Not Pampered Chef Related/Reckless Driving

[cewcooks]

I really don't want to post this but I need advise. Basically my son turned 19 in Jan and got a speeding ticket in mid feb, no court police officer said failure to obey posted sign, 3 point violation and $170+ fine which he paid because he works and goes to school full time, anyway last week 2 speeding ticket= reckless driving and court date, my question do we take a lawyer with us and plea for a leser violation(But I feel wrong in doing since he is sooo on my sh** list) he is planning on taking a driver edu class before court date etc Has this happened to anyone and what was the outcome, I have heard jail time, huge fines etc...Any advise:cry:

 

[chefmoseley]

don't hate me but I think he should do the time for the crime. There have been many times I have seen someone plea out just to commit a larger crime because they 'didn't really get into trouble'. Stupid I know but just an fyi. Personally I think if he does the time for this it might make him think before he does something else.

 

[crystalscookingnow]

I think if he's 19 & chooses to continue to do that after the fine he's already paid, he should pay the price (whatever the outcome is). I know it's not me & I haven't been in that situation, so I really don't know what I'd do.

I'm sorry I don't really have any advice for you!

 

[PCwithStay-C]

My Mum went through something similar with my older brother when he was 17. He had some troubles at school (he was at boarding school at the time) at was expelled. He came home and started getting in trouble alot, drinking, drugs destruction of property. Alot of stupid stuff. My Mum finally got sick of it and told him to straighten up or leave. He chose to leave.
About 2mths later we went of vacation and my brother knew we would be out of town so he decided to take my Mums car. He knew where we kept the spare house key and the car keys so he took the car. But he didnt know that the neighbours were watching the house and called the police when they saw someone driving away with the car.
My brother was arrested and charged with theft! It took them 2days to get hold of my Mum and let her know what was going on. My bro sat in jail the whole time. In the end she decided not to press charges, although she seriously thought about pressing charges.
That was a wake up call for him. He finally started taking responsibilities for his own actions and started doing something with his life. He went back and finished high school and then got a teaching certificate.
OK so all that long story to say, while it will probably be an extremely tough decision nipping this type of behaviour in the bud could be a good thing. If he keeps thinking he can get away with it, hell keep doing it.
You dont have a very easy decision ahead of you, and its easy for anyone else to say 'let him sit in jail, itll teach him a lesson'!! but hes you son and your the one who knows his character and whether just the thought of going to jail is enough of a wake up call to him, or does he need a little more?
I hope you guys all stay strong through this hard time.

 

[pamperedposey]

I know he's kind of old for this, but I've seen those things that you can put in your kid's car that tells you every time they go over the speed limit or accelerate too quickly or hit the brakes too hard. It will beep at them to give them a warning first, but all violations are sent to you in a report of some kind. I'm sure a 19 year old would probably be able to find some way around it, but I've always thought I would put these in my kid's cars when they are old enough to drive.

 

[daniellemorgan]

I really don't want to post this but I need advise. Basically my son turned 19 in Jan and got a speeding ticket in mid feb, no court police officer said failure to obey posted sign, 3 point violation and $170+ fine which he paid because he works and goes to school full time, anyway last week 2 speeding ticket= reckless driving and court date, my question do we take a lawyer with us and plea for a leser violation(But I feel wrong in doing since he is sooo on my sh** list) he is planning on taking a driver edu class before court date etc Has this happened to anyone and what was the outcome, I have heard jail time, huge fines etc...Any advise:cry:

Since he is an adult he can try and get a public defender on his own. Normally they charge around $100 and they can get the ticket dropped to something lesser. Also, he can go to court and ask what to do so that he doesn't receive any (more) points. This happened to me and I went to court and told the DA that I couldn't afford points, so I was assigned to an 8 hour driving class and it was like it never happened. I've also been down the public defender route and I had my charge dropped to a seatbelt violation. I never had much luck with cars, but now my husband is friends with the DA's assistant so we will never get tickets again! Not fair, I know, but it's nice to have that as a back-up plan. If he is still on your insurance his punishment should be that he gets his own and pays for it himself. All the points and tickets will skyrocket his premium, so he will definitely learn his lesson. I know I did!

 

[cincychef]

Ok I know every state has different laws, but I have a little different perspective than everyone else. My husband before we were married did have many speeding tickets. It wasn't that he drove worse than most people he just drove a sports car and was a young guy. We got pulled over for the silliest things. One time it was for the light above his license plate, one time for a foglight that burned out. Anyway is your son just getting a speeding ticket for driving too fast or has he been in an accident? I know in Ohio you get points on your license that last for 5 years. I think my husband was one point away from having his license revoked. This made him slow down because he had a full time job and bills to pay. If your son is in school and working can he see how this will really mess up his life? If so just the thought of not having a lisence may do the trick. I don't know if this helps, but I just know that having a lot of speeding tickets isn't always that hard to do. I hope it gets worked out and you can decide what is best for him. Good Luck.

 

[pampermejolene]

Personally, I just have no patience for people that violate traffic laws (ya, I'm one of those freaks that pretty much follows speed limits, stops fully at stop signs, etc.).
You should be thrilled that he got a speeding ticket and didn't lose control and crash into something or someone.
I'd let him handle it on his own. If he can afford an attorney, cool. If not, maybe he'll learn something after spending some money or some time in jail.

 

[KateD]

You said he in school? My university had a student legal department, and when I got my traffic ticket I went and talked to them. The consultation was free, and I didn't feel I needed the lawyer to go with me to court - she said she would fall off her chair if I couldn't plead it down to 9 over (same fine, but falls off the license in 3 years, and never hits insurance if you don't get another ticket).By the way, "pleading to a lesser charge" on traffic tickets is a lot different than, say, pleading to possession on a drug charge or something of the like. A lot different. Traffic violations are in a whole different strata of legal woes; even jailable offenses (for example, driving on a suspended) aren't considered in the same realm AT ALL as other crimes. I wasn't quite sure of your post - did he get two tickets last week, or the second, total? And was it reckless because he got two, because it was his second, or because he was going in excess of 20 above posted or 80mph? Without a clean record it might be less likely to get a judge to drop it to "just speeding", but I wouldn't think impossible, especially since he's going to do a driving course.Also, if he does go to court and the officer doesn't show up, he can get it thrown out. The chances are low the officer won't show up - they schedule all of theirs on the same day - but my husband has forgotten once or twice or had an emergency!All that to say, seriously, talk to a lawyer. I am going out on a limb here, but I doubt any of us cheffers passed the bar for your state (hey, I just checked! It's my state, too! Where in VA are you?), and anything we say would be pure conjecture.(PS - since you were VA, I asked hubby, and he does feel that fears of jail are pretty unlikely. I'm not a lawyer, and neither is he, but if you wanted me to give him a "hypothetical" with your specifics, shoot me a PM)I am a major traffic violation nut, too, but things like driving "the posted limit" in the passing lane (when not passing) can cause just as many accidents as a person speeding. And is also technically against the law in a lot of states (unfortunately not VA ).

 

[daniellemorgan]

Does VA has something called a "prayer for judgement"? It is when the ticket is completely dismissed, BUT if you get another ticket within 3 years the old ticket is held against you as well as the new one. Just another thought.

 

[pkd09]

I don't think he will actually do time in jail for his offenses. Jails are overcrowded with "real" criminals these days. Is the car he drives in your name? If it is, get it transferred to him...liability issues for registered owner.

 

[KateD]

Does VA has something called a "prayer for judgement"? It is when the ticket is completely dismissed, BUT if you get another ticket within 3 years the old ticket is held against you as well as the new one. Just another thought.

I don't know if they call it PJC, but you can do this... but there isn't a good chance of it in this case, since he had another ticket just 2 months ago.

Again, I'm not a lawyer, and I don't even pretend to be one on TV!

 

[hperschnick]

What is the deal that he has gotten 2 tickets so close together? Is something going on in his life that needs to be dealt with? I got my first ticket at probably 18 and was terrified (speeding back to school from lunch)! I know it slowed me down for quite a long time. Is he showing off for friends, is he having a hard time at school? Is there some underlying problem that is going on? I know... sometimes boys are just boys though!

I agree with some of the other posts that the car needs to be in his name if it ins't already and that he needs to take care of his own insurance - if he sees that there is a relationship to his driving record and his insurance costs he may wake up a little.

 

[lkprescott]

He's an adult... sounds like he's made his bed of nails and needs to feel the sting of the punishment. If he wants to fight it, let him get a lawyer (perhaps his school can help?) or let him represent himself. I fought a speeding ticket before - no lawyer needed. Helping him may end up only worsening things if he feels or hears (via actions) that you'll just bail him out. Enable that behavior enough and he'll come to rely on you... Don't know what the laws are in your state - perhaps they're online? I think here though, after a certain number of points on the license they can take it from you... which really stinks, of course, when it comes to getting around. The only people I've known to have jail time due to a driving infraction were those with a DUI and only after like... three times I think? Though that may have changed since it happened to this person I know... but can't say I've heard of anyone going to jail over driving infractions... our state tends to fine HEAVILY for speeding though so that's usually a pretty good deterrent...