Preparing for a Virginia Reckless Driving Trial

Get a Reckless Driving Attorney as Soon as Possible

If you receive a summons for reckless driving, get the best reckless driving attorney you can afford as soon as possible. If you wait too long your ideal attorney may become already booked and unavailable.

Besides, you are going to pay the same price for an attorney no matter when you hire one, so you might as well hire one sooner and get more service for your money. A good reckless driving attorney will help you prepare for trial.

Write a Personal Biography

Write a one to two paragraph biography about who you are and give it to your attorney. Your attorney needs this background information to counsel you and to talk to the prosecution intelligently about you.

• Include service and community involvement
• Education
• Career background
• Military service
• Hobbies and interesting facts about yourself

Write the Details of Your Reckless Driving Case

As soon as you are ticketed, write down all of the details you can remember. Especially:

• Everything the officer said to you (exact words)
• Everything you said to the officer (exact words)
• Draw a map of the road. Mark where you were, where the officer was, and where any other cars were on the road (use Google Maps and Google Street View to help)
• Write down the names, contact information, and details about any witnesses
• Any other details that you believe are relevant

Get a Copy of Your DMV Record

Do not procrastinate gathering evidence. Typically you will want:

• A non-certified copy of your DMV records from all the states that have issued you a driver's license in the last 5 years.
• Photos of signs, accident scenes, damage to cars, injuries, etc. (if applicable).
• A copy of your reckless driving ticket (or reckless driving summons).
• Get a copy of any accident police reports from your insurance provider.

Speedometer Calibrations for Reckless Driving By Speed

If you are charged with reckless driving by speed you may want to get your speedometer calibrated. If your speedometer is low it can be used as mitigating evidence; if your speedometer is accurate it can aid you in a trial. Most car speedometers are 1-3 mphs low.

Learn more about speedometer calibrations and speedometer calibration locations.

Virginia Defensive Driving Classes

Taking a defensive driving course can be a great help to your case or it can be a big mistake. Talk to one of our local reckless driving attorneys before signing up for any defensive driving courses in order to make sure that you sign up for the right class and that it is the right thing to do for your case. Make sure you have this conversation with you attorney as soon as possible so that you have enough time to complete the class before your trial date without needing a continuance.

Learn more about Virginia Driving Improvement Classes.

Restitution

If reckless driving results in an injury or destruction of property, the driver, only after talking to his attorney, may want to pay restitution to the other party before trial in order to increase the likelihood of a reduced sentence. However, make sure you consult your attorney first so that you do not inadvertently admit guilt while paying restitution.

Never Waste a Reckless Driving Continuance

Continuances are very important and should never be wasted. Do not put yourself in a position where you or your attorney will have to waste continuances. Gather documents and find a quality reckless driving attorney immediately.

Contact the Reckless Driving Attorneys of Nichols & Green, PLLC today for a free consultation in person or by phone.