driving computers (truckers use them) that records everything = vehicle speed, RPM, engine hours etc and has a time stamp (maybe by them it'll show GPS too).  I can't find the website right now but there's one that records a lot of stuff, outside temp, date, time, speed, rpm, engine temp, etc. for up to a week and either you download it to disc or it writes over and starts over.  It's marketed toward parents of teen drivers.  It was like $500 or something and is DOT certified.  If I had this next time something like this happens I'd just print out its report and have the officer have to argue with what the computer shows.  Or if I was in a accident and they tried to blame me it would be useful in court.