Randall, Page & Bruch, P.C. – Attorneys at Law

Virginia Traffic Defense Attorney

The last thing anybody wants or expects is that they will receive a traffic ticket. However, law enforcement officials throughout Virginia are notorious when it comes to issuing traffic citations. Virginia has its own set of rules for governing the roads. Every jurisdiction in Virginia has its own standards for handling traffic matters. What works in one city may not work in another.

One thing is certain – if you receive a traffic citation, this can substantially affect your driving record and your insurance rates. A citation could even result in a criminal conviction. You need a Virginia traffic ticket attorney to help you get your citation dismissed or reduced significantly. The attorneys at Randall, Page & Bruch, P.C. have practiced extensively in different cities in front of different judges. There are a number of different types of traffic violations in Virginia.

Virginia Traffic Violations

  • Exceeding the speed limit (speeding)
  • Driving in an unsafe manner
  • Accident-related charges
  • Faulty Equipment

If you receive a traffic citation, it can be a stressful event. You have to worry about missing work or school and appear in an intimidating court. If you hire our firm, most of the time we can appear on your behalf. You don’t have to worry about messing up your daily routine or coming back to Virginia if you are an out-of-state resident.

We will gather basic information from you and pass the information on to the attorney. They will then give you a call and explain to you the severity of your traffic case. The attorney will give you a competitive quote based on your specific case!

Once payment is received, the traffic paralegals will begin working on your case! We will need a copy of your driving record from the state(s) you have been licensed in within the last 7 years. Find your driving record from your state here.

The attorney will appear on your behalf in court and work towards getting your ticket reduced. Our goal is to get speeding tickets reduced to a non-moving violation, like Defective Equipment, that carries no points on your record and will not affect your insurance.

After court, the traffic paralegals will reach out to you and let you know the outcome of your case. They will inform you if there are any court costs and fines that need to be paid to the court. In General District Court, you have thirty (30) days to pay court costs and fines to the court. Learn more about paying Court Costs.

Possible Defenses to a Virginia Traffic Citation

A skilled Virginia traffic citation defense attorney will understand there are various ways to defend these charges. Quite simply, you do not have to accept your fate in these situations. The attorneys at Randall, Page & Bruch, P.C. have extensive experience defending clients who have received traffic citations in front of judges throughout the Commonwealth, and some of the defenses we may employ include the following:

  • Disputing a police officer’s personal opinion: In some cases, police officers cite drivers for violations based on their opinion of “unsafe” driving. This could be subjective, and this subjectivity could be called into question in the courtroom.
  • Disputing a police officer’s presentation of evidence: A defense attorney may be able to gather evidence to show that the evidence presented by the police officer is not correct. Your attorney may use statements from eyewitnesses, diagrams, and photographs, or video surveillance from the scene of the alleged incident.
  • Presenting evidence that the traffic violation was a mistake of fact: Mistakes of fact are mistakes made by a driver about the particular situation they were in when the traffic violation occurred. For example, a mistake of fact could be if you were driving in two lanes because the lane markings were so worn down that you were unable to see that you were actually in two separate lanes.
  • Showing that your driving was justified: One way to fight a traffic ticket could be to point out that you did indeed drive illegally, but for a justifiable reason. For example, if you are ticketed for driving too fast on a highway, it could be argued that you were doing so to pass a suspected intoxicated driver in order to avoid a collision.
  • Showing that your driving was necessary to prevent harm: It could be argued that your driving behavior was done to avoid harming yourself or others. For example, you could have swerved dangerously but done so to avoid hitting a pedestrian who had fallen off of a sidewalk.

The Virginia Driver’s License Point System

You may or may not be aware that Virginia uses a point system when it comes to driver’s licenses. Specifically, this is called a demerit point system. Demerit points are assigned when a person is convicted of traffic violations. Any demerits associated with a traffic violation will affect a person’s license for two years from the date the offense was committed.

Demerit points do add up, and each time a traffic offense is committed, and a conviction is handed down, the Virginia DMV will add additional demerit points to a person’s record. A driver in Virginia who accumulates 12 demerit points over a 12-month period or 24 points over an 18-month period will be placed on probation. This probationary period will last for six months and a person who receives any demerits during the probationary period will have their license suspended for:

  • 90 days for a 6 point violation
  • 60 days for a 4 point violation
  • 45 days for a 3 point violation

Here, we want to explore some of the most common traffic violations and the points demerited upon conviction:

Three-point violations

  • Speeding 1-9 mph above the posted speed limit
  • Improper passing violations
  • Improper turning or backing
  • Evading a traffic control device or failure to obey a highway traffic sign
  • Driving without lights or using excessive lights
  • Failure to dim headlights
  • Operating without a driver’s license

Four-point violations

  • Reckless driving
  • Speeding 10-19 mph above the speed limit
  • Unsafe passing
  • Failure to yield to an emergency vehicle
  • Failure to stop for a pedestrian
  • Failure to yield the right of way
  • Failure to drive on the right half of a highway or street
  • Following too closely
  • Improper signaling
  • Failure to obey railroad crossing signal
  • Failure to stop at the scene of a crash

Six-point violations

  • Racing a vehicle
  • Speeding in excess of 80 mph
  • Speeding 20 mph or more above the posted speed limit
  • Passing or overtaking an emergency vehicle
  • Passing a school bus
  • Driving too fast for conditions
  • Driving while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs
  • Refusing to take a breath/blood test
  • Driving while license is suspended due to DUI
  • Driving on a suspended or revoked license

Traffic Appeals

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your traffic matter you may appeal the Court’s decision to the Circuit Court. You only have 10 calendar days from your court date to appeal.

Once you appeal the traffic matter it is like wiping the slate clean and starting fresh. You will not owe court costs and fines to General District Court.

You can call our office and let us know that you would like to appeal within ten days and the attorney would give you a quote to appeal. We will then file an appeal with the court. The court will reach out to us with a new court date.

When we receive the new court date, our office will inform you of that new date. In most cases, you will have to appear in Circuit Court unless a Waiver of Appearance is granted by the Court.

Contact a Virginia Traffic Law Lawyer Today

If you or somebody you love has received a traffic citation anywhere throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, you need to consider contacting a traffic ticket attorney as soon as possible. A lawyer can use their resources and legal expertise to handle every aspect of these claims on your behalf. As we mentioned above, the attorneys at Randall, Page & Bruch, P.C. have significant experience helping clients handle traffic citations throughout various jurisdictions in Virginia. We understand that every municipality and county handles these situations differently, and we are ready to navigate this process for you. When you need a traffic ticket attorney in Virginia, you can contact us for a free consultation of your case by clicking here or by calling 757-742-6115.

Virginia Traffic Defense Attorney Legal Team

Review
X
What Our Clients are Saying
Harris P