Client was driving late one night around 11pm and got stopped for driving 91mph in a 55mph zone.  There was another vehicle messing with them so they sped up since our client had a faster vehicle to get away from the other vehicle.  Our client was stopped by a Fairfax County Police Officer and admitted to the speed and explained the situation.  The real problem was our client indicated to the officer they were "sort of" racing the other vehicle to prove a point to them.  Racing is a form of reckless driving in Virginia and can be very problematic.  But our client was very forthcoming to the officer so the officer cited our client for reckless driving by speed and nothing else.

For their upcoming court date we recommended our client take a defensive driving course and the additional reckless driving course.  For financial reasons our client wished to do some community service instead of the reckless driving course which is certainly acceptable and helpful for their case.  Sometimes there are constraints so it's always a good idea to find viable alternatives.

When we arrived in court we spoke to the officer.  The officer indicated he had concerns about our client's speed but was more concerned with the racing aspect.  We cited our client's young age and the steps they had taken to prepare for their case.  In addition, while the speed was elevated, our client did not let the situation get out of control with the other driver.  The officer was very understanding and really seemed to help minimize things when we later sat down to speak to a prosecutor which resulted in an offer to reduce the charge from reckless driving to speeding.

As we've indicated many times it's important to have a good traffic attorney.  The Judge in this case very clearly told our client in open court that had the case come before them for decision the charge would not be reduced and our client's driver's license would have likely been suspended.  That did not happen in this case because our client was prepared which is always the name of the game.