Legal Question in Traffic Law in Virginia

Reckless driving/right to yeild

This morning while pulling out of my street I was hit to by another car. I stopped at the stop sign for quite awhile as tehre was a long procession of cars coming through on the right side of the road I was going to make a left hand turn. The person who I collided with admited to doing 40-45. The speed limit is clearly posted as 35 but the police officer who came thought it was 45, as I was still trying very hard not to vomit and be able to breathe normal I didn't contradict them. No one was hurt and my insurance can cover her car. The officer who handled the situation charged me with reckless driving/failure to yeild. I had checked left, checked right, checked left and then checked right again (as excessive traffic seemed to be coming from that direction) but in that nano-second the other persons car was inches from my own. The officer said I stopped in the middle of the street, while my brother who was in the car with me and was not questioned, can clearly remember me accelerating to try and make the turn. Then slamming on the breaks as we were skidding around in a circle. There was officer there, told me it was a minor offence and usually the judge just gives out driving school, which is not true as it a criminal offense. help.


Asked on 11/03/05, 6:54 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Jonathon Moseley Jonathon A. Moseley

Re: Reckless driving/right to yeild

This *IS* a very, VERY serious charge, which

indicates that the police officer did not

understand what he was charging you with.

You are facing a criminal record for the rest

of your life (a misdemeanor), up to 1 year in

jail, up to $2500 fine and suspension of your

license for 90 days to 6 months.

What County did this occur in?

Normally it is very hard to win a reckless

driving by speed. However, in your case, if

you can muster reasonable witnesses (I'm still

not entirely sure what happened) it sounds as

if you would have a very good shot at winning

on the substance (merits) of the case. I

seriously doubt that either the prosecutor or

the judge will sustain a reckless driving charge

rather than reducing it to a simple traffic

violation, which is just a fine. And of course

whether you pay for any damages to the car is

a separate issue, so the judge should not care

about that.

You should be ready to have a trial in general

district court, then appeal that if necessary

for a trial by jury in circuit court. That can

cost you some money.

Depending on where you are, I may be able to

help you inexpensively at $110 per hour.

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Answered on 11/04/05, 12:32 pm
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Reckless driving/right to yeild

Better engage the services of an attorney who is familiar with the traffic court where your case will be heard and who can work in your behalf to secure a disposition involving a traffic infraction (much less serious) rather than the Class 1 misdemeanor offense with which you're currently charged(reckless driving).

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Answered on 11/03/05, 10:38 pm


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