Legal Question in Traffic Law in Virginia

Re: Car accident in VA

If you retain an attorney he may be able to appear for you, although at this point you need to be prepared to attend. If this charge is an infraction you will get a fine. If it is a class 1 or 2 misdemeanor there is the possibility of jail.

Re: Car accident in VA

You really should get a lawyer. Some are not as expensive as you might think. For this type of case (involving only a few hours), some attorneys may only charge a few hundred dollars. Others far more.

Yes, you can request a different court date, although it will probably the officer's regular court date in the next month. So you probably can't choose any date you want.

Call the Clerk's office who will probably send you to the Commonwealth Attorney's office. GET IT IN WRITING if they agree to a different date, or at least send a note to the Clerk of the Court noting that they agreed to a different date, so it will be in the file.

What County in Virginia was this in?

Look at the ticket and tell us exactly what you are charged with. Is it 46.2-853? There is really no such offense as ''failure to maintain control of the vehicle'' but Va. cops have their own informal names for things.

If it is 46.2-853, this is a version of "reckless driving" which is a misdemeanor offense or crime in Virginia. That is very serious and you need to take it very seriously. Virginia is nasty in this regard.

The good news is (a) for this type of charge you are entitled to an attorney and can have one appointed for free if you cannot afford your own. (b) Unless you admitted things to the police officer, the cop was NOT THERE when it happened -- I assume. Since there was no other driver, I would imagine that there is no one to testify about what happened other than yourself. If you did not admit things to the police officer, the charges will have to be dropped. (c) Even with witnesses, it is often hard for the prosecution to prove, as long as you fight it.

It would certainly help to be able to explain WHY you ran into a guard rail without doing anything wrong.

However, you should NOT be afraid of going to court.

The only thing you should be afraid of is NOT dealing with this. Ducking this will produce the worst possible result. AVOIDING it is the one thing that will cause the most trouble.

Get a copy of your driving record, which makes a huge difference in Va. Courts.