Someone with a bad driving record would most likely be prosecuted aggressively. A clean driving record might lead a prosecutor to either prosecute the person less vigorously or not at all.

The judge would want to punish someone worse if they had a prior record of driving convictions or arrests as well.  The idea is that if someone was continually driving badly then they would need to have stronger punishments to get them to straighten up.

I recently handled a case where the person had three speeding tickets including one where he was driving 20 mph over the speed limit. They were fairly old charges but because of that the Judge sentenced my client to a three month loss of his driving privilege because of the prior convictions.

We appealed the case but nevertheless his driving record had something to do with the bad news he received from the Judge that day. Having a good driving record will make a difference.

The Virginia Point System With Regard To A Driving Record

Anytime someone in the state of Virginia gets a moving violation, they assign points to your DMV record. Most states have demerit points such as this. Virginia only has three different denominations of demerit points.

One is a 3 point offense, one is a 4 point offense and there is also a 6 point offense. The only thing a court could do to change the quantity of points would be to allow the prosecution and the defense to change the charge that was raised. Reckless driving has 6 points, which would also apply to a DWI, hit and run and driving on a suspended driver’s license. It is one of the more serious charges. The problem is that someone who has too many points all at once might get suspended just because the DMV decided to do so. The DMV would calculate not only how many points there were, but how long it had been between each offense that resulted in each point.

For example, if the person received too many demerit points in a 12 month period or a 24 month period, then that conviction would trigger a probationary period and a person would lose their driver’s license if they got another offense during the probationary period.

Let us suppose someone who had ever been on probation in Virginia got another conviction and lost their license. After the period of suspension, they would have to finish the probationary period without getting an offense and then move into another period where whether or not they completed it they would go back to probation. It can be hard to get out of this cycle.

The person would have to be very careful to stay out of trouble if they already had a conviction that had points.

Insurance under writers say that when someone gets a ticket, it is not because they were careless one time. It is because they had become careless overall. Someone who receives one offense would be likely to get another ticket or they would be likely to get in an accident or something like that.

Reckless Driving Charges Or Convictions Stay On A DMV Record For 11 Years In Virginia

Reckless driving charges stay on a person’s record for 11 year so long after the points have fallen off the record.

For more information on Affect Of Driving Record On Reckless Driving Penalties, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling (703) 691- 4366 today.