Norfolk Speeding Ticket Cases

In Virginia, speeding is when someone drives faster than the posted speed limit up until 19 miles per hour over. Some other violations that are considered to be speeding include failing to obey special speed limit zones such as school zones or construction zones, or driving too fast for current weather conditions. If you are accused of any of these, however, you have the right to challenge your ticket with the assistance of  Norfolk speeding ticket lawyer. To learn more about speeding offenses and what you should know, read below before calling and scheduling a consultation with an attorney.

Types of Speeding Ticket Related Cases in Norfolk

In Norfolk there are two basic types of speeding offenses. These are traffic infractions and criminal charges. The difference is that traffic infractions are only punishable by a fine and will affect somebody’s driving record, whereas criminal charges are punishable by a fine and jail time, affect your driving records and will also affect your criminal records which is forever. A criminal conviction is much more serious than a traffic infraction and can affect somebody’s future opportunities as well as a whole variety of other things. For each type of offense the penalties get worse as the speed increases.

Important Things To Look For On Your Ticket

The first thing that you should look for is whether what you are being charged with is just a traffic infraction for speeding. Many times we will get clients coming in thinking that they have a speeding ticket when in fact they have been charged with a criminal misdemeanor for reckless driving. You can verify the charge by looking at your ticket or looking up your case online and finding whether it is an infraction or a misdemeanor.

In Norfolk you should expect that judges can be really flexible on speeding tickets. If you do things that proactively show that you are trying to make amends for what you have been charged with, such as a driver improvement course or volunteering or anything like that, it is very common that the judges will reduce the charge even when someone is guilty.

What is Considered Speeding?

You can be pulled over in Virginia for only going 5 miles per hour over the posted speed limit, but it is not very common. Technically it is an offense to go any miles/hour over the posted speed limit.  Generally however, it is silly for officers to pull over anyone who is just going 5 miles/hour over the posted speed limit. There are bigger fish for police officer’s to fry.

Commonly Overlooked Aspects of Speeding Tickets

People don’t realize that it is very possible for a speeding ticket to go from a traffic infraction to a criminal misdemeanor depending on how fast somebody was going. What was just a traffic infraction at 19 miles/hour over the speed limit becomes a criminal misdemeanor once your reach 20 miles per hour or more over. A misdemeanor for reckless driving is punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2500 as well as a license suspension of up to 6 months.