A first offense of this provision is a Class 2 misdemeanor and second or subsequent offenses are charged as Class 1 misdemeanors.  As such, a first offense carries a potential punishment of confinement in jail for not more than six months and a fine of not more than $1,000.  A second or subsequent offense carries a potential punishment of confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500. The judge may suspended a persons driving privileges for up to 90 days upon the conviction of any offense under section 46.2-300.

In reality, judges rarely impose the maximum punishment and “standard” punishments differ from one jurisdiction to another. While it is theoretically possible to receive a jail upon conviction of a first offense, this outcome would be unusual in most jurisdictions.  Judges do occasionally impose jail on a second offense and regularly impose jail on third and  subsequent offenses.

Please contact Chucker & Reibach  (804-355-8037) if you have been charged with driving without a license in Virginia.

Each state maintains a driving record for drivers licensed to drive in those states.  It’s important to consult the procedures for obtaining driving records applicable to the state in which a person is licensed to drive.  The type of records available to drivers varies greatly from state to state.  For instance, drivers licensed in North Carolina may obtain a three year or seven year driving record.  On the other hand, Virginia licensed drivers are only able to obtain an eleven year driver history from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.  Please keep in mind even former Virginia licensed drivers may have a Virginia driving history.  So, a person currently licensed in Maryland who had a Virginia driver’s license five years ago, should obtain a Maryland and a Virginia driving record.

How to Request Your Virginia Driving Record

There are three ways to obtain a Virginia driving history.

1. The first and most convenient is to use the Internet.  Simply go to www.dmv.virginia.gov and apply for a MyDMV Account.  Once a MyDMV Account is established, two types of records may be obtained; a Record at a Glance and an Official Record.  The Record at a Glance is provided free of charge.  It provides the current driving status (licensed, not licensed suspended, or revoked), point balance, driving restrictions, organ donor status, and expiration date.  However, an attorney is going to need more information than is contained the Record at a Glance.  The type of record is the full record.  This is way more useful to an attorney because this record includes the types and number of convictions on your record as well as the years those convictions occurred.  The cost for obtaining a full driving record online is $7.00.  Please keep in mind it may take up to fifteen days for you to receive your driving record in the mail.  However, a person may view their full driving record online for five days from the date of purchase.
2. The second method of obtaining a driving record is to go to the nearest Virginia DMV Service Center.  It costs $8.00 to obtain a driving record at a Virginia DMV Service Center.
3. The third way to obtain a driving record is to request one by mail.  The mailing address is:

Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles
Attention: Vehicle (Driver) Records Work Center
P. O. Box 27412, Richmond, VA 23269

Make sure to enclose a personal check, money order, or certified check for $8.00 along with your name, address, social security number, and the reason for your record request.

It’s wise to obtain a current driving record before contacting a traffic attorney regarding your case.  Providing the attorney with the most up to date driver history permits the attorney to provide you with the best advice possible.  An experienced attorney will be able to combine his or her knowledge of a specific jurisdiction with the driving record information to formulate an effective representation strategy.

Chucker & Reibach is a leading Virginia Traffic Law Firm

Call (804) 355-8037 for a free consultation

Unfortunately, the answer to that simple question is not always so easy to answer because it depends on the state in which the client or prospective client holds a driver’s license.  Each state has its own set of rules concerning the number of demerit points any given traffic infraction will result in and for the length of time those points will remain that person’s driving record.

In Virginia, for instance, our Department of Motor Vehicles (often referred to as “DMV”) is responsible for maintaining the driving records for individuals who hold a Virginia driver’s license.  When someone is convicted of a moving violation the convicting court sends a notice of conviction and all information concerning the conviction to the DMV.  The DMV then notes the violation on the person’s driving record along with the number of demerit points to be assessed, the date the offense occurred and the date of conviction.

For a person licensed in Virginia the demerit points for any given offense only remains on their driving record for two years.  After two years, the offense may remain on the person’s record for a longer period of time, and in some instances for ten years or more, depending on the infraction (speeding, reckless driving, driving under the influence, etc…) but the demerit points themselves will only remain on the driving record for two years.

Again, however, each state’s laws are different.  While two years is the rule for those who hold a license in Virginia, individuals who hold a license in a different state may want to review their state’s DMV website or contact an attorney who handles traffic matters and who is licensed in their state.

Texting while driving in Virginia is already against the law. It’s punishable by a ticket with a small fine. But the Virginia State Crime Commission wants the act to be considered the same as reckless driving.

The dangers of speeding are certainly well known to most drivers, either by getting a ticket for speeding from law enforcement or being part of an accident due to someone driving too fast or even having a loved one be a victim of excessive speeding. This infographic provides statistics about speeding, including how often speeding results in a fatality, how much does speeding actually cost and what are the main reasons that people speed. In the end, any reason a driver gives for speeding will never be worth the potential costs.

Sobering Statistics & Fact about Speeding:

• Speeding occurs in 33% of all fatal crashes.  
•  Driving to fast also the third leading contributing factor in traffic crashes.

Why drivers speed (Source: Focus on Safety: A Practical Guide to Automated Traffic Enforcement):

• They’re in a rush
• They’re not paying attention to their driving
• They just don’t think the laws apply to them
• They don’t think their driving is dangerous
• They don’t think they will get caught speeding

Speeding costs you:

•  In 1896, Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent UK, became the first person to be convicted of speeding. His fine was 1 shilling plus costs.
• Drive slower and save at the pump: Every 5mph over 60mph, you pay an extra .24 per gallon of gas (www.safeny.ny.gov and their source  www.fueleconomy.gov)
• A speeding ticket can cost $150 to more than $1,000 (http://www.ask.com/questions-about/Average-Cost-of-a-Speeding-Ticket and www.safeny.ny.gov)
• In the U.S.A., people paid more than $6B in speeding fines. (http://www.ask.com/questions-about/Average-Cost-of-a-Speeding-Ticket)
• Keep your license: A speeding violation will add points and your license can be suspended. (www.safeny.ny.gov)

Speeding facts:

• 13,000 lives lost each year due to speeding
• Crashes where speed is an issue cost society more than $40 billion annually (NHTSA)
• Think it pays to speed? In the U.S.A. it costs society more than $76,000 for every minute you gain by speeding
• Slow down in that school zone: many do not comply with a lower speed limit

Speeding may lead to more risky behavior

• Stay sober: drivers under the influence speed more often
• Buckle up: drivers who speed often don’t wear their seat belts

Who’s most at risk?

39% male drivers, age 15 -20 were speeding at the time of their fatal vehicle crash (NHTSA)

Where people speed: Hint: Its not always the highways

• 47% on roads 50mph or less
• more than 20% on roads 35mph or less (NHTSA 2006 fatality data)

According to the NHTSA, a crash is speeding related if the driver was charged with a speeding related offense, or if the police officer indicates that racing or driving too fast conditions, or the driver has exceed the posted speed limit which contributed to the crash.

Sources:

•  http://www.nsc.org/safety_road/DriverSafety/Pages/Speeding.aspx National Safety Council
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limit
• http://www.safeny.ny.gov/spee-ndx.htm
• http://www.ask.com/questions-about/Average-Cost-of-a-Speeding-Ticket

If you have a New York driver’s license and receive a Virginia traffic ticket, you are not off the hook just yet.

If convicted of a NY traffic offense and you are a VA driver, you will have to deal with:

• The conviction being placed on your driving record
• Points being placed on your record
• The hassle of paying fines
• Steep insurance hikes
• Possible suspension
• Possible revocation

Remember, New York and Virginia are members of the Driver’s License Compact, so they freely share driver information with one another. How can this be?

This means receiving a VA traffic ticket while having a NY license will lead to NY being notified about the ticket you received and vice versa for a ticket received in NY for a VA license holder.

What Can a Traffic Ticket Attorney Do for Me?

Face it: no one wants to travel all the way back to the state they just happened to pass through simply to fight their traffic tickets.

Hiring an attorney allows you to stay at home while your traffic ticket attorney fights for you.

Additionally, your lawyer understands the system better than anyone else, knows how to negotiate with the prosecutor in a way that will get you what you want, and can almost always get you a better deal than if you represented yourself.

Many people wrongly think that the cost of a traffic ticket attorney is simply too much. In reality, this could not be farther from the truth.

If you plead guilty, you might avoid travel costs, but the increase in your insurance and the associated fines will likely be well more than the cost of hiring an attorney.

If you fight the ticket yourself, you have to deal with administrative hurdles, may have to travel back to the state, and will be fighting a battle without the best weapons or ammunition.

Rules of the Road for Virginians

In Virginia, demerit points will usually be assessed against your VA driver’s license.

Essentially, as long as Virginia recognizes the traffic offense you committed in New York, you will receive points on your VA license for it.

Moreover, those points will go toward suspensions and revocations even though the offense was committed in a state other than Virginia.

Consequently, it pays to hire an experienced traffic ticket attorney who can get your traffic ticket reduced to an offense that Virginia would not put points on your license for.

Many times, your traffic ticket attorney will already have a relationship with the prosecutors and it might be easier than you may think to have a favorable plea negotiated for.

How a VA Driver Could Lose His Driving Privileges in NY

If you are an out-of-state driver and accrue 11 points or more, you will lose your New York driving privileges.

This accumulation of 11 points will be determined based on the New York point system, not your home state’s point system.

Therefore, if you are caught speeding 41 miles over the posted speed limit or get cited twice for speeding 21-30 miles over the limit, you will no longer be allowed to drive in the State of New York for a specified duration of time.

Remember, your driver’s license will not be suspended by your home state and NY does not have the authority to suspend an out-of-state driver’s license.

However, since VA and NY are both members of the Driver’s License Compact, VA will honor the “suspension” of your New York driving privileges even though it will not take away your ability to drive elsewhere.

Author Bio

Adam H. Rosenblum of ticketdefenselaw.com  is a traffic ticket attorney licensed to practice in both New York and New Jersey.

Motorists driving on Virginia’s highways over the Labor Day weekend may have noticed an increased police presence, as Virginia State troopers issued reckless driving and speeding tickets across the Commonwealth. Virginia State Police had 75 percent of its uniformed workforce patrolling the interstates over the holiday.

The law enforcement push was part of the Operation Combined Accident Reduction Effort (C.A.R.E.), an annual, state program intended to reduce car crashes and injuries caused by speeding, drunk driving and the failure of drivers to use seatbelts.

Virginia saw a sharp decrease in traffic fatalities over the weekend in comparison with the last year’s Labor Day weekend enforcement effort. Six people lost their lives in traffic accidents during the 2012 weekend across the state, including one fatality in Stafford County. During the same period in 2011, 16 people were killed in traffic accidents on Virginia’s roadways.

The four-day weekend saw Virginia State Police issue a number of citations and court summons throughout the Commonwealth. Troopers issued 8,187 speeding tickets and 2,459 reckless driving tickets. They arrested 112 people for drunk driving. Additionally, police responded to a total of 715 accidents.

Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police Superintendent, was pleased with the show of force and the reduction in traffic-related fatalities over the holiday weekend: “We asked Virginians … to make safe, responsible driving a priority … We appreciate everyone who made an effort to share the road responsibly, buckle up, comply with speed limits, avoid distractions, and drive sober.”

Operation Combined Accident Reduction Effort is an annual Labor Day weekend law enforcement initiative aimed at curbing accidents caused by speeding and reckless driving in Virginia.

Chucker & Reibach is a leading firm of Virginia speeding ticket attorneys

Call (804) 355-8037 for a free consultation

David Maron Apraham

A man pleaded guilty yesterday in Spotsylvania County, Virginia to his 12th DUI offense.

David Maron Apraham entered his guilty plea in the Spotsylvania Circuit Court for felony driving under the influence, driving on a suspended license and refusal to take a breathalyzer test. As part of a plea agreement, the Commonwealth’s Attorney dropped a felony charge of eluding a police officer.

Apraham will be sentenced on November 6, 2012. He faces a maximum of seven years in prison for the offense.

According to the plea agreement, Mr. Apraham was first convicted of drunk driving in Mississippi in 1990. He has been convicted of DUI in Mississippi six times as well as three times in Alabama. He was also convicted twice in Virginia: once in Williamsburg in 2008 and again in Colonial Heights in February 2012. Furthermore, he is wanted in the states of Alaska, Mississippi, North Carolina and Washington for DUI-related crimes.

The felony incident occurred in November 2011 when a Spotsylvania County deputy saw Apraham stumbling around a BMW dealership late at night. Apraham got into a pickup truck and drove off. The deputy saw the pickup truck swerve over the double-yellow line three times. When the officer turned on his emergency lights and siren, Apraham proceeded to speed up before turning into a parking lot.

The suspect was handcuffed after he fell while walking towards the officer. Apraham admitted having five beers some five hours early, but he smelled strongly of alcohol. He refused to take a breathalyzer test.

Apraham is being held without bond in the Rappahannock Regional Jail. He will be sentenced on November 6, 2012 for felony DUI in Spotsylvania, VA.

Chucker & Reibach is a leading firm of Virginia DUI Lawyers

Call 804.355.8037 for a free consultation

Upon receiving a speeding ticket in Virginia, most drivers want to know how many points will be placed on their driving record. Virginia’s Uniform Demerit Point System can be a bit confusing. It is important for both in-state and out-of-state drivers to understand Virginia’s Uniform Demerit Point System.

All Virginia-licensed drivers and residents are subject to Virginia’s Uniform Demerit Point System. The Commonwealth’s demerit point system does not apply to out of state drivers. For example, a person, licensed in North Carolina, convicted of reckless driving eighty-eight (88) miles per hour in a sixty-five (65) mile-per-hour zone in Henrico County General District Court would be subject to North Carolina’s demerit point system, not Virginia’s. As a result, it is important for out-of-state drivers to contact their state’s department of motor vehicles to determine the applicable demerit points associated with their specific charge.

All Virginia drivers start with zero points on their driving records. Virginia licensed drivers receive one positive (+1) point for every year of good driving. In-state drivers may receive positive five (+5) points by voluntarily completing a defensive driving school. However, this can only be done once every two years. Five points are the maximum positive points permitted by law in the state. As a result, the best driver point balance in Virginia is +5 points.

There are three categories of negative point violations: three demerit point violations, four demerit point violations, and six demerit point violations. Examples of six demerit point violations are DUI, reckless driving by speed, speeding in excess of eighty miles per hour, speeding in excess of twenty miles per hour, and driving on a suspended license. For instance, a Virginia licensed driver or resident convicted of DUI would receive six negative points on their driving record. If a person is convicted of more than one demerit point violation with the same offense date, then that person is assessed demerit points for the highest demerit point violation. For example, a person convicted of DUI and speeding seventy-nine miles per hour in a seventy mile per hour zone in Chesterfield County General District Court would be assessed six negative demerit points for the DUI conviction. No demerit points would be assessed for the speeding conviction.

Click here for a full list of Virginia traffic violations and their corresponding demerit points. 

There is no limit to the number of negative points a person may accumulate. A person who accumulates negative twelve demerit points in a twelve consecutive month period or negative twenty-four demerit points in an eighteen consecutive month period will be placed on probation. This probationary period lasts for six months. Any person convicted of a demerit point violation during the probationary period will have their license suspended for ninety days (six demerit point violations), sixty days (four demerit point violations), or forty-five days (three demerit point violations). For example, a person convicted of reckless driving by speed, who is on probation, will have their driver’s license suspended for ninety days because reckless driving by speed is a six demerit point violation. However, people suspended while on probation may be eligible to petition the Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles for a restricted driver’s license.

A person who successfully makes it through the probationary period with no demerit point violations will, then, be placed on an eighteen month control period. A person who receives a demerit point violation during the control period will be placed back on a six month probationary period. Additionally, a person who violates probation will have their probation extended for an additional six months.

The best advice is to try to avoid being placed on probation. You should take even minor traffic infractions seriously because demerit points tend to sneak up on people. For example, a person with zero points who pays off three speeding tickets they received within the same year may be placed on probation. Experienced traffic attorneys, like the lawyers at Chucker & Reibach, know how to advise their clients to avoid the accumulation of demerit points from reckless driving and speeding tickets in Virginia.

Chucker & Reibach is a leading firm of Virginia Speeding Ticket Lawyers

Call (804) 355-8037 for a free consultation

A lawyer at the Law Firm of Chucker & Reibach recently defended two clients in a Virginia courtroom charged with driving under the influence. The attorney attained successful results in both DUI cases.

One client was charged with a second offense DUI and refusal to take a breathalyzer test. If convicted of both charges, our client would have suffered severe consequences.

The combination of both the refusal charge and the second offense DUI would have resulted in the following:

•  A mandatory-minimum sentence of twenty (20) days in jail
•  License suspension for four (4) years
•  Inability to obtain a restricted license for the two years of his suspension
• Ignition interlock on all vehicles he owned

In his discussions with the Commonwealth Attorney, the attorney at Chucker & Reibach was successful in convincing the prosecutor that there may have been a legal issue with the initial stop of the client by the police officer. The prosecutor agreed to dismiss the refusal charge and reduce the charge of driving under the influence from a second offense to a first offense DUI. As such, the defendant did not receive any active jail time, was immediately given a restricted license and did not have to install ignition interlock in his vehicle.

The other client was charged with a first offense DUI. Due to mitigating circumstances, the attorney was able to negotiate a reduction from driving while under the influence of alcohol to reckless driving. Our client avoided a mandatory one year suspension of his license and did not have to enroll in the in the Virginia Alcohol Action Safety Program required in a DUI conviction.

Chucker & Reibach has years of experience providing quality legal representation in Virginia traffic cases. Our office specializes in traffic law, and we are prepared to attain the best possible result in your Virginia DUI case.

Chucker & Reibach is a leading firm of VA DUI Attorneys

Call (804) 355-8037 for a free consultation